An evening with Neil Tye and Make Space for God

 

An evening with Neil Tye
Friday 4 July, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

For the last 25 years Neil Tye has been working professionally, as a physical visual theatre performer, instructor, teacher, and installation artist, and has taken his performances, and teaching skills around the world. Hear stories about his music, performance, and painting.

Part of ‘Unveiled’, the Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church

Artist Statement

Neil’s artistic practice is grounded in an intuitive and process-driven approach, wherein the act of painting itself dictates the final composition. Rather than adhering to predetermined concepts, he engages with the canvas through spontaneous mark-making and gestural forms, allowing the work to evolve organically. While his initial engagement with a piece may be sparked by a particular colour or shape, it is the dynamic interplay of movement, texture, and form that ultimately guides its development.

By embracing spontaneity and fluidity, his work exists at the intersection of abstraction and interpretation, inviting viewers to engage with the imagery in a way that is both personal and open-ended. Through this interplay between process and meaning-making, Neil`s paintings function as both intuitive expressions and conceptual explorations of movement, memory, and transformation.

About the artist

Neil Tye (b. 1963, London UK) is a Denmark-based artist with a background in both visual arts and physical theatre. Initially working as a performer and educator in physical theatre, he transitioned into visual expression 15 years ago. He holds an MA in Professional Practice from Middlesex University, London, and has exhibited, performed, and taught extensively across Europe and beyond. His exhibitions include venues such as the arts and culture centre Spinderihallerne (Denmark), the arts centre Banco de Nordeste (Brazil), and The Post Houston TX (USA), among others. Drawing from his multidisciplinary background, Neil’s work explores movement, form, and storytelling through visual mediums. He continues to create from his studio M10 in the Art zone area here in Spinderihallerene.

'The things we carry'

Following its initial display at Spinderihallerene in April, Neil's latest exhibition 'The things we carry' will be shown at Redbud Arts Center, Houston, from 7 - 28 June. This is a collection of mixed media works that centre around the nature of human connection. To mark the opening, Redbud Arts Center will host a special one-night performance by the internationally acclaimed Ad Deum Dance Company. The performance, inspired by themes from Tye's exhibition, will weave movement, storytelling, and live interaction with the artwork, offering audiences a multidisciplinary experience that bridges visual art and contemporary dance.

Neil says of the exhibition: "The title of this exhibition was inspired by reflections I had while creating my recent body of work. The first thought centres on the fundamental nature of human connection—we are not meant to navigate life alone. We rely on one another for support, understanding, and encouragement, whether through conversation, shared experiences, or emotional upliftment. The second thought arose from one particular painting, which evoked the image of an overloaded truck. This visual metaphor led me to consider how, in life, we accumulate and carry various burdens—emotions, worries, frustrations, memories, secrets, hopes, and dreams. These intangible yet weighty elements can become overwhelming, making it evident that we cannot bear them alone. At times, we must find ways to release or share these burdens, but this raises important questions: Where do we turn for relief? To whom do we entrust our heaviest thoughts? And how can we cultivate a sense of communal support to help lighten the loads we all inevitably carry?"


Make Space for God

Saturday 5 July, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm 

Miracle House, Silva Island Way, Wickford

A day of creativity and inspiration led by Anja and Neil Tye, the visionary leaders of "Art Encounter" from Denmark.

Art Encounter is an international arts ministry under Rescue Team which is run by married couple Neil and Anja Tye who are based in Denmark.

Neil and Anja are trained artists, and have been using their artistic skills as artist missionaries for many years. They have worked with different Christian organisations and churches from around the world such as Creative Mission in Sweden, Creative Arts Europe in Belgium, YWAM Costa Rica, Circus Victory Brazil, Ad Deum Dance Company USA, Iris Ministries Brazil, Acts Academy International Bible College, to Euroclass youth Mission boarding school in Denmark.

Art Encounter communicates the Gospel by using the arts, from dance, theatre, creative writing, and the visual arts and painting in various settings both in Denmark and around the world.

