HeartEdge: Bill Viola and the art of contemplation

The latest HeartEdge event was hosted by the Parish Church of St Cuthbert in Edinburgh and sought to support churches in their cultural programming, particularly as it relates to visual art, by exploring approaches to curating exhibitions in churches, Bill Viola's church-located installations, and art as contemplative or meditative practice.

At HeartEdge, we have been inspired by the example of St Cuthbert’s in their installation of Bill Viola's 'Three Women'. This had been a particularly successful installation as a contribution to the Edinburgh Festival, in the connections it has forged with the Arts community and the local community, and in the positive press coverage received. All this has been with an understanding of the way in which the installation connects with the spirituality of St Cuthbert's.

HeartEdge seeks to share good practice and ideas with our members, so it made good sense to hold an event here exploring ways in which the mission of the church can be enhanced through art and the Christian narrative re-imaged and re-imagined.

Laura Moffatt, Director of Art & Christianity, reviewed Bill Viola's various installations in churches considering how and why they connect with our sacred buildings. Matthew Askey shared his experiences of curating significant exhibitions at Southwell Minster in recent years, considering ways of bringing exciting and varied work into churches by utilising sacred space well and connecting sympathetically with the spirituality of our churches.

I spoke about the contemplative nature of the experience of viewing art and made connections with approaches to and understanding of prayer. Finally, Alexander de Cadenet spoke as an artist for whom meditation has become of increasing significance, to the extent that he has begun seeking out other artist's with similar experience with whom he work together in a new organisation called Awakened Artists.

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James MacMillan - A New Song. 

Exhibitions update

“Between Friends” is an art exhibition organised by the Arts Centre Group (ACG) at St Stephen Walbrook. “Between Friends” will feature works from over thirty ACG members and friends in the fantastic surroundings of a 17th Century Wren church in the City of London. The exhibition will be open daily from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 February. About one third of the works on show are from ACG’s friends at Morphe Arts, an organisation for post graduates who are at the start of their professional journey as Christians working in the Arts. The exhibition promises to be exciting and stimulating, with work from well established artists who have been practising for many years, alongside work produced by emerging artists not long out of art college. The exhibition is curated by Julia Alvarez, director of Bearspace art gallery in Deptford and Ally Gordon, director of Morphe Arts. Preview evening 12 February. There will also be a chance to see works featured in the Exhibition on a special Facebook page later in the month.

Christopher Clack is one of over 120 artists who will be showing sculptures, installations, site-specific interventions, videos and performances when the entire West End is pedestrianised for Chinese New Year. ‘Embracing the Underdog’ is an exhibition by The London Group that will take place right at the very centre of the celebrations for the Year of the Dog, in Chinatown (Q-Park Chinatown, 20 Newport Place, Gerrard Street, WC2H 7PR). The exhibition will feature a surprising diversity of works with contrasting scales and materials with many stretching creative experimentation to the limit. ‘Embracing the Underdog’ aspires to be supportive of the underdog in numerous ways. In this compelling, large-scale exhibition the artists will be coming together to exhibit with a real sense of solidarity and a belief in the enduring power of art in these confusing times.

As a shortlisted artist for the Royal Arts Prize Zi Ling has work in the V. Edition of the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition at La Galleria Pall Mall from 26th February - 9th March 2018. Opening Times - Monday - Friday: 10.30am - 6.00pm, Saturday - Sunday: 12.00pm - 4.00pm. Preview Evening: Monday 26th February, 6.00pm - 8.30pm. The aim of the Royal Arts Prize Exhibition and Award is to search out for and showcase artworks by artists that have embraced their individual exegesis in art, artworks that are a product of an inner balance in a world full of diversity and often chaos. The prize will be awarded to artists that present works that are the product of this emotional connection between dream and reality; we welcome contemporary art that shows the force driving individuals to express and affirm their personality and ego, through today’s modern art landscape. ​This exhibition presents the shortlisted artists for the Royal Arts Prize 2018, one artist will win a two week solo exhibition in one of our galleries in 2019.

'From February-May Southwell Minster will be host to an inspiring major art exhibition which will encourage visitors to explore, through art, two key Christian themes: crucifixion and resurrection. Crossings: Art and Christianity Now is a two-part exhibition which will fill the Minster with 100 new works of art by 36 significant artists, twice! 

