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The Henry Luce III
Center for the Arts and Religion

At Wesley Theological Seminary (WTS), the arts are a medium of theological expression. As unselfconscious as breathing, art is visible everywhere. Visit the campus, walk the hallways, find an office, encounter a classroom, or meet someone in the library, and you will see art revealing the Holy.

In a working studio, creative processes intermingle with religious ideas. Invited Artists-in-Residence from around the world transform material, transcend their medium, and kindle the onlooker’s imagination. An open door policy invites interaction. Here the artistic pursuit has its rightful place in the religious quest. Here the arts act as interpreter as they lure us into theological speculation/knowing.

In the museum quality Dadian Gallery, exhibitions communicating religious themes inspire sacred values, and disclose the numinous. Forums or lectures accompany all gallery openings, whether a one person show, group show or collaborative exhibition with another institution

In the WTS Chapel, art installations, liturgical dance and chancel dramas join a variety of musical expressions - such as organ, piano, choir and instrumental music - to companion and enhance worship, enriching spiritual life.

In the classroom, professors from the various theological disciplines draw upon our digital archive of art, utilize gallery works, call upon resident artists and/or team teach with members of the arts faculty. Courses in the arts deal with aesthetics, non-verbal languages of theological proclamation, historical precedents, and contemporary examples. The creation of artistic work is assigned by many professors as a means of theological expression.

Ever-expanding programmatic initiatives bring resident poets, actors, and dancers on campus. The regular production of a full-length drama addressing tough theological issues enables students to challenge congregations using theatrical expression. Beyond the initiatives on campus, students are invited to experience the City of Washington, rich in stunning worship spaces, museums, galleries, performances, libraries, and university resources.

LCAR personnel reflect a history of interactive work with churches of diverse denominations, as well as with colleges and universities nationwide. A longstanding collaboration with The Catholic University of America (CUA) sustains a CUA sponsored liturgical artist-in-residence in our studio. LCAR faculty, staff, invited artists-in-residence, and occasionally students accept invitations to give recitals, recitations, and performances, offer lectures, workshops, assistance in gallery design, sanctuary renovation, and chancel drama production, and accept commissions for work in ecclesial space.

A WTS education, charged with the proclamation of the Word, embraces the arts, celebrates arts capacity to unveil the sacred, and risks finding new languages, images, and forms of communication for the Gospel in our times. This advocacy position strengthens WTS’ global perspective and multicultural disposition.

Catherine Kapikian