Between: passionart

Showing posts with label passionart. Show all posts

Monday, 1 August 2022

Artlyst - Art Search: August 2022 Diary

My August diary for A rtlyst includes Claes Oldenburg and Judson Memorial Church, Peter Schumann and Bread and Puppet Theater, Cornelia Parker, Richard Woods at Southwark Cathedral, and Gift to the City, a PassionArt Art Trail featuring Micah Purnell and Rachel Ho:

‘Oldenburg commemorated the period in 1990 with a poster printed to benefit the Judson Memorial Church on its 100th Anniversary. He wrote: “I wanted to make a symbol of the active Church, a walking or ‘rockin’ cross, which also happens to be a ‘J,’ a birthday candle and a newspaper collage of the world around the church. Selected activities of the Judson over the years are typed on my 1926 typewriter and scattered like street signs over the ‘newspaper cross.’ There’s also a personal reference to the work in outlined newspaper collage I was doing when I showed and performed at the Judson Gallery in 1959-60.” Given Judson’s artistic innovations and political engagement, Bonhams suggest that “Oldenburg’s image of Judson as a powder keg as it celebrated its 100th birthday, was very apt.”

Peter Schumann was another who got his first break at Judson. His first production in the United States, Totentanz, The Dance of Death, was staged there on May 15, 1962. Erik Wallenberg writes that Schumann saw the dance as “the new execution of the old rite” being a resurrection of dances performed throughout the Middle Ages in European churches. Schumann later formed Bread and Puppet Theater as a performing group for his works with their first play being “The Puppet Christ,” and with the group providing “a kind of communion — its signature sourdough bread — to its audience.”’

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Articles -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Knockin' On Heaven's Door (featuring Dolly Parton).

Thursday, 7 July 2022

Gift to the City: A Passion Art Project

Passion Art is launching a massive hidden art trail in Manchester to remind us we are not alone.

During the last two weeks in July, two artists, ceramicist Rachel Ho, and artist and designer Micah Purnell will leave 240 beautiful ‘gifts to the city’ to find, to remind us to embrace our stories of loss and self-worth.

18 July - 29 July

www.gifttothecity.org

Hidden in the nooks and crannies of the city centre, the two artists will leave 120 Kintsugi pots and 120 You Are Enough oak engravings which the public are invited to find, and keep them as gifts. The art will be placed on the streets of Manchester between the 18th-29th July.

Rachel Ho (https://rachelho2020.wixsite.com/rachelhoceramics) is a ceramicist, who has exhibited nationally including London. Her work is inspired by Kintsugi, an ancient Japanese method of mending broken pottery with gold, resulting in more beautiful and precious pots. Rachel explains “The pots symbolise the fragility of our lives, the scars are then filled with gold lustre; expressing the mystery of new beginnings and new life even in our deepest pain. They pots represent all our stories of loss and reflect the beauty of hope, healing and renewal. I am drawn to clays delicate nature. My aim is to make work that evokes a sense of beauty and mystery. Just as ancient pots have told stories for thousands of years, I aim to use my pots to tell stories of healing.”

Micah Purnell (www.micahpurnell.com), whose clients include The Guardian, Elbow and the NHS, is a text based artist who has exhibited in group shows alongside Turner prize winner Douglas Gordan and global street artist JR. The award-winning artist and designer, renowned for his typographic work that took over Wembley Park during the Euros works to bring the humanities to public spaces. His well known phrase ‘You are Enough’ has appeared across the city over the last few years as giant banners and billboards. He says ‘My work is a lot about togetherness and self-worth. The oak reminders are made by Chapel-in-the-fields who use wood as a vehicle to work with people who have mental health vulnerabilities. I hope the phrase You Are Enough will help people to cut themselves some slack from the ever demanding voices in society and recognise the spark of beauty in themselves.”

Each gift will be accompanied by an invite to share anonymously how the artworks resonated with those who find them at www.gifttothecity.org where you’ll be able to read stories of difficulty and hope as the artworks are found.

The Passion Art project, entitled ‘Gift to the City’, is dedicated to founder Lesley Sutton, who, after five years of living with terminal illness, is drawing very close to the end of this life. Lesley founded Passion Art to build bridges between sacred and secular spaces through art. She is as beautiful in dying as she has been in living.

The project aims to help people feel seen and less alone, to recognise we all have our daily battles and to create a sense of hope and healing.

