The StarDome & the StarWheel School of Mandala Arts
A new approach to Sacred Arts Education

The "StarDome" is Aya's vision of an educational Art Center and creative community.

An essential part of the "StarDome" project is the "StarWheel School of Mandala Arts"
-an interactive
multi-media
and pluri-cultural campus
centered on the creative experience of the Mandala.

The StarDome is the functional integration of:
1. a Central Dome (home of the Mandala School, a multi-media theater and research areas)
2. Inner Gardens (for organic gardening & playgrounds)
3. a ring-shaped Gallery & Exhibit area

(see perspective rendering below)

The main functions of the StarDome are:

1. To host the StarWheel School of Mandala Arts Mandala School of Sacred Arts

2. To display, in the peripheric gallery, the collection of StarWheel mandalas, presented in an interactice & educational context StarWheel Mandalas Webseum

3. To offer a variety of mandala resource materials: Library & AV-Digital Database, Multi-Media Research Center

4. To showcase a yearly program of mandala traditions exhibits: Mandala Exhibit Spaces

5. To host, in the amphitheater, mandala ceremonies and sacred arts performances as well as innovative & futuristic events of a multi-media / holographic nature.

6. To bring together a team of performers (musicians, ceremonialists, dancers...), (the “StarWheel Troupe”,) and to develop a series of Sacred Celebration Events to be taken around the world.

7. The StarDome Project is part of a community vision described here: The StarDome Community Vision and Manifesto for the Earth Mandala

Statement by Aya (January 2003):

Since my original vision of the StarWheels in Christmas 1984, I have dedicated myself to the birthing of this colorful family: 108 mandala paintings todate. The vision called for 12 series of 12 = 144 pieces that would be "teaching templates" for the new generations of highly gifted cosmic beings entering "life on Earth".

In the unfolding of this journey, I now feel that time has come for the manifestation of the educational context & facility I call the StarDome, and for the implementation of the StarWheel School of Mandala Arts.
Time has come to share with children, teenagers & art students the sacred creative experience of the Mandala.

As the parent of a large mandala family, it is my direct experience that the center of the Mandala is the center & the Source of consciousness itself. This is why the "mandala experience" is the core learning and the primordial template for organizing our educational curriculum at the Mandala School. The Mandala powerfully mediates the lesson of the earthly voyage: the harmonious dance between Oneness & Multiplicity.

Radically new learning environments have to be created to match the potential of the new human pilgrims:

• Exploratoria offering sensory-rich stimulations and interactive sets where the pupils can explore & pursue their creative calls, at their own pace, while finding the guidance & support they need.
• Experiential ceremonial settings where the wisdom of ancient traditions meets the immense possibilities of future consciousness.
• Training grounds for tasting the wealth of sacred arts knowledge safeguarded though millenia of history.
• Playgrounds for interacting with others and inventing / re-inventing the life-styles that allow to "walk the Earth in Beauty", physically, emotionally, morally and spiritually.
• Natural settings where the observation of plants, animals, stars and life cycles allows the understanding of the myriad manifestations of the universe as harmonic parts of a coherent whole.

This Vision is offered to the Children. They are the Gentle Hope of the World.

Click here for the technical Description of the StarDome and its 3 main components

The Vision of the StarDome:

The vision of the StarDome Art Center is born out of the desire to contribute to a more creative approach to perceiving the "arts" and to relating to them.

In contrast to traditional & sacred cultures where art is woven into the very fabric of life, the arts, in the western cultures, have been increasingly separated from daily life activities & concerns -to the point of being consigned to the mere status of "commodities" or objects appraised for dollar amounts and delivering a portion of "fun", away from "normal life".

Bridging this gap between art and life is the educational purpose of the StarDome Art Center.

We believe that the ancient body of "Sacred Arts" holds precious keys to the co-creation of our global future. The younger generations ask for tools & models enabling them to create lives of meaning and oneness: with themselves, with others, with nature and with the universal spirit. This is the original goal of a "uni-versity".

This is our goal as well.

By focusing on the model of the mandala, the StarDome Art Center & Mandala School offer an experimental ground to explore the potential of oneness inherent in this primordial archetype bridging time, space & cultures: the Living Circle of Life.

A multi-function educational campus:

The StarDome Art Center is envisioned as a multi-function facility serving various groups of the population:

• The public at large. The StarWheel Gallery shows the collection of StarWheel mandalas, presented in an interactive & educational context.
• The Mandala Exhibit Spaces showcase a yearly program of mandala traditions
• from around the world. The School's Amphitheater also offers a program of public mandala performances. (These public services will charge a fee for admission.)
• Mandala Practitioners, Artists & Researchers. The Library and AV-Digital Database offer a variety of resource materials for documentation purposes. The Multi-Media Research Center is a meeting ground and hands-on laboratory for technology-oriented researchers and artists.
• The students attending the School of Mandala Arts. Full-time or part-time students will not only benefit from all the resources offered by the StarDome Art Center, as well as have priority interaction with the teaching staff, they will also be asked, as part of their curriculum assignments, to serve as guides for the general public.
  

The StarWheel Foundation:

The StarDome Project and related programs are sponsored by the StarWheel Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 1991 and presently incorporated in Arizona, the StarWheel Foundation is dedicated to educate the public about the spiritual & transformational benefits of mandalas and related holographic technologies.

The main objective of the StarWheel Foundation is to support the on-going creation of the StarWheel mandalas and to raise funds to acquire a land in Arizona, USA, to build and develop the StarDome and other above-mentioned facilities and programs.

The StarWheel Foundation welcomes creative suggestions, contributions & donations.