Launch of the Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area (3)

A new Art Trail created for the Barking Episcopal Area by commission4mission with funding from London-over-the-Border was jointly launched by the Bishops of Chelmsford and Barking at St Paul’s Goodmayes on Thursday 17th February 2011.

The aim of the Art Trail is to raise awareness of the rich and diverse range of modern and contemporary arts and crafts from the last 100 years which can be found within the 36 featured churches. The significant works of art in these churches, taken collectively, represent a major contribution to the legacy of the church as an important commissioner of art.

The Rt. Revd. David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking, has said: “For centuries the Arts have been an important medium through which public communication of the faith has taken place and the Church has had a lengthy and happy marriage with the Arts.” The Art Trail demonstrates that this long relationship between the Church and the Arts continues today, as the Trail includes work by significant twentieth century artists such as Eric Gill, Hans Feibusch, John Hutton and John Piper together with contemporary work by the like of Mark Cazalet, Jane Quail and Henry Shelton.

At the launch of the Art Trail, The Rt. Revd. Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, described and interpreted a painting by Stanley Spencer, from his Christ in the Wilderness series, entitled The Scorpion, before concluding:

“I do not know what other art form could convey and hold the possibility of converging in so many layers. Not just do the visual arts comment on biblical narrative, but they illuminate it in a way that written or spoken forms cannot, being linear forms. Art opens windows on a set of concepts and ideas and brings them together. These windows offer a fresh perspective onto the faith we share, that other forms simply cannot.”

The Bishop of Barking stated that:

“Our inspiration for understanding Christianity comes from the visual arts ... The visual arts continue to be an important way of communicating our faith. Words are not enough to express the breadth, depth and height of what we want to communicate. It’s then that the visual arts express what we want to communicate.

God knew that: for centuries he relied on the words of the prophets and then he realized that he needed to send his Son to communicate in ways that words could not, the breadth, depth and height of his love. The word became flesh: the most beautiful living sculpture ever created – Jesus Christ.”

The Art Trail is being publicised through a leaflet which provides information about the featured artists and churches and includes a map showing the churches featured on the Trail together with contact details, so that visits to one or more churches can be planned in advance. Fine Arts lecturer, artist and commission4mission member, Mark Lewis, researched and developed the leaflet documenting the Art Trail and introduced those present at the launch to some of the highlights of the Trail and the rationale behind it.

Mark Lewis said that his brief had been to research commissioned art and craft in the Episcopal Area from the past 100 years. While stained glass is the dominant Ecclesiastical art form, he had been concerned show a diversity and variety of media and styles within the selections made. He highlighted works such as the significant mosaic by John Piper at St Paul’s Harlow and the striking ‘Spencer-esque’ mural by Fyffe Christie at St Margaret’s Standford Rivers. Churches with particularly fine collections of artworks included: St Albans, Romford; St Andrew’s Leytonstone; St Barnabas Walthamstow; St Margaret’s Barking; St Mary’s South Woodford; and, the church chosen as the location for the launch event, St Paul’s Goodmayes.

Launch of the Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area

The Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area is to be launched at St Paul Goodmayes on Thursday 17th February at 12.00 noon.

This Art Trail, which will publicise the extent to which churches in the Barking Episcopal Area of the Diocese of Chelmsford contain significant art and craft works, will be launched jointly by the Bishops of Chelmsford and Barking. You are invited to join them for the launch reception.

The Bishop of Barking says, “for centuries the Arts have been an important medium through which public communication of the faith has taken place and the Church has had a lengthy and happy marriage with the Arts.” Created by commission4mission with funding from London-over-the-Border, this Art Trail demonstrates that the long relationship between the Church and the Arts continues today as it includes work by significant twentieth century artists such as Eric Gill, Hans Feibusch, John Hutton and John Piper, together with contemporary work by the like of Mark Cazalet, Jane Quail and Henry Shelton.

The visual arts can contribute to the mission of the Church by speaking eloquently of the Christian faith; providing a reason for people to visit a church; making a link between churches and local arts organisations/initiatives and providing a focus around which local people can come together for a shared activity. For these, and other, reasons there are more than 30 churches in the Barking Episcopal Area which have significant artworks on show and which are included on the Art Trail.

