By John Zangas for DC Media Group - “Catharsis on the Mall” is DC’s smaller version of the Burning Man festival, held annually at the Washington Monument. With thoughtful art or theatrical displays, the organizers offer anyone who wants to come an opportunity for purification, healing and, of course, catharsis through emotional release. The main draw was supposed to be a giant 60-foot statue of a woman’s body made of opaque curved metal near the flat white stone of the Washington Monument. But the statue was one foot too high, so the permit for the shapely structure could not be secured from the National Park Service. So in its place stood a giant scaffold with banners of a woman, her body partially covered with flora. This year’s theme for Catharsis was equality embodied by the ten principles of Burning Man for community ethos and culture through visual art, music and dancing, interactive participation, and story-telling. Many people narrated their journeys and struggles in overcoming life-changing obstacles. A variety of tents, booths and art displays encouraged creativity and connective existence with the ten principles: radical inclusion, gifting, de-commodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation and immediacy. A sage spoke inside a geodesic tent about relationships, intentional living and overcoming challenges while 50 or more people listened intently.