Rachel Ho: https://rachelho2020.wixsite.com/rachelhoceramics

Micah Purnell: 07990 533 749 www.micahpurnell.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manchester Orchestra - I Know How To Speak.

Monday, 9 August 2021

Wembley Park Art Trail

Wembley Park's boulevards and areas are a vast free public gallery of art and culture. Enhancing the area’s global reputation for sport, music and live entertainment, their public art highlights Wembley Park as a diverse, distinctive and vibrant neighbourhood. Their free art trail consists of 14 pieces across a number of mediums, including paints, digital mixed media and upcycled materials.

I particularly wanted to see the installations by Micah Purnell:

Underpinned by a sense of togetherness, diversity and hope, Against the Odds and Power in Unity were inspired by people uniting in tougher times to stand together for the greater good. A theme Micah Purnell has been looking over through 2020 and 2021, he sought to bring a positive and memorable experience to Wembley Park, creating an 'Ahhh' moment through the powerful design.

I have worked with Micah on a number of occasions over the past two years. See these articles and workshops at:

Look out for an interview with Micah in Church Times shortly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lost Dogs - Breathe Deep.

Thursday, 24 December 2020

Seeing is Receiving: The art of contemplation (1)

Today I'm beginning a new series exploring the art of contemplation. This post introduces the series and I'll post the remainder of the series on a weekly basis.

Introduction - Seeing

This is a book about prayer. But it is not a book about prayer like any you will have read. Most books about prayer are about the words we should speak or, if they are books of prayers, give us the words we are to speak. This is a book using words to bring us to silence.

Why? Because when we fall silent is when we begin to see. All we do and all we stop doing begins and ends in silence. Silence wraps itself around our lives through birth and death but also all our activity and speech within life.

This is perhaps most evident when music is played. Music fills the spaces in which it is performed for the duration of the performance but there is silence before and after. It may even be that the purpose of the sounds is that when they end we notice the silence more acutely than before. That is the movement – lyrically and musically – of Van Morrison’s ‘Summertime in England’ – one of the most meditative pieces created within the canon of noise that is rock music. It may also be why – in his most famous work – John Cage gave us 4 minutes 33 seconds of silence structured as a musical composition. Morrison takes us on a lyrical journey from the Lake District through Bristol to Glastonbury picking up on the literary and spiritual references as we travel to reveal that what we find in nature, literature and religion is the opportunity to rest, to experience, to be, to see, in silence.

We are led into silence in order to see because seeing is foundational to understanding. Seeing precedes speech. That is the sequence of human development, one that we ignore at our peril. It is also the sequence of the foundational story in the book of Genesis where Adam names the animals. Naming is a key human speech-act. Describing and defining is a tool for navigating existence and is the basis of scientific discovery, but it begins with seeing.

In order to accurately describe or define or map, you have first to see what is there. That is the sequence within this story. God brings animals to Adam. He looks at each one and then describes or defines each by naming it. Names in ancient times described the essence of the creature or object so named. That is what Adam does in this story. He looks for the essence of each creature and then names that essence.

With God the sequence is the same but on a cosmic scale, as God is creator. The account of creation in Genesis 1 begins with the Spirit hovering over the waters. We do not know how long this state lasted - it was a time out of time, as time did not yet exist – but it is clearly a preparatory time without speech. God then speaks and the world comes into existence. But then God looks. God looks, and sees that it is good. Then he rests; in silence. The end of speech is silence. The end of creation is rest. That is where our co-creation with God begins, in contemplation.

The Bible is full of words and speech and action but we are told that God continues to look. He sees us in the womb; Psalm 139.15-16 tells us that our frames were not hidden from God when we were being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. God’s eyes beheld our unformed substance there. God saw into the hearts of Jesse’s sons - as also with each one of us - selecting David as the one after his own heart. He saw Jonah as he tried to evade God’s call on his life, he sees every hair upon our head to the extent that they can each be numbered, and he sees and numbers every sparrow that falls. The stories that Jesus told are often stories in which the central characters look for what is lost or hidden. The point of these stories is that we find by seeing what is lost, hidden or over-looked. The point is that we see, as God sees.