A leaflet documenting the Art Trail , which has been researched and developed by commission4mission member, artist and Fine Arts lecturer, Mark Lewis, will publicise the Trail and provide information about the featured artists and churches.

commission4mission exists, in the words of its Chairperson, Henry Shelton, to offer "quality work and craftsmanship, rather than mass-produced work, to continue the legacy of the Church as a great commissioner of art." Through this new Art Trail , we hope that the eyes of visitors to churches and church members alike will be opened to the continuing legacy of the Church as a significant commissioner of art.

We look forward to seeing you on 17th February. Please RSVP to jonathan.evens@btinternet.com or 020 8599 2170.

c4m artist's update (6)

Peter Webb is to exhibit in the 77th Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Painters, Sculptors & Printmakers at the Menier Gallery from 15th - 26th September (closed Sunday 22nd September) between 10.00am and 6.00pm.

St Paul's Goodmayes is to host an Art Exhibition for the Our Community Festival from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September. The exhibition will feature collages on the themes of people and places which were begun at a community art workshop led by Mark Lewis earlier in the year and which feature drawings and reflections by many local people. Additionally there will be a display of local photographs by Jonathan Evens from his 'Windows on the world' series and visitors will be able to see the permanent artworks commissioned for St Paul's Goodmayes including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Leonard Evetts, new Stations of the Crown of Thorns by Henry Shelton and a sculpture by Jane Quail, among other works.

The Our Community Art Exhibition will be open at St Paul's Goodmayes on Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September from 10 am to 2 pm. Light refreshments will be available. On the final day, Sunday 26th, opening times will be extended to 4 pm to coincide with the Our Community Festival itself. The Our Community Festival features: local exhibitors; climbing wall; local talent; basketball; conservation; food stalls; children's play area; martial arts; face painting; live music; mobile library and much ...

Joy Rousell Stone will be exhibiting work at St Nicholas Rawreth from Monday 25th October.

c4m artists update (5)

Sergiy Shkanov will be exhibiting work at St Andrew's Leytonstone from 17th - 24th July while the Leytonstone Festival is underway.

Michael Creasey will be having a one man show at the Visual Arts Centre, Frances Bardsley School, Romford from August 23rd to 28th.

Jonathan Evens and Benjamin Rutt-Field have been involved in the development of a Church Art Trail involving four Anglican churches in the London Borough of Redbridge. Works by Henry Shelton feature in the Trail alongside works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Leonard Evetts, Anthony Foster, Derek Hunt, C. E. Kempe & Co. Ltd., William Morris, Jane Quail and A. Wyatt.
Creation of the Art Trail has been supported by Living Streets as part of the Fitter for Walking project and copies of the Art Trail leaflets can now be found in local churches. Fitter for Walking helps residents create streets they can be proud of. It’s funded by the Big Lottery Fund, along with contributions from local authorities to work in five areas of England.

c4m networking event & 'Stations' dedication

The Stations of the Crown of Thorns, a series of 'Stations of the Cross' created by Henry Shelton for St Paul's Goodmayes as a commission gained through commission4mission, are to be blessed and dedicated by the Bishop of Barking on Saturday 17th July at 4.00pm.

The tryptich, which forms the centrepiece of the Stations of the Crown of Thorns, includes Stations 11, 12 and 13 and has inventively incorporated an existing metal crucifix into its design to form the 12th Station; 'Jesus dies on the cross'. There are 15 'Stations' as the scheme includes a resurrection 'Station' depicting Christ present in the Eucharistic elements.

The scheme as a whole is unusual in that, as part of its semi-abstract imagery, Christ is depicted throughout only by the Crown of Thorns. Shelton's trademark flowing lines, which create images through minimal means and with maximum facility, are in evidence throughout the scheme. However, as an artist who often paints with the tones and harmonies of the Dutch Masters, this commission represents a considerable lightening of his palette in order that the colour scheme of these 'Stations' harmonizes with the existing stained glass.

