ArtWay

Beauty is not pasted over suffering but grows out of it—like the proverbial shoot from parched ground. Bruce Herman

Run with the Fire 2012

 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’: Titia Ballot, South Africa; Kirsten Borror, USA; Karen Burnett, England; Miriam Cabello, Australia; Ally Clarke, England; Rick Delanty, USA; Kim Daus Edwards, USA; Diane Fairfield, USA; Christine Garwood, Wales; Jenny Hawke, England; Hyun-Young Kim, South Korea; Jae Im Kim, South Korea; Seong-Kyoo Jeon, South Korea; Whojeong Lee, South Korea (Residing in USA); Glenn Lowcock, England; Michelle Mattingly, USA; Sue Newham (Wales); Michelle Arnold Paine, USA; Bobbette Rose, USA; Erland Sibuea, Indonesia; Jen Smith, Wales; Nickolay Steffanov, Bulgaria; Heather Distant Taiwo, USA; Andrew Taylor, England; and Dietske van Winkelhoff, Netherlands.
 
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 Hengelaar– 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 has then created 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 is making 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. 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/.
 
Order your RWTF pack now!
·       Includes a DVD of 25 new artworks from international Christian artists, with information about the works
·       An event support pack, written by Christian artists and event organisers, covering over 20 different themes, to help you plan and run your community arts event.
·       Phone or e-mail advice and support
 
To order a ‘Run with the Fire’ pack, at a cost of £50,-, e-mail Jonathan Evens of commission4mission at jonathan.evens@btinternet.com or phone 020 8599 2170. Any profit made after publicity and production costs have been met will be donated to Oxfam.
 
To read an article by Steve Scott of CANA about the ideas behind 'Run with the Fire', click here