House of Holy Humor
Reverend Artist Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace

House of Holy Humor (HHH) is the non-religious congregation for humor for wellness founded by Reverend Artist Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace, in 2022. Facing a global mental health crisis from the COVID-19 Pandemic, we need a laugh to relieve stress and reconnect. The three pillars of HHH are humor, art and love – each part of the human condition, all ancient tools for emotional re-regulation. Love has been considered sacred by most people. Art and Humor has been stuck in museums and the entertainment industry respectively – under-appreciated for their transformational power for well-being. House of Holy Humor put humor and art back in the medicine cabinet!

Their Port Authority residency helps commuters and tourists alike adopt humor, art and love as daily practices. Making a daily difference in which version of people shows up at work and at home, by bringing greater warmth, joy, connection and moments of relief into their days. Programs include humorous dances, vintage carnival games, playful surveys, jovial postcards, community-created poems, quick collages and more, including past Chashama projects Love Letter Lounge and Marry Your Self with Jester of the Peace. For commuters on the move, who can’t stop and join in, QR codes are posted for the humorous song, meditation, video, poem or fun wellness tool of the day, to enjoy on the bus. The space is part performance stage and part recording stage, in which they curate and create positive media for the daily ride. They both honor and cheer commuters!

About the Artist

Reverend Artist Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace, is a clown theater and performance artist and Ordained Interfaith Minister. She fuses love, art, and comedy. She creates playful participatory performances and installations in which people self-express, connect in sudden truth, and have surprise transformational experiences. She creates auto-biographical shows and writing on humor and personal growth. She is a corporate and academic trainer in body language and humor.

She has created interactive experiences for AirBnB, The Hive at Claremont College, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Art in Bloom, Chashama, New York Clown Theatre Festival, San Francisco Fringe, Dance Parade NYC, Ball Horticultural, Discovery Channel Australia, The Learning Channel’s Four Weddings, Global Play Brigade and international community, cultural and corporate events.

Her current project, House of Holy Humor (HHH), is a non-religious congregation for humor for wellness – all humans welcome. Rooms of HHH include It’s Funny Now Library, (stories that were hard then and funny now), Holidaily Calendar (a humorous personal growth daily holiday), and Humor Arts Museum (online museum for uplifting humorous art in all media).

Her honors Media BA is from Brown University, her MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and her ordination through One Spirit Interfaith Seminary.

For more information on Barbara visit her website and follow her on Instagram.