Shelton's 'Stations' complement other existing work at St Pauls Goodmayes, including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, and Leonard Evetts plus a Madonna and Child by Jane Quail, to create a feast of visual art for worshipper and visitor alike. Parish priest, Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field, has written a set of meditations in order to pray the new 'Stations'.

Preceding the dedication of the 'Stations' will be a commission4mission networking event also at St Paul's Goodmayes beginning at 2.00pm on Saturday 17th July.

This will be a 20x20 networking event where commission4mission members will be giving presentations of their work (or an aspect of it). The presentation format is contained in the name, as each presentation will involve showing 20 images at 20 second intervals. Each member therefore has a seven minute slot in which to make their presentation.

PechaKucha 20x20 Nights were first devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as events for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. They have turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing their name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation ("chit chat"), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

All are welcome to both the networking event and the dedication of the 'Stations'.

Barking Area Art Trail

commission4mission has been awarded funding from London-over-the-Border to publicise the extent to which churches in the Barking Episcopal Area of the Diocese of Chelmsford contain significant art and craft works by creating an Art Trail for the Episcopal Area and documenting this Trail in an Art Trail leaflet.

Examples of art within the Barking Area's churches include work by significant twentieth century artists such as Eric Gill, Hans Feibusch, John Hutton and John Piper, together with contemporary work by the like of Mark Cazalet, Jane Quail and Henry Shelton.

We also intend to apply for the Art Trail to become an Inspire Project, part of the Cultural Olympiad.

Spiritual Life column

Jonathan Evens has written a 'Spiritual Life' column about commission4mission for the current edition of the Ilford Recorder:

"Last week the artist Henry Shelton’s new Stations of the Crown of Thorns for St Paul's Goodmayes were featured on the Faiths page of the Recorder. Henry Shelton's 'Stations' complement other existing artwork at St Pauls Goodmayes, including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, and Leonard Evetts plus a Madonna and Child by Jane Quail, to create a feast of visual art for worshipper and visitor alike.

The commission to paint these new ‘Stations’ was gained through commission4mission (c4m) which aims to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a means of fundraising for charities and as a mission opportunity for the churches involved.

c4m has recently responded to a national consultation by Arts Council England on the arts saying that faith communities are part of the wider community of engagement with the arts and it is important that they are recognised in the matrix of how and why people value and enjoy the arts.

Members of faith communities may enjoy art which (although not exclusively) touches and nurtures their spiritual lives. Members of c4m (as both artists and audiences) talk about the value of art in their spiritual growth and understanding. Art has been an important medium through which communication about faith and belief has taken place over centuries, and as a result the church has enjoyed a long partnership with the arts, though this seems to have eroded in recent decades.

Churches can be significant as: spaces in which artworks are and can be displayed; venues for community art initiatives; places for accessing community members for consultation and/or participation in community arts initiatives; holders of significant arts collections; and as a continuing source of inspiration and encouragement for artists. The recent trend of placing significant art work in church venues (e.g. Antony Gormley, Flare II, St Paul's Cathedral), and the development of church-based arts spaces (e.g. Wallspace) and mainstream artists drawing on Christian themes (Mark Wallinger, Ecce Homo) has to be seen in the context of this.

At a time when the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that “the church needs more artists”, the church, Christian organisations and faith communities need to be seen as valid partners for the arts.

And, as the Bishop of Barking has said: “History can demonstrate that it is the Arts that have often provided the prophetic lead that society then follows. At a time in our national life when our society is in danger of losing its way and has been cut loose from its historic Christian values there is a role for the arts to be prophetic in re-establishing in contemporary ways the values that made our nation the great society that it is.”

At c4m we hope to increasingly play our part in that vision with Henry Shelton’s Stations of the Crown of Thorns being an exciting, current example of what the visual arts in Churches can contribute and reveal."

Other current journalism by Jonathan includes a obituary for the artist John Reilly in the Church Times, a review of the Resurrection exhibition at Bury St Edmonds to be published in the next edition of Art & Christianity, a response to an Artz Ville article on the Arts Centre Group website, and an interview with Catharine Pusey (then of the Employer's Forum on Belief) in the current edition of the Faith in Business Quarterly.