As seeing is fundamental to creativity, this book suggests that art and artists can teach us how to see. The inspiration for this book is an insight expressed by the art historian, critic and curator Daniel Siedell. He suggested that attending to details, ‘looking closely is a useful discipline for us as Christians, who are supposed to see Christ everywhere, especially in the faces of all people.’ He then argued that, if ‘we dismiss artwork that is strange, unfamiliar, unconventional, if we are inattentive to visual details, how can we be attentive to those around us?’[i]

Similarly, the philosopher Simone Weil said that attention - the kind of close contemplative looking that is fundamental to our experience of art – when ‘taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer’. That is because it ‘presupposes faith and love’. Therefore, ‘absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.’[ii]

To explore this connection between contemplative looking and contemplative prayer I’m going to take us on two journeys. The first is an exploration of 7 S’s which aid our ability to genuinely pay attention in the way Weil suggests. We are aided in contemplative seeing by slowing down, sustained looking, surrendering ourselves to art through our immersion within it, staying with the silence inherent in much art, study of sources, the sharing of experiences, and openness to inspiration, the sparking of the Spirit. Many of these aids to seeing are practices shared by those who pray contemplatively. In particular, there are significant parallels to the rule of life practised by the Nazareth Community at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the members of which each shape a personal rule of life, containing individual and communal activities, using the practices of Silence, Scripture, Sacrament, Service, Sharing, Sabbath, and Staying With.

Be Still was a visual arts trail that was a wonderful example of the 7 S’s being surfaced and used. In 2016, Be Still celebrated Lent through the mindful reflection of art in six of Manchester’s most iconic venues. Contemporary installations, paintings, sculpture and live performances by internationally renowned and local artists uncovered moments where the sacred inhabits the ordinary. Each art work in the trail was accompanied by a reflection to help viewers engage spiritually and practically with stillness, prayer and mindfulness.

In the accompanying booklet Lesley Sutton, the Director of PassionArt, summarised the gift that artists offer to use in regard to attentive looking and contemplative prayer:

‘The gift the artist offers is to share with us is the mindful and prayerful act of seeing, for, in order to make material from their thoughts and ideas, they have to spend time noticing, looking intently and making careful observation of the minutiae of things; the negative spaces between objects, the expression and emotion of faces, the effect of light and shadow, shades of colour, the variety of texture, shape and form. This act of seeing slows us down and invites us to pay attention to the moment, to be still, not to rush and only take a quick glance but instead to come into a relationship with that which you are seeing, to understand it and make sense of its relationship with the world around it. This is a form of prayer where we become detached from our own limited perspective and make way for a wider more compassionate understanding of ourselves, others and the world we inhabit.’[iii]

The second journey is one to view some of the art commissioned by churches in the period since modern art began. For a significant part of its history the Church in the West was the major patron for visual arts. In that period, content ruled for the Church as art illustrated Biblical narratives and the lives of the Saints for teaching the faith, inspiring praxis, and facilitating prayer. But by the time Impressionism initiated modern art, art had already freed itself in many ways from the patronage of the Church and, as form not content became its primary focus, the developments of modern art led to an increasingly strained relationship between the Church and the visual arts.

The story of modern art has often been told with little or no reference to Christianity and yet, as Daniel Siedell has noted, an alternative history and theory of the development of modern art exists ‘revealing that Christianity has always been present with modern art, nourishing as well as haunting it, and that modern art cannot be understood without understanding its religious and spiritual components and aspirations.’[iv]

Seeing art commissioned for churches as part of the twentieth century renewal of religious art in Europe, as I did as a Sacred Art Pilgrimage in 2014, enables reflection on the ways in which artworks in churches facilitate contemplation and prayer. On my pilgrimage I visited churches in Belgium, England, France and Switzerland and I’ll take you back to some of those churches in the pages that follow. The majority were connected in some way with the encouragement to commission contemporary for churches given by George Bell, Marie-Alain Couturier, Maurice Denis, Albert Gleizes, Walter Hussey and Jacques Maritain.

Near the beginning of the pilgrimage I sat in St Giles Cripplegate on a balmy summer’s evening in July. I was there to listen to The Revd. Dr. Samuel Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, speak about ‘Art and the renewal of St Martins’. I didn’t know it then, but within a year I would join the team at St Martin’s and become a colleague of The Revd. Dr.

I was nearing the end of one journey whilst being at the beginning of several others. At that point I was a Vicar in East London with a significant interest in the Arts and their connections to faith; more than that, an interest in faith connecting with the whole of life. Engaging with the Arts, with workplaces, with community life and social action; these had all been key motivations on my journey into ordained ministry and of my ministry in East London since ordination in 2003.

