Art + Faith
Explore the Beauty of the Gospel and A Theology of Making
Introduction
As those created in the image of a divine Artist who made all things to be good and beautiful, we yearn for beauty. We long to behold it, to reflect it, as well as to create it. Our flourishing is tied up in true beauty. Yet so much of life attests to the reality that the world, and our lives, have been marred and broken, in large measure because we reject that which is truly Beautiful. The good news, however, is that in Jesus Christ, God has begun a work of new creation, bringing goodness and beauty out of brokenness, making all things new, even making us new. And He invites us to share in His work – to create, to make, and to bring beauty out of brokenness.
We will explore these themes this summer through a two-part Art + Faith program, a collaboration between New City Fellows, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and Gather.
Join us and explore the beauty of the gospel and a theology of making.
Part 1
Reading Group on Art + Faith
Tue, June 11, 2024, 7:00-8:30 PM
New City Fellows x Holy Trinity Anglican
Makoto Fujimura, author of Art + Faith: A Theology of Making, is an internationally acclaimed Japanese American artist, who writes and speaks on art, Christian faith, “culture care,” and a “theology of making.” He has received awards and honors from the Trinity Forum, Biola, Calvin, Consolatio Mission, and Pope Francis; he has advised Martin Scorsese on the major motion picture Silence; and he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Council on the Arts.
Join with others in reading Art + Faith and explore the connections between Christian faith, art, beauty, and creating.
Registration is free but required. Participants should purchase their own copy of Art + Faith from either Yale Books, Rabbit Room, or Amazon, and complete reading the book before attending the discussion on June 11.
Part 2
Kintsugi Experience
Sat, June 29, 2024, 10:00 AM-12:30 PM
New City Fellows x Gather
This interactive experience will feature the creation of modern kintsugi, the art form that Makoto Fujimura writes about in Art + Faith, which involves mending broken pottery and filling the cracks with gold paint. Through this process, kintsugi brings new beauty out of imperfection, highlighting places of brokenness rather than hiding them. This represents how God is at work in new creation, mending the brokenness in our own lives and turning them into places of new beauty, power, and glory.
This experience will be led by Gather artists Esther Mun, Tiffany Thompson, and Bianca Criscuolo, who have trained with Academy Kintsugi. The program will include learning about the history and philosophy of kintsugi, guided reflection, live music by Tiffany Thompson, and the creation of a piece of modern kintsugi. All participants will engage their senses of touch and sound throughout the workshop, and go home with the piece they have created.
Registration is required and space is very limited; early registration is strongly recommended. Registration is $85 per person, but please contact us if this fee hinders you from attending.
Art materials (cashew urushi) will be provided for participants to share. But please bring your own fractured, chipped, or broken vessel of pottery to work with (a bowl, cup, etc.). A piece with 3-4 fragments is ideal; no shattered pieces and no glass. Please do not break a vessel to bring. Instead, look for an already broken vessel. If you absolutely cannot find a vessel to bring, some pieces may be available by the artists, so please request one in the registration form.
Full urushi kits to take home will also be available for sale.
A Collaboration of New City Fellows, Holy Trinity, and Gather
About the Kintsugi Experience Artists
Esther Mun is founder and Creative Director of Gather, a graphic designer by training, and co-founder/owner of design studio Little Fury Design. Makoto Fujimura discusses her work in this Trinity Forum podcast.
Tiffany Thompson is an award-winning songwriter, singer, speaker, and community leader whose mission is to promote human flourishing. She is based out of Winston Salem, NC. Follow her on her website, Instagram, Apple Music, or Spotify.
Bianca Valencia Criscuolo (website) is a fine artist and illustrator. Her work leans towards surrealism and abstract expressionism with focus on the exploration of dreams and theology. She is an artist with Gather teaching Interpretative Dreams.
Gather (website) is a “space for making and playing” created and directed by Esther Mun. It is a creative collective of Christian artists who lead Gathers — workshops and experiences that reignite childlike play in a myriad of forms. To name a few: modern kintsugi, calligraphy, writing, acting, floral design, songwriting, architectural walks. The vision for Gather started through prayer and a dream that Esther had in 2019. Its invitation is simple: “Come, become present in wonder.”
Academy Kintsugi (website) has trained artists to make kintsugi as a reflection of Christ’s work of new creation. It was cofounded by Haejin Shim Fujimura and Makoto Fujimura as a program of Makoto’s IAM Culture Care, a nonprofit that “creates a new paradigm by lovingly tending to cultural soil and caring for artists as pollinators of the good, true, and beautiful.”