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Glen Hansard - Down On Our Knees.

Unveiled: An evening with Neil Tye

An evening with Neil Tye
Friday 4 July, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

For the last 25 years Neil Tye has been working professionally, as a physical visual theatre performer, instructor, teacher, and installation artist, and has taken his performances, and teaching skills around the world. Hear stories about his music, performance, and painting.

Part of ‘Unveiled’, the Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church

Artist Statement

Neil’s artistic practice is grounded in an intuitive and process-driven approach, wherein the act of painting itself dictates the final composition. Rather than adhering to predetermined concepts, he engages with the canvas through spontaneous mark-making and gestural forms, allowing the work to evolve organically. While his initial engagement with a piece may be sparked by a particular colour or shape, it is the dynamic interplay of movement, texture, and form that ultimately guides its development.

By embracing spontaneity and fluidity, his work exists at the intersection of abstraction and interpretation, inviting viewers to engage with the imagery in a way that is both personal and open-ended. Through this interplay between process and meaning-making, Neil`s paintings function as both intuitive expressions and conceptual explorations of movement, memory, and transformation.

About the artist

Neil Tye (b. 1963, London UK) is a Denmark-based artist with a background in both visual arts and physical theatre. Initially working as a performer and educator in physical theatre, he transitioned into visual expression 15 years ago. He holds an MA in Professional Practice from Middlesex University, London, and has exhibited, performed, and taught extensively across Europe and beyond. His exhibitions include venues such as the arts and culture centre Spinderihallerne (Denmark), the arts centre Banco de Nordeste (Brazil), and The Post Houston TX (USA), among others. Drawing from his multidisciplinary background, Neil’s work explores movement, form, and storytelling through visual mediums. He continues to create from his studio M10 in the Art zone area here in Spinderihallerene.

'The things we carry'

Following its initial display at Spinderihallerene in April, Neil's latest exhibition 'The things we carry' will be shown at Redbud Arts Center, Houston, from 7 - 28 June. This is a collection of mixed media works that centre around the nature of human connection. To mark the opening, Redbud Arts Center will host a special one-night performance by the internationally acclaimed Ad Deum Dance Company. The performance, inspired by themes from Tye's exhibition, will weave movement, storytelling, and live interaction with the artwork, offering audiences a multidisciplinary experience that bridges visual art and contemporary dance.

Neil says of the exhibition: "The title of this exhibition was inspired by reflections I had while creating my recent body of work. The first thought centres on the fundamental nature of human connection—we are not meant to navigate life alone. We rely on one another for support, understanding, and encouragement, whether through conversation, shared experiences, or emotional upliftment. The second thought arose from one particular painting, which evoked the image of an overloaded truck. This visual metaphor led me to consider how, in life, we accumulate and carry various burdens—emotions, worries, frustrations, memories, secrets, hopes, and dreams. These intangible yet weighty elements can become overwhelming, making it evident that we cannot bear them alone. At times, we must find ways to release or share these burdens, but this raises important questions: Where do we turn for relief? To whom do we entrust our heaviest thoughts? And how can we cultivate a sense of communal support to help lighten the loads we all inevitably carry?"

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Josh Garrels - May You Find A Light.

Seen and Unseen: Art makes life worth living

 My latest article for Seen & Unseen is entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explores why society, and churches, need the Arts:

'Churches feature within these arguments because they often host or organise cultural events, exhibitions, installations and performances which contribute towards the economic, social, wellbeing and tourism impacts achieved by the arts and culture. The Arts are actually central to church life because, as well as being places to enjoy cultural programmes such as concerts and exhibitions and also being places to see art and architecture, many of the activities of churches take place within beautiful buildings while services combine drama, literature, music, poetry and visuals.'

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

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Mavis Staples - High Note.

Soothe (with Dance21) - Wickford

 

Soothe (with Dance21) - Wickford

A thoughtful and rambunctious exploration of the three modes of emotional regulation: threat, drive, soothe. Off-balance, emotive dance theatre embodying the hormones that push, pull and drag us through life.