Sam’s talk, part of an International Conference organised by Art & Christianity Enquiry, was scene-setting for a journey that was part pilgrimage, part art trail; while wholly concerned with seeing and contemplating the connections between art and faith. After initial remarks on the theme of art as a plurality of possibility showing what could be by using form, media and idea for creation, appreciation and interpretation, he took John Calvin’s threefold office of Christ as a frame for speaking about art, St Martins and art at St Martins.

In speaking about the Prophet, he said that art holds up a mirror to society and asks, ‘Are you proud of what you see?’ Art can create a dream of society fulfilled and thereby the painful gap between the ideal and reality. Prophets often shock and some prophetic acts are shocking. The priestly dimension of it that it enables us to see beyond the stars; we can “heaven espie” through art and it can, therefore, be a sacrament. Through the arts the ordinary stuff of life speaks or sings of the divine. Artists are the high priests of creation. Finally, using the kingly dimension, art can show what humanity can be when we reach our full potential. Kingly art stretches us and is about glory, as with a road sweeper he had encountered who spoke of his love of opera as being “his glory.” Artists construct acts of worship. God is the great artist and each human life is an interpretation and improvisation on the creativity of God.

These were the exciting aspirations on which I reflected as I set out on my journey of discovery through an art pilgrimage. I hope they also excite you as we set out on our shared journey through the 7 S’s of contemplative looking in order to discover the place of silence where we see with prayerful attention.

Every journey needs to include points at which we rest, recuperate and reflect before moving on further. As such, each chapter on our journey ends with options to Explore, Wonder, Pray, and undertake a Spiritual Exercise or an Art Action. Explore is information enabling further exploration of the theme, usually through related artworks. Wonderings are open-ended while relevant to the theme of the chapter and the reader's experience. They are intended to move in the direction of entering the content of the chapter and your own lived experience more deeply. There are no right or wrong responses to wonderings. The prayers included seek to channel the main themes of the chapter into personal prayers. Alternatively, you may wish to write or pray your own. The spiritual exercises seek to suggest an activity to enable prayerful reflection on the themes in ways that could enhance your own spirituality. Finally, the Art Actions provide links to some of the artworks or art activities mentioned in the chapter.

Our journey together begins and ends with poetry:

Attend, attend, pay attention, contemplate.
Open eyes of faith to days, minutes,
moments of miracle and marvel; there is wildness
and wonder wherever you go, present
in moments that never repeat, running free,
never coming again. Savour, savour the present –
small things, dull moments, dry prayers –
sacraments of presence, sense of wonder,
daily divine depth in the here and now.
There is only here, there is only now,
these are the days, this is the fiery vision,
awe and wildness, miracle and flame. Take off
your shoes, stand in the holy fire; sacrament
of the burning, always consumed, never repeating
present moment, knowing the time is now.

[i] D. Siedell - https://imagejournal.org/artist/daniel-siedell/
[ii] S. Weil, Gravity and Grace, Routledge, 2004, p. 117
[iii] L. Sutton in Be Still: PassionArt Trail 2016, PassionArt, 2016, p. 38
[iv] D. A. Siedell, God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art, BakerAcademic, 2008

See also 'And a little child shall lead them' which explores similar themes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Van Morrison - Summertime In England.

Saturday, 25 July 2020

Living God's Future Now w/c 26 July 2020

HeartEdge Living God's Future Now events this week - Church Leaders, Laypeople & Enquirers Welcome

'Living God’s Future Now’ is our mini online festival of theology, ideas and practice.

We’re developing this in response to the pandemic and our changing world. The church is changing too, and - as we improvise and experiment - we can learn and support each other.

This is 'Living God’s Future Now’ - talks, workshops and discussion - hosted by HeartEdge. Created to equip, encourage and energise churches - from leaders to volunteers and enquirers - at the heart and on the edge.

Sunday 26 July

‘Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story’: Sunday 26 July, 2.00 pm (BST), Zoom meeting - Topic: Matthew 26:57-68 / ‘Christ before the High Priest’, Gerrit van Honthorst, about.1617, NG3679. Email Jonathan for an invitation.

Monday 27 July

PassionArt: The Art of Belonging: Monday, 27 July, 14:00 – 15:30 BST. Register for a zoom invite here. PassionArt aims to recover beauty at the heart of our communities through collective acts of creativity. In this workshop artists, curators and hosts from PassionArt projects will be in conversation with Azariah France-Williams.
Biblical Studies class: Monday 27 July, 7.30-9.00 pm (BST), Zoom meeting. Register in advance here.

