We’re honoured to invite women and those who identify as women of all ages to take part in Red Tent: Held in Community. 

It is an opportunity to participate in a creative art experience, to support healing and community. The first part is a photography project celebrating identity, presence, and feminine embodiment. We will have hosted a ritual photo shoot with  local photographer Brian Aikens in his Squamish studio, supported by local therapists and healers. Participants will be surrounded by flowing red fabric in a supportive setting designed to offer a joyful, embodied experience that honours your unique story and presence. Our invitation is to express yourself as you are for a portrait held within our metaphorical red tent.

The Circle discussion is an extension of the community circle where women are invited to witness conversations between women about topics relevant to womanhood. These will be followed by performance by local poets and musicians, with time to enjoy the photo exhibit and to foster connection and conversation.  

This is a unique opportunity to partake and be held in a collaborative artistic process, connect with your community, and celebrate the experiences of those with uteruses in a professional gallery setting.

Press Releases

Squamish Chief‍ ‍Squamish Reporter

The red tent is a metaphorical place where women come together to create community. It is a container, a relationship. Something culture has forgotten; it is a circle, a spiral, an experience, and discussion. When women come together and hear each other's stories hold one another up in coherence and grace we create road maps to infinite ways of being, possibilities embodied in a life lived.

It is an art and community event in three parts: 

  • Photography ritual experience (January & February)

  • Exhibit container at the Squamish Library (March 6-8th)

  • Circle Discussion Group during international Women’s day (March 6-8th)

This is a free community event. Reserve your spot.

Photo Exhibit & Circle Discussions; Speaker Line-up & Topics

Friday March 6th

3-4 pm Circle Discussion with Erica Otto & Heather Hendrie

Opening conversation: the intention and purpose of the red tent.

4-5 pm Circle Discussion with Steph Nand & Heather Hendrie

Perspectives from a first-generation Canadian of colour. The importance of being social.

5-6 pm Exhibit open to public

6-7 pm Circle Discussion with Hannah & Heather Hendrie

Menstruation and the disabled experience.

Saturday March 7th

11-1 am Exhibit open to public

1-2 pm Circle Discussion Kevani Macdonald & Heather Hendrie

Navigating being a woman, a mother, and a business leader and most importantly trying to create harmony between those identities.

2-3pm Exhibit open open to public

3-4 pm Circle Discussion Carolyn Green & Erica Otto

Perimenopause & spirituality.

4-5 pm Circle Discussion Dr Carmen Chornell & Erica Otto

Menopause & health and wellness.

Sunday March 8th

12-1 pm Circle Discussion Jessica Kelly & Erica Otto

Pregnancy, raising kids in the community, and making art.

1-2 pm Exhibit open to the public

2-3pm Circle Discussion Diana Lockett & Heather Hendrie

The post-menopausal experience.

3-4 pm Circle Discussion Erica Otto & Heather Hendrie

Exploring the impact of being in community this way. Ritual close of the project.

Red Tent Research

The modern Red Tent movement began with:

Anita Diamant’s novel The Red Tent (1997)

The book reimagined the biblical story of Dinah and described a women’s space — the “red tent” — where menstruation, childbirth, sexuality, grief, and pleasure were held in community rather than secrecy.

Important truth:

There is limited historical evidence that literal “red tents” existed universally across cultures.

What did exist across cultures:

  • Menstrual seclusion or rest spaces (sometimes nurturing, sometimes oppressive)

  • Blood taboos and blood reverence

  • Women gathering separately to share stories, food, and care

The modern movement is therefore mythic + cultural + political, not archaeological.

Core principles of the Red Tent movement

At its heart, Red Tent spaces are about:

1. Menstruation as meaningful, not shameful

  • Blood as a sign of life, creativity, cycles

  • Reclaiming menstruation from silence, disgust, and medical-only narratives

2. Cyclical wisdom

  • Honouring phases: bleed → rest → emerge → express

  • Resisting capitalist expectations of constant productivity

  • Allowing slowing, softness, and intuition

3. Story-sharing as medicine

  • Speaking truths that are usually hidden:

    • Period pain

    • Fertility struggles

    • Sexual pleasure and trauma

    • Motherhood ambivalence

    • Menopause

  • Being witnessed without fixing

4. Embodied belonging

  • Sitting on the floor

  • Eating together

  • Creating ritual

  • Being held by rhythm, not performance

Why the Red Tent movement matters now

The resurgence of Red Tents since the early 2000s is a response to:

  • Medical dismissal of menstrual suffering (hello PMDD)

  • Hyper-individualism (“do your healing alone”)

  • Productivity culture that ignores bodies

  • Gendered shame around blood, desire, and aging

Red Tents are countercultural by design.

They say:

You are not broken.
Your body is not wrong.
You do not need to be alone with this.

How Red Tents are practiced today

Modern Red Tents can look like:

  • Monthly gatherings aligned with the new moon

  • One-off community events

  • Retreat-based circles

  • Therapeutic or trauma-informed spaces (this is where you are especially well-positioned)

They may include:

  • Check-in circles

  • Tea + food

  • Journaling

  • Gentle movement

  • Silence

  • Laughter

  • Tears

  • Erotic aliveness (sometimes, but not always)

Where Red Tents often go wrong 

Because this matters professionally and ethically, here are the common pitfalls:

1. Overclaiming ancient origins

Saying “this is how it’s always been” can erase real histories and cultures.

Better framing:

“Across many cultures, people have created spaces for rest, ritual, and storytelling around menstruation. We are drawing inspiration from that lineage.”

2. Gender essentialism

Framing Red Tents as “for women only” can exclude:

  • Trans and nonbinary menstruators

  • People who no longer menstruate but still live in cyclical bodies

Inclusive modern Red Tents often say:

“For people who bleed, have bled, or are in relationship with menstrual cycles.” Or anyone identifying as female, girl, women, and feminine.

3. Spiritual bypassing

Avoiding:

  • “Your pain is sacred, so you don’t need care”

  • Minimizing medical realities
    Red Tents should coexist with therapy, medicine, and advocacy.


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