The performance is at 7pm, on Friday 28th June, at St Andrews Church, 11 London Road, Wickford.
Tickets - £5. Book at https://www.nextstepcreative.co.uk/asp-products/sooth-with-dance21-wickford/.

This event is part of Unveiled, a regular Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church, 7.00 – 9.00 pm, 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN

See below for the remainder of our Summer programme and http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for more information

• Exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!
• Unveiled – a wide range of artist and performers from Essex and wider, including Open Mic nights (come and have a go!).
• Unveiled – view our hidden painting by acclaimed artist David Folley, plus a range of other exhibitions.

Summer Programme 2024

• 31 May – Poets Tim Harrold & Jonathan Evens share a selection of poetry and prose from their own collections & those of their favourite poets. Tim is a poet who creates images of profound challenge and change. Jonathan’s poems & stories have been published by Amethyst Review, International Times & Stride.
• 14 June – Simon Law in concert. Simon has fronted the rock bands Fresh Claim, Sea Stone and Intransit, as well as being a founder of Plankton Records and becoming an Anglican Vicar.
• 28 June – Infusion Physical Theatre with Dance 21 perform a curtain raiser to ‘Soothe’, a thoughtful and rambunctious exploration of the three modes of emotional regulation: threat, drive, soothe. This is off-balance, emotive dance theatre embodying the hormones that push, pull and drag us through life.
• 12 July – Depeche Mode: Songs of Faith & Devotion. Jonathan Evens talks about Christian influences in the music of Basildon band, Depeche Mode.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs.


See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

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Simon Law - The Haven.

Uplift at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

'Uplift' is a heart-warming play illuminating the significant contributions of the Windrush Generation to Britain, the scandal around their wrongful treatment and their journey in overcoming this atrocious injustice with the support of friends and allies. Dave Neita, lawyer by profession, wrote 'Uplift' to celebrate the culture, impact and resilience of the people who came to Britain and contributed to the rebuilding of the nation following the destruction caused by the Second World War. Dave applies the law to support people who have been damaged by the Windrush Scandal and uses the arts to raise awareness of their struggle for justice.

The play is at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. For booking details see  Uplift | Theatre | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com).

I first met Dave through Jamaican Spiritual, an exhibition held at St Stephen Walbrook which was made up of painting,sculpture and photography highlighting the strong spiritual nature of Jamaica and it’s people. Dave has also contributed to several HeartEdge events, see here, here, and here.

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Dave Neita - The Beauty And Utility Of Poetry.

ArtWay: Interview with Belinda Scarlett

My latest artist interview for ArtWay is with Belinda Scarlett, theatre costume and set designer and ecclesiastical textile artist :

'I have just completed an altar cloth for St Philip and St James Leckhampton, Cheltenham. This was worked on four sides and included a set of vestments in the four liturgical colours. Awareness of climate change was the basis for this work. The intense vibrant band of turquoise light that encircles Planet Earth as seen from space fills me with awe. As climate change is affecting every corner of this planet it seemed appropriate to set each of the four panels within the infinite dark of space and to evoke the four elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth. Water shows the currents of the oceans. Air the dawn of a new day, jetstream, a feather. Fire, refining fire that both destroys and brings new life. Earth is framed by a rainbow. The focus is in the central image of the adult’s hand holding soil in which a seedling has sprouted. This is offered to a little child whose hands are eager to receive it. May the beauty and the wonder of creation of this precious world we inhabit be here for generations to come.'

My visual meditations include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Jan Toorop, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.

My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions;
Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.

Interviews for ArtWay include: Sophie Hacker and Peter Koenig. I also interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar Rookmaaker for Artlyst.

I have reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals.

Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?

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Arvo Pärt - De Profundis.