Tuesday 28 July

Sermon Preparation Workshop: Tuesday 28 July, 4.30pm (BST), livestreamed on the HeartEdge Facebook page.

Wednesday 29 July

Community of Practitioners workshop: Wednesday 29 July, 4.30pm (BST), Zoom meeting. Email Jonathan for a zoom invitation.

Friday 31 July

In the shadow of your wings: Friday 31 July, 4.30 pm (BST), Zoom meeting. An Interactive Online Event Presented by Deus Ex Musica which is a musical bible study on the Psalms. A unique ecumenical event that combines new musical interpretations of psalms with small-group discussion. Register for a zoom invitation here.

Special Mentions

Book Launch – Ghost Ship by Azariah France-William: Sat 01 August, 4pm (BST), on Zoom. Join Azariah and guests for readings, music, discussion and debate - and the launch of 'Ghost Ship - Institutional Racism and the Church of England'. Guests include Guli Francis-Dehquani, Samantha Lindo, Randolph Matthews, David Neita, Sharon & Calvert Prentis & Winnie Varghese. Register here.
Living God’s Future Now Conversation: Thursday August 13, 6pm (BST), Zoom – Bishop Rachel Treweek and Sam Wells explore what it means to improvise on God’s Kingdom. Register here.

See www.heartedge.org to join HeartEdge and for more information.

Over the next few months we are looking at everything from growing online congregations, rethinking enterprise and community action to doing diversity, deepening spirituality and responding to social need.

Are we missing something? Be in touch about your ideas for development and change.

Please note that invitations will be sent 24hrs, 12hrs and 10 mins before an event, mostly to minimise the chance of misuse. Thank you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bob Dylan and the Band - I Shall Be Released.

Sunday, 19 July 2020

Living God's Future Now programme

‘Living God’s Future Now’ is a series of online seminars, discussions and presentations hosted by HeartEdge. They are designed to equip, encourage and energise church leaders, laypeople and enquirers in areas such as preaching, growing a church, shifting online, deepening spirituality and responding to social need.

Here's the next instalment in the HeartEdge Living God's Future Now programme:

Sermon Preparation Workshop: Tuesday 21 July, 4.30pm (BST), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/.
Growing community online - Part 4: Thursday 23 July, 4.30pm (BST), livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/theHeartEdge/. Sally Hitchiner, Lorenzo Lebrija and Katie Tupling explore 'how to' build community online. Practical tips, stories, keeping in touch, sharing insights, finding support, promoting your services.
Difference, Diversity, Deviance: Friday 24 July, 4.00 pm (BST), zoom meeting. Join Rev Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes and guests for talks, interview and discussion. Each Friday in July. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/difference-diversity-deviance-tickets-111287620268.
PassionArt: The Art of Belonging: Monday, 27 July, 14:00 – 15:30 BST. Register for a zoom invite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/passionart-the-art-of-belonging-tickets-112450346012. PassionArt aims to recover beauty at the heart of our communities through collective acts of creativity. In this workshop artists, curators and hosts from PassionArt projects will be in conversation with Azariah France-Williams.
In the shadow of your wings: Friday 31 July, 4.30 pm (BST), Zoom meeting. An Interactive Online Event Presented by Deus Ex Musica which is a musical bible study on the Psalms. A unique ecumenical event that combines new musical interpretations of psalms with small-group discussion. Register for a zoom invitation at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-the-shadow-of-your-wings-tickets-111528470658.
Book Launch | Ghost Ship: Saturday 1 August, 4.00 pm (BST). Join Azariah France-Williams and guests for readings, music, discussion and debate. Guests include Winnie Varghese and Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-ghost-ship-tickets-113436305042.

Growing community online - Part 4:
Thursday 23 July, 4.30pm (BST), livestreamed at the HeartEdge facebook page.

Sally Hitchiner, Lorenzo Lebrija and Katie Tupling explore 'how to' build community online. Practical tips, stories, keeping in touch, sharing insights, finding support, promoting your services - via the mainstream press, and websites including 'ChurchNearYou' for the C-of-E, or across denominations Find a Church. With news of apps, websites and resources plus alternative approaches and structures. Watch the first three workshops at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theHeartEdge/videos/?ref=page_internal

Sally Hitchiner is Associate Vicar for Ministry at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Her work includes liturgical and organisational aspects of the church. She currently leads ministry to the dispersed congregation of St Martin's via a confidential online community space and pastoral care groups. Sally set up an online Christian community as a university chaplain and founded the Diverse Church initiative with over 1000 participants across the UK. Diverse Church grew from one community to a community planting organisation, launching a new community of 60-100 Christians across the UK and Ireland each year.

