Wednesday 25 April 2012

New community art initiative

We are excited and encouraged that the group of artists behind The Gathering are looking to create a piece of community art around the theme of Run with the Fire.

The Gathering was a contemporary art installation created as a Fringe event during the final week of the British Art Show 7 in Plymouth. It featured around 60 life-sized figures, created by community, church and school groups, to represent the millions whose lives have been transformed by one person. Just over two thousand years ago a comet, or star, moved across the eastern Mediterranean skies to herald the birth of a child. The Gathering reminded its participants of the significance of this historical moment for every individual and for the future of our planet. Over 400 people visited the installation during its brief three day appearance and the feedback was hugely encouraging to those involved.

Saturday 21 April 2012

Run with the Fire: Exhibition, Launch Night, Demonstrations and Art Talks



Run With The Fire is an exhibition at the Pentecost Festival in which the Run with the Fire digital exhibition will be shown alongside original artworks from commission4mission artists and invited guest artists. The Run with the Fire exhibition will take place at the Strand Gallery (32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP) from 22nd - 27th May, 11.00am - 6.00pm.

Including an eclectic mix of styles and media, this will be a stimulating and exciting show exploring the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit. Featured artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Robert Enoch, Jonathan Evens, Christine Garwood, Jim Insole, Ken James, Miriam Kendrick, Mark Lewis, Glenn Lowcock, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Joy Rousell Stone, Esther Tidy, Mike Thomas, Rachel Watson and Peter Webb.

A Launch Night on Monday 21st May, 6.00 - 8.00pm, will provide the first opportunity to see the exhibition and will also include music and poetry exploring the exhibition theme. Those performing include singer-songwriter and poet Malcolm Guite, artist-musician Colin Burns, artist-poet Jonathan Evens, musician-poet Steve Scott and performance poet Tamsin Kendrick. Refreshments will be available. Cost - £2.00, pay on the door.

On Saturday 26
th May there will be an additional programme of art talks and painting demonstrations:
  • Painting demonstration – Harvey Bradley, ongoing throughout the day. See Harvey work on a painting and discuss his approach with him.
  • The Spiritual Image in Modern Art - Mark Lewis, 11.30am. A broad overview of the spiritual impulse in the art forms of the modern world and their potential to turn our minds to higher things.
  • Run with the Fire – Steve Scott, 12.30pm. A talk about the ‘Run with the Fire’ project and DVD.
  • Stanley Spencer – A Visionary of our Time – Mark Lewis, 2.00pm. A talk which examines the life and work of one of Britain’s most renowned and eccentric 20th Century painters. The main themes include Spencer’s time as a war artist, and his extraordinary paintings which envision the Christian Gospels played out by the people in his beloved home town of Cookham.
  • Praying with our eyes open – Glenn Lowcock, 3.00pm. A talk on using images as an aid to prayer.
  • Emotional Tourist – Steve Scott, 4.00pm. What I am learning about art, life, spirituality, Trinity, and relational aesthetics from my travels in Bali and elsewhere.
  • Christian influences on modern & contemporary art – Jonathan Evens, 5.00pm. A broad overview of modern and contemporary art and artists which engage with Christianity.
The event listing for the exhibition and launch night can be found at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/ai1ec_event/run-with-the-fire-exhibition/?instance_id=873. Directions to the gallery are at: https://www.proudonline.co.uk/contact.aspx. The programme for art talks and demonstrations on Saturday 26th May is at: http://commissionformission.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/pentecost-festival-exhibition-saturday.html.
Hard copies of programmes for the Pentecost Festival can be ordered from: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/contact/order-programmes/. The promo for the Festival can be viewed at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/promo/.
Run with the Fire is an arts project for the 2012 Olympic year organised by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church's Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner. Run with the Fire provides a digital art exhibition for use in Olympic-themed events and the digital exhibition and event guide DVD can be purchased from http://www.veritasse.co.uk/cards-prints/most-popular/run-with-the-fire-dvd-pack/. A promo can be viewed at http://youtu.be/nFBGZDgFaw4 while news of the project can be found at http://runwiththefire.blogspot.co.uk/.

Thursday 5 April 2012

Pentecost Festival event listing


The Run with the Fire exhibition and launch night are now listed on the events section of the Pentecost Festival website. Click here to find our entry and other exciting events which are part of the Festival.
Pentecost Festival is a Christian led festival based in London. It is co-ordinated by registered charity, Share Jesus International (SJI) in partnership with Christian Aid and various churches and Christian organisations across the UK.

Pentecost Festival is the largest Christian led festival in London and will be running from the 18th-27th May 2012 across central London venues. It attracts thousands of people and showcases what the Church in the UK is all about.

Previous highlights of Pentecost Festival have included; a BBC1 live Pentecost service broadcast at All Saints church Peckham viewed by over a million, a live music stage in Leicester Square for three consecutive years and 16,000 people attending an evening of worship in the O2 arena hosted by Jesus House church, Holy Trinity Brompton Church and Hillsong Church.


Monday 2 April 2012

More Than Gold

The 2012 Olympics gives the UK church an unprecedented opportunity to engage with contemporary culture.

More than Gold aims to harness the creativity of the Church to connect with people around the 2012 Games.

Their Creative and Performing Arts team will give local churches and national Christian arts groups an opportunity to serve in the context of mission initiatives.

Their website has details of performers and artists for local churches to book and resources, like Run with the Fire, available for purchase. To find out more click here.