Art and faith: Decades of engagement - 1930s

This is Part 6 in a series of posts which aim to demonstrate the breadth of engagement there has been between the Arts and religion within the modern period and into our contemporary experience. The idea is to provide a brief introduction to the artists and initiatives that were prominent in each decade to enable further research. Inevitably, these lists will be partial as there is much that I don’t know and the lists reflect my interests and biases. As such, the primary, but not exclusive, focus is on artists that have engaged with the Christian tradition.

The introduction and the remainder of the series can be found at: Introduction, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s.

• Theatrical Experimentation and Spiritual Renewal go hand in hand between the Wars following the establishment of the Canterbury Festival. In 1930, E. Martin Browne is appointed by George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, to be director of religious drama for the diocese. The Religious Drama Society is formed. Browne organises a pageant, The Rock, for which T.S. Eliot writes a series of choruses.
• In 1930, Thomas A. Dorsey, the "Father of Gospel Music", becomes the music director at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago. The church is credited as the birthplace of gospel music in the 1930s. Albertina Walker, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Sallie Martin, James Cleveland, The Staples Singers, and The Edwin Hawkins Singers are among those who sing at the church.
• The Symphony of Psalms is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
• Pablo Picasso paints a Crucifixion (1930) and creates a series of crucifixion drawings (1932) inspired by Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar. The drawings are published in the surrealist magazine Minotaure.
• Along with The Tragic Sense of Life, Miguel de Unamuno's long-form essay La agonía del cristianismo (The Agony of Christianity, 1931) and his novella San Manuel Bueno, mártir (Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr, 1930) are all included on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
• In June 1931, F.T. Marinetti publishes the 'Manifesto of Futurist Sacred Art' on the occasion of the International Exhibition of Modern Christian Sacred Art in Padua, which had a Futurist section of twenty-two works by thirteen artists. The publication of this Manifesto led to a censure from Pope Pius XI in a speech given in October 1932 at the inauguration of a new Vatican Art Gallery. The rationalist design by Alberto Sartoris (who had strong links to the Futurists) for Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil in the Swiss Alps at Lourtier also created a scandal in the Swiss press in the same year.
• In 1931 Otto van Rees creates paintings for the niches and the dome of the Pieta Chapel in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Amsterdam.
• L’Arche collaborate at the Pavillon des Missions Catholiques for the Colonial Exhibition in 1931.
• In 1932, Maire-Alain Couturier paints frescoes for the private chapel in Santa Sabina (Rome) of the Master General.
• Built in 1932, Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil, Lourtier, is located high in the Swiss Alps, and has been called the "forgotten church of Futurism". Designed by Alberto Sartoris, it was the first church built to a rationalist design. It originally incorporated work by the Futurist artist Fillia, and still contains impressive stained glass by Albert Gaeng, an artist from the Saint Luc Group.
• In 1932, a large group of Protestant agitators break into St Hilary’s church in Cornwall and remove or destroy many of the fittings and furnishings, including works by the Newlyn School of Artists.
• In 1932, Sándor Nagy completes frescos in the Chapel of the Maglódi Hospital, Budapest.
• In 1932, Photius Kontoglou begins his fresco painting career by painting, with his pupils Tsarochis and Nikos Engonopoulos, his newly built house in Patisia, Athens.
• In 1932, Chen Yuandu receives baptism and joined the Catholic Church, taking the name of Luke.
