Olympic Big Draw

News of use made of the Run with the Fire digital exhibition continues to come in. The most recent information comes from St Gabriel's Aldersbrook who organised an Olympic Big Draw event.

Their Vicar, Fr. Martyn Hawkes, wrote that this was a fun experience with quite a few children coming along. He enjoyed the digital exhibition, which they bought in to provide some inspiration and additional material for the curious to see. It proved a good part of their Olympic activities over the summer and he was grateful for its production.

Opening Night: Army of Artists 'Run with the Fire'

Click here for photos from the great opening night of the Run with the Fire project by Army of Artists and here for details of further summer workshops. This Run with the Fire project is a community art exhibition with creative workshops. It is a creative response to two themes linked with the Olympics – Communities Connecting and Light being passed from one person to another.

Run with the Fire Community Art Exhibition and Creative Workshops

SATURDAY 14th JULY – 5th SEPTEMBER 2012   ST.AUBYN CHURCH  DEVONPORT (incorporating a public library & cafe)

Run with the Fire is an exciting arts project and exhibition engaging churches, schools and community groups across Plymouth.  The Olympic Games will be commencing this summer – a time of excitement and celebration. Two strong symbols are associated with the Olympic Games, which will be used as inspiration for this exhibition.

- The Olympic Games motto is ‘Higher, Faster, Stronger’ and the symbol is made up of 5 rings, each ring representing a continent connecting during the games.

- The Olympic Flame stands for peace, unity and friendship, which is spread as the flame is passed from one torch bearer to another. Lit in Greece, it then sets out on a 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, shining light on the whole of the UK.

Run with the Fire is a creative response to these symbols; celebrating the stories, faith and skills that we pass on from one generation to another, building relationships, embracing life and connecting different communities.

THE BRIEF – Each person or group will start this creative process at the same simple starting point – a hula hoop or a circular disc of some sort. You are invited to creatively transform this Olympic ring into a piece of art which we will then display together representing our many connections. You may want to work on this alone and/or make this a community piece. Think about what you are communicating, the skills you are developing, how you are feeling and what flame you are carrying. Words to inspire – Running with perseverance, training, good news, spurring each other on, hope, passion, flame, power, celebration, warmth, life, passing the baton on, focus, light, energy.  Ideas - You may want to use photography, weave, stitch, knit, use beads, wire, felt, stretch canvas over the hoop to paint on, collage or do calligraphy…
ESSENTIAL DETAILS – Each final piece will be displayed vertically – hung up or stood on the ground against a wall. It can be any size up to a maximum of 1.25 metres in diameter. And it needs to be evident that you have started with a hoop/ring of some sort! Please let us know if you are offering a piece toward Run with the Fire. If you’d like to take part but would rather work with others, then do let me know ASAP as I may be able to organise group workshops.

You can email us at info@armyofartists.co.uk or contact Anita on 07890 201856

'Run with the Fire' exhibition photos

Photographs of the 'Run with the Fire' exhibition at the Strand Gallery and of the Launch Night held tonight can be found by clicking here and here.

The Run with the Fire exhibition is at the Strand Gallery (32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP) from 22nd - 27th May (11.00am - 6.00pm, Sunday 11.00am - 2.00pm), as part of the Pentecost Festival. Original work by commission4mission and invited artists complements the Run with the Fire digital exhibition (featuring the work of 25 international artists) to create a stimulating and exciting show with an eclectic mix of styles and media and exploring the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit.

Run with the Fire is an arts project for churches in the 2012 Olympics year 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. 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.

Run with the Fire provides 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. Copies of the Run with the Fire DVD can be purchased via http://www.veritasse.co.uk/cards-prints/most-popular/run-with-the-fire-dvd-pack/ or at the exhibition. A preview of the Run with the Fire digital exhibition can be seen at http://youtu.be/nFBGZDgFaw4, while for up-to-date news of the project see http://runwiththefire.blogspot.com/.

On Saturday 26th May there will be an additional programme of art talks and painting demonstrations:

• Painting demonstration – Harvey Bradley, ongoing throughout the day. See Harvey work on a painting and discuss his approach with him.

• The Spiritual Image in Modern Art - Mark Lewis, 11.30am. A broad overview of the spiritual impulse in the art forms of the modern world and their potential to turn our minds to higher things.
• Run with the Fire – Steve Scott, 12.30pm. A talk about the ‘Run with the Fire’ project and DVD.
• Stanley Spencer – A Visionary of our Time – Mark Lewis, 2.00pm. A talk which examines the life and work of one of Britain’s most renowned and eccentric 20th Century painters. The main themes include Spencer’s time as a war artist, and his extraordinary paintings which envision the Christian Gospels played out by the people in his beloved home town of Cookham.

• Praying with our eyes open – Glenn Lowcock, 3.00pm. A talk on using images as an aid to prayer.
• Emotional Tourist – Steve Scott, 4.00pm. What I am learning about art, life, spirituality, Trinity, and relational aesthetics from my travels in Bali and elsewhere.
• Christian influences on modern & contemporary art – Jonathan Evens, 5.00pm. A broad overview of modern and contemporary art and artists which engage with Christianity.

