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Rituals

Art & Rituals for Collective Healing

The art of re-connecting

What do rituals do?

Rituals are as old as humanity itself. They allow us to experience that we are part of a greater whole. They restore and deepen the connection between our personal lives, communal living, and the universal in a powerful way.

Rituals for collective healing bring people together and support the processing of traumatic or impactful events - always tailored to what is needed. They offer the space and possibility to step out of the everyday and simply be together. To remember, to feel, and to pause with what is still difficult.

This creates room for softening pain, allowing life to move forward again. In a collective healing ritual, it is the community itself that contributes to the healing of its own wounds and those of its members.

“We have forgotten the importance of rituals, even as we face more profound changes than ever. Lies combines depth and creativity to design contemporary rituals inspired by ancient traditions. Her ability to stay present and hold space in intensity is remarkable.”

 

Philippe Bailleur, organisatiecoach

“By acknowledging that collective trauma affects us all, we can co-create a future that heals the past.”
— Thomas Hübl

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Art as ritual

Art also holds the power to process, connect, and bring comfort.
Think of the sense of togetherness at a music festival. By consciously combining art and ritual in my work as an artist and ritual facilitator, I increasingly experience how they strengthen one another.

A healing ritual can touch deep layers. Beauty often brings comfort, softness, and relief. That is how many artistic rituals and ritual art projects were created over the past years. 

Who is it for?

Who is it for?

For groups and organisations that are undergoing change or are stuck where existing systems fall short.

I do this together with:

CARess – Art & Rituals for Collective Healing 

CARess offers rituals and artistic practices as a foundation for collective healing and reconnection. In times of change, acceleration, and loss, we create space for what wants to be felt, acknowledged, and transformed - in people, organisations, and communities. Through carefully designed rituals and art, we open spaces where pain, transition, grief, and collective trauma can move in a supported and safe way.

Healing, to us, means allowing life force to flow again. Not fixing, but nourishing. Not solving but creating space. Not just individually, but in relation to the greater whole.

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Core team:

 

We are currently working on a dedicated website for CARess: www.caress.earth

Cases of Art & Rituals for Collective Healing

Teambuilding - Rising Trees NEW!

The Heerlijckyt van Elsmeren: where Ecology and Art Meet

What?

As an artist, I often work with trees. Rising Trees is an eco-artistic project that honours trees and our relationship with them. This project now includes a team-building component. During the team day, the central activity is creating a print of the bark—or “skin”—of an old tree. We engage in dialogue with the tree, as a symbol of life’s network we humans are part of.

It is a connecting experience, with each other, the tree, the surrounding nature, and the beautiful estate of the Heerlijckyt van Elsmeren. The result is a meaningful artwork that can later be displayed in your own environment.

Approach

We begin with an exploratory conversation to understand the team’s motivation and what is alive within the group.

We get to know each other and the location, for example through a guided spiral walk that reveals the secrets of this magical place in ever-narrowing circles. Or we listen to the story of a tree expert.

Then the tree ritual begins with a circle conversation. Afterwards, we work together to capture the bark of the tree trunk as a giant fingerprint on textile. Creating this tree print is always a deeply connecting experience between humans and nature.

Afterwards, the names of the team members are added to the artwork. The tree shroud then moves - temporarily or permanently - to the organisation as a tangible memory of the day.

Sustainable Impact

Part of the proceeds from this team-building activity goes to Seeds for Centuries, an initiative by the Heerlijckyt van Elsmeren dedicated to preserving and securing the future of its natural heritage.

Location

The Heerlijckyt van Elsmeren in Geetbets (B) is a century-old estate with a castle, ponds, fields, and magnificent old trees: chestnuts, beeches, a majestic sequoia… A place full of peace and beauty. The ideal setting for a deepening team experience.

Practical info

  • Duration: Full day, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

  • Outdoor activity: Suitable clothing recommended. In case of heavy rain, the activity will be postponed.

 

Cost: €2,800 (for teams of 3 to 12 people), including:

  • Full-day facilitation

  • All materials for creating the tree print

  • Coffee, tea, water, and light snacks*

  • Finishing of the tree print (including embroidery of participants’ names)

  • Loan or presentation of the artwork** – the tree print (variable dimensions, e.g. 1.4 × 7 m or 4 × 2.8 m) – for one year within the organisation

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*Lunch not included – bring your own or to be arranged at additional cost
**The artwork (the tree shroud) can also be purchased permanently. Price depends on size; indicative cost: €2,200 extra.

“During our team day, we created a unique print of the old chestnut tree on the estate—three centuries old, a silent witness to rituals and ceremonies. This print, this artwork will travel as a messenger of our mission. Lies Daenen was the perfect guide for our ritual, as it feels like a calling for her to bring the stories of trees to people, and people to themselves and each other.”

 

Dean Vanalles – Host Heerlijckyt Van Elsmeren

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