• In 1932, Thomas A. Dorsey co-founds the Gospel Choral Union of Chicago – eventually renamed the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC) - a convention where musicians can learn gospel blues. His wife Nettie dies in childbirth at the same time, then 24 hours later, their son. His grief prompts him to write one of his most famous and enduring compositions, ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’.
• Arnold Schoenberg writes his Moses Und Aron (1932). The opera thematically and musically contrasts Moses and Aaron, the Revelation versus the Golden Calf.
• In 1933, Thomas A. Dorsey directs a 600-person chorus at the second meeting of the NCGCC, which now boasts 3,500 members in 24 states.
• In 1933, the Inklings, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, begin meeting in Oxford. Charles Williams joins them in 1939.
• Alfred Noyes sets out the intellectual steps by which he was led from agnosticism to the Catholic faith in The Unknown God (1934), a widely read work of Christian apologetics which has been described as "the spiritual biography of a generation."
• In 1933, Maurice Morel organizes and participates in the First Exhibition of Modern Religious Art at the Lucy Krogh Gallery, an event that would be repeated in this gallery for several years in a row. The exhibition includes works by Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain, Tsuguhara Foujita, and Georges Rouault, who will become Morel's lifelong friend and supporter.
• From 1934, Joseph Pichard organizes, with the help of the General Office of Religious Art, a major exhibition at the Hôtel de Rohan in Paris, made up of 35 rooms. exhibition and more than 3,000 works.
• In 1934, Evie Hone joins An Túr Gloine, a stained glass workshop set up by Sarah Purser, and produces her first public stained glass work for Saint Naithi’s Church in Dundrum, County Durham.
• In 1935, Joseph Pichard, with L. Salavin and G. Mollard, creates the review L'Art sacré, which in 1937 is taken over by the publishing house of Cerf and its direction given to two Dominicans: Pie-Raymond Régamey and Marie-Alain Couturier.
• T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral is performed at the Canterbury Festival in 1935 with E. Martin Browne as director and Robert Speaight as Becket. The play is then taken to London, where it runs for almost a year and establishes Browne as the leading director of the "poetic drama" movement.
• In 1936, Georges Desvallières’ pre-war dream of painting the Glorious Virgins comes true. Sainte Vierge Reine des anges (Virgin Mary Queen of the Angels), a masterpiece that was originally in the Poor Clares’ Convent in Mazamet, now adorns the Benedictine Monastery of Abu Gosh in Israel.
• In 1936, through attending meetings of the Thomist Study Circle organised by Jacques Maritain, Dominique de Menil meets Marie-Alain Couturier. Couturier's ideas and contacts give significant shape to the arts patronage of John and Dominique de Menil. 
• In 1936, Marie-Alain Couturier and Pie-Raymond Régamey become the chief editors of L'Art Sacré. They continue in this role until 1954.
• The decoration of the church of Notre-Dame-des-Alpes was put out to tender in July 1936 with the panel assessing responses including the philosopher Jacques Maritain, the Catholic art critic Maurice Brillant and the director of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Geneva, Adrien Bovy. Three artists from the Society of St Luke were selected; François Baud for sculptures, Alexandre Cingria for stained glass and Paul Monnier for the sanctuary mural. Other artists used included Paul Bony, Constant Demaison and Jean Hebert-Stevens. The church has rightly been described as an essential stage in understanding the revival of sacred art in the twentieth century but is overshadowed by the fame and significance of the nearby church at Assy.
• Modern Religious Art by Chanoine G. Arnaud d'Agnel is published in 1936.
• Francis Poulenc begins writing choral music in 1936 producing among other works his religious work Litanies à la Vierge Noire, for female or children's voices and organ.
• RCA Victor sign the Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They score an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul?" and go on to record 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938.
• In 1937, Emil Nolde’s The Life of Christ is prominently displayed in the Nazi organized ‘Degenerate Art’ exhibition.
• In 1937, the Catholic Art Association is founded by Sister Esther Newport as an organisation of artists, art educators, and others interested in Catholic art and its philosophy.
