Church supports creative talent with Artist in Residence program
GUELPH, ON - Lakeside Church is embracing its artsy side.
The forward-thinking church recently launched its first-ever Artist in Residence program - something unique for a church as most residencies are reserved for academic settings.
The program, which runs from September to June, will see local artist Sylvia Woods take up 'residence' in provided studio space at the church. She will be paid one day a week, in this case Tuesdays, and at the end of the program Lakeside will keep one of her art pieces. Woods has also committed to hosting a workshop in February for local artists.
An experienced painter and graduate of the Ontario College of Art, Woods, 43, specializes in fine art painting and drawing. She has also studied in Florence, Italy and exhibited in London, England. Her work is currently in private collections throughout North America and Europe.
"I am traditionally an oil painter, but recently I have been using acrylic paint to create my pieces. I love painting landscapes, but I am also finding ways to incorporate figures into my work," she says.
Having attended Lakeside for nine years, Woods says she is passionate about seeing churches support the arts and become places where creativity thrives. It is also the reason she brought forth the idea of an Artist in Residence program to Chris Deeves, Lakeside's creative arts director.
"I think it is only fitting for a church to accept and offer this kind of program as centuries ago it was the Church that sponsored artists and many of the renaissance pieces we have today," she says, adding that a once strong relationship between artists and the Church began to decline around 1500, eventually arriving at an almost non-existent relationship between fine art and the Church.
"As a community, developing strong relationships with our artists speaks to our creativity as a whole and brings us closer to our Creator. The Artist in Residence program is an effort to support emerging and established Christian artists and act as advocates for the arts in our community, church and world."
Deeves says Lakeside is excited to offer the residency. "With this program we hope to build a bridge to our arts community - both inside and outside Lakeside - to help connect or reconnect artists with the Church."
He adds, "With Sylvia here we hope to bring arts awareness and appreciation as we want people in our congregation to gain and be able to appreciate art better and be aware of the artists in our midst. Our message is that it is okay to be an artist in the Church and that it doesn't mean you have to paint Jesus or sunsets to participate. It is also our hope that our musicians will realize there is more than one way to be creative in the Church. Hopefully we will see some creative inspiration and collaboration between both types of artists."
Woods agrees, saying, "The Artist in Residence program is a small but significant step towards engaging in the arts culture that many of us participate in as citizens of Guelph and connecting us directly with the large community of artists that the city boasts."
As for the future, Deeves hopes that the Lakeside artist will be a part of the Guelph Studio Tour, Fair November, Art in the Street and other art based exhibition opportunities in the community.
Lakeside Church is compiling a list of community artists and applications are being accepted for the 2012/2013 residency program.
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