The first half of the exhibition, Crucifixion Now, will be on show during Lent from 9th Feb-21st March, and the second part, Resurrection Now, during Easter from 1st April-10th May, Ascension Day. There will also be education work tied-in to the exhibition with school visits and a full programme of supporting events for all to enjoy. Crossings is unique to Southwell and will not be seen anywhere else.

The artists will each present two new works made especially for Crossings, one for each half of the exhibition, and part of the artists’ brief was to explore the two themes in a new way, refreshing visually our engagement with suffering in our world today (crucifixion) and the hope of new life in the world today (Resurrection).

Crossings is free for all visitors to see, and is generously supported by a full-colour publication which all visitors are encouraged to buy (£5), this 52 page Exhibition Guide includes all of the artworks on show in both halves of the exhibition, as well as information about the artworks and artists to help visitors get the most out of viewing Crossings, and also presents a special exhibition essay written for us by Dr Alison Milbank, our Canon Theologian at Southwell Minster.

The 36 artists involved have been hugely supportive of this project and it is with thanks for their contributions and excellence that Crossings enables the Minster to present an exhibition of both National and International significance. Artists include: Sophie Hacker, Nicholas Mynheer, Mark Cazalet, Iain McKillop, Susie Hamilton, Chris Gollon, Biggs and Collings, Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Paul Benney, Kaori Homma, Siku, Ian Adams, Jean Lamb, Enzo Marra, Matthew Krishanu, John Newling, Lee Maelzer, Jennifer Bell, Derek Sprawson, Sarah Shaw, Ray Richardson, and many others.

As part of Crossings artist John Newling will be installing a series of works on paper within the 36 niches of the Chapter House, showing examples of his Nymans Language (an alphabetic font with each letter being shown as a plant or a leaf). This will fill the Chapter House with a significant modern work which will respond and set in dialogue a direct conversation with our famous medieval leaf carvings. It’s a rare moment, and it is worthy of special mention as we move forward with our HLF project to preserve and interpret our ‘Leaves of Southwell’ for the next generations. Do take some time to explore these works in this unique meeting of images over many centuries.

It is our hope that visitors to this exhibition will be enabled, and inspired, to take the opportunity to encounter not only world-class art but also to reflect anew on the Christian themes of suffering and new life for our lives today; on how these open-up for us through art the possibility of a fresh encounter with God, who is life, and enable us to find healing through the love and care that has gone into the making and offering of these artworks.'

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The Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You.

Southwell Minister: The Art of Mary

A major exhibition of new art on the theme of ‘Mary’ is to be shown at Southwell Minster during January 2016. Over 20 significant contemporary artists have made major new works specifically for an ambitious exhibition that will see art shown all over the cathedral, both inside and outside. Timed to coincide with the Patronal Festival of Candlemas at the Minster the exhibition will be supported by a programme of events and will be open to the public for free over the month.

The exhibition was planned by the cathedral art group, and Fr Matthew Askey says: “The Art of Mary is a rare opportunity for us to see a large collection of brand new art from many of the most significant artists working with Christian themes in Britain today. It is of national importance and is a once in a generation snapshot of these artist’s views of ideas and stories associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is one of the most significant, but neglected, figures in our shared cultural story. Mary was remarkable for the time and she has many things to show us and inspire us with today. She was an unmarried teenage mother, on the run, a refugee really, and at the same time through both her vulnerability and her determined strength she embodies so many positive characteristics of motherhood and what it means to be a woman today. Mary ultimately said ‘yes!’ to life, and gave herself into the hands of God’s love, and this is something that resulted in the life of the most inspiring person who has ever lived, Jesus, and then the birth of the world-wide Church that followed. The Church has 2 billion members today world-wide, is still growing, and about 32% of the world’s population are involved in some way with its acts of charity and life-transforming message of forgiveness and love for all people. Mary is right at the root and start of this movement of love.”

Some of the artists showing new artworks at the Art of Mary exhibition include: Mark Cazalet, Chris Gollon, Susie Hamilton, Sophie Hacker, Iain McKillop, Nicholas Mynheer, Celia Paul, Anna Sikorski, Roger Wagner and many others.

The Art of Mary is at Southwell Minster from Sat 9th Jan – Fri 5th Feb 2016, admission is free. A full colour illustrated exhibition guide is available.

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Shirlie Roden and Adrian Snell - Look At Us Now.