Fr. Lorenzo Lebrija is founding director of the TryTank, the experimental Lab for church growth and innovation. He is responsible for the entire process of development and implementation of experiments for innovation in the church. (It's a staff of 1, so don't be that impressed!) Prior to launching TryTank, Lorenzo was the Chief Development Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He served as the Pastor on behalf of the Bishop at St. John's Episcopal Church in San Bernardino, CA, and as priest associate at St. Athanasius Episcopal Church at the Cathedral Centre of St. Paul in Los Angeles.

Rev Katie Tupling was a parish priest for 16 years before becoming Diocesan Disability Advisor and Lead Chaplain amongst Deaf people for the Oxford Diocese, in March 2019. She was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the age of 2 1/2 and is now the proud owner of purple crutches, a purple wheelchair, and a red scooter (it didn't come in purple!). Katie is also Co-founder of ‘Disability and Jesus’, a user led task group wrestling with theology, discipleship, and church practice. In the lived experience of disability. She has co-authored the book ‘Pilgrims in the dark’ - the story of how Disability and Jesus came into being, and co-authored a Grove booklet ‘Worship and Disability, a Kingdom for all’ (both 2018). Katie's social media presence includes: working with UCB Radio as well as BBC local radio, a weekday live feed on Twitter and Facebook, a ‘recorded as live’ Sunday service with Disability and Jesus, and a YouTube channel.

PassionArt: The Art of Belonging, Monday, 27 July 2020, 14:00 – 15:30 BST. Register for a zoom invite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/passionart-the-art-of-belonging-tickets-112450346012.

PassionArt aims to recover beauty at the heart of our communities through collective acts of creativity. In this workshop artists, curators and hosts from PassionArt projects will be in conversation with Azariah France-Williams. PassionArt explore issues around art and faith through exhibitions, art trails, projects, teaching, resourcing and creative gatherings.

Based in Manchester they have built links and partnerships with churches and secular cultural institutions to encourage the creative exploration of Christian festivals and to integrate faith, beauty and creative practice within the city. They aim to push creative boundaries using contemporary art and installation to visually critique our time and culture and to consider ways to increase beauty and hope in our place.

Lesley Sutton is an artist, curator and founder of PassionArt who has worked with churches, community groups and the cultural sector in Manchester for over 20 years. Her work aims to help bridge the divide between sacred and secular space using the Arts as a means of conversation to explore the universal human condition.

Micah Purnell is a Manchester based, award winning, multi-disciplined, concept driven creative. He specialises in quality book design and carefully crafted public messaging.

Elizabeth Kwant is a Manchester based artist, researcher and curator whose interdisciplinary practice incorporates film, photography, performance, installation and print. Her work investigates contemporary geo-political and social issues; migration, immigration detention, legacies of colonialism, modern day slavery and associated concerns of representation.

In the shadow of your wings: Musical Bible study on the Psalms
Friday 31 July, 4.30 pm (BST), Zoom meeting. Register for a zoom invitation at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-the-shadow-of-your-wings-tickets-111528470658.

An Interactive Online Event Presented by Deus Ex Musica, A unique ecumenical event that combines new musical interpretations of psalms with small-group discussion. Participants watch pre-recorded live performances of brand-new vocal settings of three beloved psalms (13, 57, and 148), each of which has been set to music by a composer representing a different Christian tradition.

After viewing each set of performances, participants engage in moderated small-group discussions. Since each psalm is set to music by more than one composer, participants hear how different musical responses to the same text bring to life various dimensions of each psalm. This provides a unique and memorable way for participants to experience the depth and beauty of Scripture in ways that promote both learning and discipleship. It also provides a rare opportunity for Christians of all stripes to gather in fellowship and dialogue about something we all agree on: the power and importance of the Bible. No musical experience or expertise is required by any participants.

Deus Ex Musica is an ecumenical organization comprised of musicians, educators, and pastors, and scholars, that promotes the use of sacred music as a resource for learning and spiritual growth. www.deus-ex-musica.com.