• The Pontifical Catholic Pavilion, created in 1937 for the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Modern Life, brings together, alongside many French artists and craftspeople, a large international contribution (27 countries present a “national” chapel) from which Alexandre Cingria and José-Maria Sert emerge as being of particular note.
• In 1937, sculptor William Edmondson has a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the first such show given to an African American by this institution. 
• In 1938, at the instigation of Mgr. Costantini, the Art Department of Furen [Fu Jen] Catholic University in Beijing, led by Luke Chen Yuandu, organizes and conducts a series of itinerary exhibitions in Budapest, Vienna and the Vatican.
• In 1938, Daniel Johnson Fleming publishes Each with His Own Brush: Contemporary Christian Art in Asia and Africa, the first attempt to bring together pictures of Christian paintings from outside Europe.
• In 1938, Horace Pippin paints Christ (Crowned with Thorns), the first of ten paintings exploring biblical subject matter and spiritual themes.
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe pushes spiritual music into the mainstream and helps pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning in 1938 with the recording ‘Rock Me’ and with her 1939 hit ‘This Train’.
• The Cyrene Mission becomes famous for its localised art of Christian content which was developed first in the classrooms and then extended to decorate the chapel. Edward “Ned” Paterson, a pioneering art teacher, founds the Cyrene School near Bulawayo in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he moves to in 1939. The school focuses on practical and agricultural education and is the first African school in Rhodesia to have art classes. Some of Rhodesia’s first professional African artists emerge from Cyrene, including Sam Songo, Lazarus Khumalo, and Kingsley Sambo.
• In 1939, Edwin Muir has a religious experience in St Andrews and from then onwards thinks of himself as Christian, seeing Christianity being as revolutionary as socialism.
• In March 1939, E. Martin Browne directs T.S. Eliot's second play, The Family Reunion, in London and in the same year he launches a touring company, the "Pilgrim Players", whose programme was dominated by the plays of Eliot and, to a lesser degree, of James Bridie (O. H. Mavor), the Scottish dramatist.
• Maurice Denis’ History of religious art is published in 1939.
• The 1939 publication of Passion, a book of woodcuts, engravings and color etchings makes George Rouault's work more accessible.
• In 1939, Maire-Alain Couturier is asked to assist in commissioning for Notre-Dame de Toute Grace du Plateau d'Assy.
• Painted between 1939 and 1940, William H. Johnson's Jesus and the Three Marys marks the beginning of Johnson's five-year period of engagement with biblical subjects.
• Jacques Maritain’s Religion et Culture (1930), T.S. Eliot’s Ash Wednesday (1930) and Burnt Norton (1936), Charles Williams’ War in Heaven (1930), Many Dimensions (1930), The Place of the Lion (1931), The Greater Trumps (1932), Shadows of Ecstasy (1933), and Descent into Hell (1937), Miquel de Unamuno’s Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr (1930), Francois Mauriac’s Ce qui était perdu (1930), Le Nœud de vipères (1932), Le Mystère Frontenac (1933), La Fin de la nuit (1935), Les Anges noirs (1936), and Les Chemins de la mer (1939), C.S. Lewis’ Pilgrim's Regress (1933) and Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Nine Tailors (1934) and Gaudy Night (1935), Georges Bernanos’ Diary of a Country Priest (1936) and Mouchette (1937), David Jones’ In Parenthesis (1937), John Gray’s Park (1932), Jerzy Andrzejewski's 'Mode of the Heart' (1938), Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock (1938) and The Confidential Agent (1939), and JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937) are published.
• James Bridie’s Tobias and the Angel (1930) and Jonah and the Whale (1932), T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and Family Reunion (1939), Charles Williams’ Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury (1936), Christopher Fry’s The Boy with a Cart (1938), and Dorothy L Sayers’ The Zeal of Thy House (1937) are performed.

