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AST gallery aims to link theology with art

Exhibits will try to change contemporary perceptions of spiritual art as old and stodgy, say organizers.

The “gallery” at the Atlantic School of Theology might only deserve that title by virtue of the large, bright photographs hanging from the walls.  It is not, like the galleries at Mount St. Vincent University or its sister college Saint Mary’s University, empty and austere, with dramatic lighting and glass encasements.

It shares one characteristic with professional galleries though – the quiet.  The gallery at AST is also the library, where students study in silence and meditate on Margot Metcalfe’s current exhibition Arbores.

The photos on the walls are part of the school’s latest pilot-project, called simply the Arts and Theology Program.  Despite its humble name, the program is a vibrant undertaking.  Only the visual art component of the program is currently underway.  Music is the other half, and the school is contacting local artists to participate by offering performances in the gallery space or the chapel. But the goal is lofty – the program seeks to lead a discussion on the relationship between contemporary art and theology. 

That “contemporary” part is important.  Though art and religion have been closely intertwined for most of recorded history, some feel that relationship has given way to a different, less spiritual age.

“It’s about building a relationship now,” says Regina Coupar, the exhibitions curator for the project. “One of the reasons for that is the way our culture has become infiltrated by images. So, a hundred years ago, you wouldn’t see billboards, video games, televisions.  We’re so image-oriented now, even in the last 50 years.  So it seems to me that we need, as students at AST, most of whom are studying to be clergy, to be able to interact with that world.”

Coupar is the one credited with the idea for the program, after writing a paper about similar arts programs at American seminaries and the conspicuous lack thereof north of the border.

Before building into a public gallery proper, however, the school needs to overcome one significant hurdle: money.

“We’re hoping here, in starting this program, to move towards a university gallery,” says Coupar. “We don’t have the facility for that right now, but you have to start somewhere.  Rather than just a place where people can put up their art, the exhibitions are curated and they’re specific to this venue.  I’m hoping that eventually we’ll get funding so we can have actual gallery space.”

Right now, AST’s library is operating in a manner similar to a commercial gallery – Metcalfe’s work includes a price list for interested browsers. A public gallery, like most university galleries, pays artists to exhibit their pieces in lieu of being a vendor for the work.  AST, however, cannot afford those fees at the moment.

Beth Gerstenberger, the chair of the program, says the program’s budget is “almost non-existent.”

“It’s a huge volunteer effort,” says Gerstenberger. “We want to put in proper track lighting eventually, which is incredibly expensive. Even just our gallery opening required invitations to be printed, and food and wine.”

For now, though, the organizers are optimistic that the program will offer a different way of viewing theology and the arts.

Mauritz Erhard, the development office representative, says they want to shake off the conception of spiritual art as unchanging, especially music.

“One of the challenges on the music side is, how is it different from chapel music, how is it different from the music inside of the church?” asks Erhard. “What’s the difference? So this is what we’re going to be reaching for – demonstrating that this is a unique venue, a unique experience.  It’s very open, very inclusive.  It’s not going to be denominational-specific.  The same is true of the artwork.”

“In the general arts community, I think religious art has some negative connotations,” says Gerstenberger. “So while we don’t necessarily want to narrow the scope of what we are doing here to religious art, we are also welcoming it as a possibility.  I think when we look at spirituality, it embraces a much larger context of artwork.”

Margot Metcalfe, whose work is the inaugural exhibition for the program, says that spirituality plays a role in most of her work – raised agnostic, Metcalfe has been a confirmed Christian since 2007.  Her Arbores exhibition examines spirituality in a way that is unique.  Visitors to the gallery are met with thought-provoking images of trees, landscapes completely devoid of humans.  "Feather Tree," a photo that drew particular praise from visitors, is a purposely blurred photo of fall foliage that results in a calming, introspective effect.  AST describes the work as "stillness...that holds the possibility of depth."

Metcalfe says she feels that spirituality, if not theology, is a more common inspiration with artists than many might think.

“There are lots of artists who would identify with the spiritual arts when they are creating,” says Metcalfe. “I guess the community for it would be anyone who has a sense of awe or wonder with the world, and that covers a pretty broad spectrum of folks, I think.”