Book Launch | Ghost Ship: Saturday 1 August, 4.00 pm (BST). Join Azariah France-Williams and guests for readings, music, discussion and debate. Guests include Winnie Varghese and Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-ghost-ship-tickets-113436305042.

The Church is good at saying all the right things about racial equality. But the reality is the institution has failed to back up these good intentions with demonstrable efforts to reform. It is a long way from being a place of black flourishing. Through conversation with clergy, lay people and campaigners in the Church of England, A.D.A France-Williams issues a stark warning to the church, demonstrating how black and brown ministers are left to drown in a sea of complacency and collusion. While sticking plaster remedies abound, France-Williams argues that what is needed is a wholesale change in structure and mindset.

For the online book launch join Azariah France-Williams and guests for readings, music, discussion and debate - and the launch of 'Ghost Ship - Institutional Racism and the Church of England'.
With: Guli Francis-Dehquani, Samantha Lindo, Randolph Matthews, David Neita, Sharon & Calvert Prentis and Winnie Varghese.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deus Ex Musica - Psalm 57.

Wednesday, 27 February 2019

Art exhibitions update

HOW DID IT GET SO DARK?
Tuesday 5 March – Thursday 18 April 2109

St Ann’s Church, St Ann Street, Manchester M2 7LF

How did it get so dark? was inspired by the ninth-century ritual of Tenebrae (Latin for shadows) which, through the contrasting use of candlelight, darkness, silence, spoken word and cacophonous sound, reflects the events leading up to Easter. Central to the experience are suffering and redemption. It is also known as the ‘extinguishing of the lights’, where candles are put out throughout the service. Often, there remains one light still glowing, which is symbolic of hope – a glimmer.

In this exhibition, PassionArt have approached the idea from many different starting points – some with faith, some without – and using many different media. Despite, and because of, all our differences we have collaborated to create a collective response based on our own perspectives – political, spiritual, personal – and on the answers provided by members of the public to the question, How did it get so dark?

Where is your darkness? Where is your light? Explore. Reflect. Be.

Peter S Smith RE: Paintings, Drawings and Prints
6 – 17 March 2019

1 Paved Court, Richmond TW9 1LZ
Meet the Artist: Saturday 9 March 2 – 4 pm

The exhibition by Peter S Smith reflects his interest in normal everyday experiences and the ways that these can be transformed by the materials, processes and metaphors of a shared visual language.

Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and a Member of the Society of Wood Engravers. His work is held in many private and public collections including, Tate Britain; The Ashmolean, Oxford; The Fitzwilliam, Cambridge; The Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and The Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada.

“The Way I See It – Wood Engravings and Etchings by Peter S Smith” Piquant Editions 2006, has an introductory essay “No Endangered Species” by Dr. Calvin Seerveld.

“Peter’s wood engravings and etchings are so much expressions of the identical sensibility, rather than exercises in contrasted media, that they subliminally make one think of him not as a wood engraver or an etcher as such, at all, but as a printmaker and an artist. Not all wood engravers achieve that, let alone effortlessly. He has done his printmaking MA, he knows all about techniques but he never succumbs to the flash or relies on the technically accomplished. He keeps his work and us always on the edge.”

Simon Brett RE (Book review of ‘The Way I See It’ in Multiples, November 2006).

Peter S Smith has a BA Fine Art (Painting) from Birmingham College of Art and Design (1969) and a PGCE from Manchester Polytechnic (1970). He was awarded the West Midlands Arts Fine Art Fellowship (1977-1979) and an MA (Printmaking) from Wimbledon School of Art (1992).

He lives in Richmond and his studio is in London at the St Bride Foundation.

Art Stations of the Cross: Troubled Waters
6 March - 22 April 2019, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

"Why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus’ words from the cross resonate with the anguish felt by many people today. This feeling is especially acute for those on the margins of society, from refugees to victims of trafficking. Art Stations of the Cross is a unique public art project, taking visitors on a creative and contemplative journey. Using the story and symbols of the Passion to reflect upon contemporary injustices.

The project takes inspiration from the tradition of the Stations of the Cross, which represent 14 events along Jesus' final journey through Jerusalem - from his condemnation to crucifixion and burial. In Amsterdam, a 15th station is added: the resurrection. This exhibition charts its own Via Dolorosa, or Way of Suffering, with stops in 14+1 sites across the city of Amsterdam. It weaves through secular and religious spaces, including the St. Nicholas Basilica, Reinwardt Academy, The Small Museum at Paradiso, and the oldest building in the city, the Oude Kerk.

