Run with the Fire

Run with the Fire is an arts project for the London 2012 Olympics organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church’s Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner.

Aim

Run with the Fire aims to celebrate creativity, cultural exchange and hope for the future by providing a virtual exhibition of international artwork for use in Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012.

Artists

25 international artists are participating in Run with the Fire. These artists were selected, from a pool of 45 artists who applied to be part of the project, by an international jury of Dr. Dianne B. Collard (Director of Ministries – Europe, Artists in Christian Testimony International), Martin Crampin (Artist, Researcher and Designer) and Marleen Henglaar– Rookmaaker (Editor-in-Chief, ArtWay).

Artworks

The selected artists began the project by writing a statement to describe their vision of ’running with the fire’ for the other artists involved. Each artist will be creating an artwork, using the idea of another artist as a starting point. This aspect of the project simulates the idea of a relay, with ideas being passed from one artist to the next. Each artist will make their work available electronically for use in the project, so that the mapping of ideas as they travel from one artist to another can become part of the final product.

Resources

Run with the Fire will provide a virtual exhibition of international artwork available on DVD, for display on large scale HD TV or monitor, or for projection using a digital projector. This digital exhibition can be presented as part of Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012 plus arts events or exhibitions organized by local churches.

Run with the Fire will also provide an electronic resource package, to accompany the virtual exhibition, which will give ideas for churches on how to organize and facilitate community/arts events. These local events will enrich the experiences of those attending and will provide a context for the Run with the Fire exhibition in each venue. Optimal exhibition spaces include churches, community centres, open air venues (with some covered space), local art galleries etc.

The Run with the Fire resources (virtual exhibition DVD and electronic resource package) will be available at a cost of £50.00. Any profit on the sale of resources from this project will be donated to Oxfam. Churches will bear the costs of putting on any events using Run with the Fire resources, including venue hire, additional publicity and resources used.

Theme

The images that seeded Run with the Fire come from the celebration of Pentecost, with its tongues of fire, new languages, and promise of dreams and visions, plus the Olympic Games, with its running messenger carrying forward the burning torch and its dreams of cross cultural harmony.  The vision of Pentecost, and also of the Olympics, is one of celebration and cross-cultural understanding. As a result, our title Run with the Fire emerged.

Organisers

Three arts groups with international connections (commission4mission, CANA and Veritasse) have come together to organize Run with the Fire. More information about these groups can be found at:  http://cana-arts.blogspot.com/; http://commissionformission.blogspot.com/; and http://www.veritasse.co.uk/.