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Bill Fay - Countless Branches.

We Have a Dream

 

The Autumn Lecture Series at St Martin-in-the-Fields for 2021 is entitled 'We Have a Dream' and will take place from September-November.

We have a dream Our Autumn Lecture Series for 2021 brings together an inspirational group of speakers. It invites them to dream again on the vital issues of our nation and planet, after a pandemic that has changed the way we live and relate to one another and the world.

Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr’s famous words, we aim in this series to address for today some of the essential choices and needs and hopes facing our precious and yet wounded world. Who are the prophetic voices for our time, and how can the church answer that challenge? How do we respond to the crucial issues reshaping our world like migration and those seeking sanctuary and safety through their journeys? How does racialised justice and ‘Black Lives Matter’ confront our history, our present inequalities and the way we live our future? What is the threat to our planet and the danger of extinction, and what is so crucial at the COP26 Global Summit? What is the place of theatre and the creative arts in the way we learn to understand our world and live our dreams? What is the vision of St Martin’s, at the heart, on the edge, seeking a vision of faith that can find God’s abundance even in scarcity that can inspire people to dream again even in the face of adversity?

After the ravages of the pandemic, it’s time for church and society to learn to dream again. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, had a dream of racial equality and social justice. Inspired by his dream, we’re gathering a chorus of dreamers from different walks of life to inform and shape our dreams for the years to come. (Revd Dr Sam Wells)

This lecture series takes place in the church at St Martin’s and will also be live- streamed. Tickets both for those wanting to attend and those who want to watch online are available from: www.smitf.org/lectures. There is the chance both to buy a ticket which helps to make this programme possible, make a donation, or request a free ticket so this series can be open to all.

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Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back.

Anna Karenina

Joe Wright's film of Anna Karenina applies the look and feel of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge to Imperial Russia in the 1870s. All scenes where Russia's high society appear in public are given a theatrical setting which highlights the sense that their lives are played out in public according to a rigorously enforced society script. It is this that Anna breaks through her affair with Vronsky and the sense that one cannot depart from one's allotted part is conveyed well throughout, particularly in the scene when Anna attempts to retake her place in the audience at the Opera.

The staginess of these scenes could easily have hampered the film's narrative but the scene transitions are genuinely creative and maintain the flow of the story. The focus is on Anna's alternative role - the assertive woman choosing love over status - and the tragic consequences of such choices in that day and time. Yet Wright does not neglect the other alternative that Tolstoy presents in the novel and the realism of Levin harvesting alongside his peasants and Kitty washing the fevered body of Levin's brother eloquently reveals the power of love by means of its contrast with the artificiality inherent in the theatre of high society.

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Dario Marianelli - Dance With Me.

Theatre and Theology listing

Transpositions currently has a useful post listing organisations engaged in linking theatre and theology.

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Malcolm Guite - My Poetry Is Jamming Your Machine.

Re-interpreting and questioning iconography

The Hay Hill Gallery in Cork Street is this month featuring the paintings of Patrice Valota and Aigana Gali. Both artists explore the religious values, iconography and the alpha and omega of life through very different techniques, from the pigmented wax of Valota and the mixed medium oil and photographic art of Gali. Their exhibition features restful and powerful paintings interpreting the universe around us and our own beliefs.

Valota is a multi-facetted artist. In parallel to painting, he is also a successful actor and has appeared in international films. It was at the age of 38 that he finally decided to become a painter and three years later had his first one-man show at the Lavignes Gallery in Paris. The Hay Hill gallery is presenting his first show in London.

Valota has chosen wax as his main medium and paints with the flame of a blowtorch, mastering the fusion of melted matter and pigments to obtain a glowing surface. Wax sets off a very special light and gives a unique depth of colour to his work. With both classical and contemporary influences, he plays on contrast, offers abstract and figurative works, and mixes natural references with geometric lines. His 'Arborescence' series focuses on trees as the alpha and omega of life. For Valota, trees are like the cosmos, constantly regenerating themselves and the space around them.

Thoughtful painting, classical composition, Renaissance palette and unique photographic technique symbolise Aigana Gali's works. Relics and modern representations at once, her paintings evolve from re-interpreting and questioning Christian iconography. Christianity has always depicted its saints and even God with a human face. On the contrary, Islam forbids any pictorial depiction of holy characters. This has always fascinated Aigana since she was brought in a family where a religious mix of an Orthodox Christian mother and a Muslim father has provided her with endless themes for contemplation - the nature of God within human beings.
 
Gali was born in 1980 in Almaty (Kazakhstan) of Georgian/Kazakh descent and was raised in Kazakhstan, which is the ancient crossing on the Great Silk Road, where Asia and Europe mix to give the world a unique blend of culture. She has worked as an artistic director in a theatre and has featured in three main roles in Kazakh films. In 2009 she was nominated as a “Discovery of the Year” as an actress at the Eurasia Film Festival.


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Paul Simon - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.