The exhibition focuses on Amsterdam's historic identity as a port-city. The sea can be a place of miracles - as the Bible teaches - but it is also a site of trauma. Syrian refugees attempt perilous crossings of the Mediterranean to escape their country's civil war. Young people have arrived in Europe via shipping containers, only to be enslaved in sex-work. And rising water temperatures cause by climate change have led to unprecedented natural disasters, especially impacting the poor.

Instead of easy answers, Art Stations of the Cross aims to provoke the passions: artistically, spiritually, and ethically. Visitors are encouraged to take the journey using this website or the folder available at most of the locations. Each of the 14+1 stations features a work of art, whether existing or new site-specific work.

The project has travelled across the world raising awareness for those in need of refuge and compassion. The past exhibit was in NYC, weaving from The Cloisters museum to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to the 9/11 Memorial. It began in London in 2016, with stops including the National Gallery, the Tower of London, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. In 2017, it was held in Washington, D.C., with stops at the National Cathedral, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and adjacent to the Supreme Court.

Reconciliation exhibition: Coventry Cathedral

‘Reconciliation’ is an exhibition by commission4mission artists in the Chapel of Christ the Servant at Coventry Cathedral (1 Hill Top, Coventry CV1 5AB) from 10 March – 12 April 2019. Cathedral opening hours: Mon to Sat – 10 am to 5 pm (Last entry for visitors is 4 pm), Sun – 12 noon to 4 pm (Last entry is 3 pm). Private view: Saturday 9th March 5-7pm

‘Reconciliation’ is a group show by commission4mission artists. The title and theme for the exhibition can be understood in terms of reconciliations that are emotional, political, personal, biblical, national, communal etc.

Revd Jonathan Evens, commission4mission’s secretary says: ‘Our artists have reflected broadly on the theme responding with imagery that ranges from various forms of embrace, through pardoning and connections to aspects of the Life of Christ including Annunciation, Crucifixion and Glorification. Contemporary issues addressed include conflicts in the Middle East and plastic pollution. There are also images of Coventry Cathedral itself, emphasising its reconciliation ministry. A mix of abstract and representational imagery has been created, utilising ceramics, collage, digital illustration, drawing, painting, photography and sculpture.’

The exhibition includes work by Ally Ashworth, Hayley Bowen, Harvey Bradley, Irina Bradley, Valerie Dean, Mary Donaghey, Jonathan Evens, Maurizio Galia, Michael Garaway, John Gentry, Clorinda Goodman, Laura Grenci, Deborah Harrison, David Hawkins, Anthony Hodgson, Eugenia Jacobs, Mark Lewis, David Millidge, Lucy Morrish, Irene Novelli, Janet Roberts, Henry Shelton, and Peter Webb.

‘The Last Supper’, a sculpture by David Millidge is inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic Christian masterpiece. However, it is not about Judas or betrayal. It is about the journey of religious tolerance. The disciples in this Last Supper are all identical figures but decorated with a thin veneer of symbols and images representing different faiths (ceramic transfers).

David says: ‘If we are to continue living in a world where wars, conflicts, prejudice and persecution remain on the decline, we must continue to break down the barriers that divide us with acceptance and respect for the different faiths that we live by. My sculpture portrays an optimistic vision of a future where all ideologies sit side by side in harmony.’

The faiths represented, approximately in order of affiliated members are: Christianity, Islam, Atheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Taoism, Bahaism, Confucianism, Jainism, and Shintoism.

Former Bishop of Barking, David Hawkins addresses contemporary issues with his mixed media pieces: ‘Carrier bags have become the latest culprits in the war on pollution, with two million being purchased every minute across the globe. Back lit by the sun, they become angels of death and destruction. Our Celtic forbears saw God’s activity in the mundane of everyday life – in our century, even in carrier bags.’ The Angels of Death pictured in these images feature in Old Testament stories which foreshadow the forgiveness and reconciliation to be found in the death of Christ.

Similarly, Michael Garaway’s ‘Friday Process – Mark’ also focuses on the significance of Christ’s crucifixion coming as it does from a series of four which present in graphical form the symbolic ‘hardware’ related to Christ’s suffering and death, as described in the Gospel accounts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talk Talk - The Rainbow.