ENCOURAGING ARTISTS OF FAITH
Artists have a unique role in the Church. The Church has a role in nourishing artists
Yisa Akinbolaji, a Nigerian Canadian artist in Winnipeg, knows he has his church’s full support. From metal sculpture creation, mosaics, oil and acrylic painting and printmaking, Akinbolaji’s art has hung at Grant Memorial Church along with cultural centres and galleries in New York, North Dakota, Toronto, Winnipeg and Lagos.
“At Grant Memorial Church we have collectives where artists come together to share ideas and paint,” Akinbolaji says. “We invite those who are not Christian, but who are good at the technique, to come and conduct workshops, and sometimes they decide to attend church services.
“Toward the end of the year, we have an area of the church where members frame their work and display it for a two-week period so their works are appreciated and entertain members.”
John Franklin, executive director of Imago, a ministry that advocates for Christian artists, believes the Church is well positioned to encourage, pray for, donate to, and affirm the artists in their midst and in their community.
“We need a renewed theology that helps us see the truth of God’s world, and that humans are gifted with creativity and imagination,” Franklin says. “When leadership engages the arts, it helps legitimize it.”
How can your church nurture artists of faith? Here are six ways suggested by a variety of artists.
1 Host an event that showcases and celebrates art.
Draw out the artists in your community with opportunities to showcase their talents and be affirmed by the church community. It could be a talent evening, coffeehouse with performances, painting night or poetry reading. “When leadership approaches artists and asks them to contribute, it shows them they are valued,” says D. S. Martin, a poet from Brampton, Ont. “And for those who are not yet artists, they see that the Church values art, and that there will be a place for them and their gifts within the Church.”
2 Engage in intentional relationship.
Artists can struggle with feelings of not belonging within the church community and outside it, says Franklin. “Christian artists are marginalized by the Church because of their art and marginalized by the culture because of their faith,” he says. Franklin regularly hosts different types of artists and events in his home. “I had about 15 to 20 visual artists over and one commented, ‘I’ve been doing visual art for 25 years and this is the first time I’ve been in a room where I could talk freely about my faith and art at the same time.’ It’s very moving for them.” Talk to artists about their work. Ask questions. “Young artists need so much encouragement,” says Betty Spackman, an installation artist in British Columbia who has been creating for over 50 years. “It’s hard to find good art mentors and spiritual mentors. Sometimes you can’t find them in the same package, but you need both.”
“WHEN LEADERSHIP APPROACHES ARTISTS AND ASKS THEM TO CONTRIBUTE, IT SHOWS THEM THEY ARE VALUED.”
3 Offer artists physical and virtual space.
Care for artists by providing space for rehearsals, art collectives, poetry readings and studio work. Does your church or a member have an unused room an artist can use as a studio? “Some artists need space more than money,” says Spackman. “We can make art out of nothing, so if we have space, it can be more central than finances.” Online space also counts. Church websites and social media provide another platform to promote artistic talent and event updates. “Websites can encourage people, whether it’s a page displaying artwork or poetry that they would like people to meditate on,” says D. S. Martin. Photography or clips from dance performances and plays can also find a home on a church site.
4 Share art from the pulpit.
Invite an artist to speak at a service. Share a poem during the sermon. Performance artists can offer dance or song even outside the context of worship. Show the congregation photography and artistic images on a screen, and invite the audience into reflection. Patty Bowman Kingsley of Bowmanville, Ont., often creates art during sermons at the invitation of a church. She sets up a portable easel and uses pastels, acrylics, gel mediums and powders, as well as charcoal and gold leaf, to create images and landscapes inspired by the sermon. Kingsley says people often express their joy or tears, and talk about watching her work. “Having been trained in my younger years as a worship leader and mime artist, I believe that we can encourage people or interfere with their focus on God when we are on platforms,” she says. She sometimes includes a space on the canvas for people to add their prayer marks or colours reflecting their part in worship. “Those shared moments are powerful.”
5 Patronize the arts.
Invite your small group or fellowship to see a film or play by a Christian artist. “Art is all about connection and is a huge part of what we are here to do as Christians – to love God and love others,” says Gloria Ui Young, a Torontobased filmmaker. “When we watch other people’s stories through film and can experience their emotions, we connect with that person.” Are there events by Christian artists in your community? Seek them out. “With a play I find that people engage with ideas and are often left wondering about the questions,” says David J. Busuttil, a Toronto playwright. “Sometimes that’s more powerful than giving them the answer.” Attending art shows, festivals and conferences – and purchasing artworks and books by Christians – are all ways church communities can support artists.
6 Be creative and consider how far you might be able to take the arts in your church.
Brent Stiller, a pastor with the Anglican Network in Canada, has helped create art galleries in the last two churches where he has served. He and a team of church volunteers chose open, public spaces in the buildings. “In Port Perry we turned the foyer of the church building into a gallery space, and used a unique painting-hanging apparatus created by one of our parishioners,” says Stiller. “We formed an arts committee which considered and then scheduled artists for showings in our gallery. We functioned pretty much like any other art gallery with different shows put on by Christian artists whose work was also for sale out of the gallery. Now at our church in Ottawa, St. Peter and St. Paul’s Anglican Church, we are doing a similar thing.”
Those who appreciate the arts say it can move hearts and make people feel vulnerable. Art is a powerful and beautiful way to help usher people into God’s presence. Artists can play a special role in the Church and bring a unique and highly valuable contribution.
“People are generally excited, interested and happy to have an art show or an arts event in their church or on-site,” says Stiller. “Once they see it, they understand the beauty and impact that art can have in drawing us closer to God, who is the first creator and the one we are called to co-create with.”
ARE THERE EVENTS BY CHRISTIAN ARTISTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY? SEEK THEM OUT.