The event listing for the exhibition and launch night can be found at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/ai1ec_event/run-with-the-fire-exhibition/?instance_id=873. Directions to the gallery are at: https://www.proudonline.co.uk/contact.aspx.

Run with the Fire - Part 2

After the success of The Gathering Army of Artists are taking the Run with the Fire concept and running with it. This new project provides them with a timely opportunity to engage with each other and the Plymouth community once again. Here is their brief for Run with the Fire, a project packed with potential on many levels:

"Individuals, churches, schools and community groups are invited to take part in this creative project and exhibition. The Olympic Games will be commencing this summer - a time of excitement and celebration. Two strong symbols are associated with the Olympic Games, which will be used as inspiration for this exhibition.

The Olympic Games motto is ‘Higher, Faster, Stronger’ and the symbol is made up of 5 rings, each ring representing a continent connecting during the games.

The Olympic Flame stands for peace, unity and friendship, which is spread as the flame is passed from one torch bearer to another. Lit in Greece, it then sets out on a 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, shining light on the whole of the UK.

Run with the Fire is a creative response to these symbols; celebrating the stories, faith and skills that we pass on from one generation to another, building relationships, embracing life and connecting different communities.

Each person or group will start this creative process at the same simple starting point - a hula hoop or circular disc of some sort. You are invited to creatively transform this Olympic ring into a piece of art which we will then display together representing our many connections. You may want to work on this alone and/or make it a community piece. Think about what you are communicating, the skills you are developing, how you are feeling and what flame you are carrying. Words to inspire – Running with perseverance, training, good news, spurring each other on, hope, passion, flame, power, celebration, warmth, life, passing the baton on, focus, light, energy. Ideas - You may want to use photography, weave, stitch, knit, use beads, wire, felt, stretch canvas over the hoop to paint on, collage, or do calligraphy…

Each final piece will be displayed vertically - hung up or stood on the ground against a wall. It can be any size up to a maximum of 1.25 metres in diameter. And it needs to be evident that you have started with a hoop/circular disc of some sort!"

The project will result in an exhibition at St. Aubyn’s Church, Devonport (incorporating a public library and café) from Friday 13th July – September 2012.

More Than Gold

The 2012 Olympics gives the UK church an unprecedented opportunity to engage with contemporary culture.

More than Gold aims to harness the creativity of the Church to connect with people around the 2012 Games.

Their Creative and Performing Arts team will give local churches and national Christian arts groups an opportunity to serve in the context of mission initiatives.

Their website has details of performers and artists for local churches to book and resources, like Run with the Fire, available for purchase. To find out more click here.

Run with the Fire: initial uses

St John's Seven Kings used Run with the Fire as part of a Watchnight Service and also an All-Age Service based on Olympic themes.

The Run with the Fire digital exhibition ran as a backdrop to the entire act of worship at their Watchnight Service which focused on their Text for 2012 - "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12. 1-2)

They then used both the More Than Gold and Run With The Fire DVDs in their All-Age Service to begin preparing the congregation for the 2012 Olympics and to explore what can be learnt from the concept of the Christian life as a race to be run. In this service clips from the Run with the Fire DVD were shown as words and images for meditative prayer.

St George's Barkingside have shown the Run with the Fire as part of OPEN, a fresh expression of church which includes a multi-media meditation in each of its sessions. On more than one occasion the Run with the Fire DVD has been their multi-media meditation of choice.

Ideas Relay (18)

“As a result of reading Miriam Cabello’s writings, I was moved to co-create with Miriam a vision that could be common to all men, and which would hearken back to our origin as a species. I wished the paint to look as though it had been applied ‘naturally’, without artifice or academic perfection. The title is ‘Torches at Urulu’ - this painting was scripturally inspired by Psalm 18:28 (the numbers of which are also lettered above my signature in the original): ‘For Thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.’ In this painting my concept is a primordial vision of our ancestors, of men that who have gone before under the light of stars and have been guided by the Lord on their way. Petroglyphs on the walls of the rock of Urulu signify the shapes of stars and planets, which themselves look like petroglyphs (the earthly kingdom, in some ways, is a reflection of the heavenly one). Water remains at the base of the rock from a recent rain, during which liquid runoff was deposited beneath, reflecting the light of men. There are three men, reflecting the three elements of the Olympic motto, ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius.’ The theme, ‘Running with Fire’, applies here to the bearing of the torch of faith from one generation to the next ,as much as it reflects the Olympic theme of competing and allying with fellow men in these Games which begin and end with the bearing of a physical torch. The figures are warriors, strong and fit--one carries a spear, just as the believer carries with him the sword of truth. The path to victory through life, and sport, is narrow but achievable, if one is borne up and led by the light of the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, in the power of the One with whom all things are possible.”

Rick Delanty

Ideas relay (5)

“When I hear the title ‘Run with Fire’, I have to think of Phil 3: 13 I have to think of an Olympic stadium and Paul describes here that you have to live with one goal (The Lord Jesus) and run for it. Forget what is behind you (everything you did wrong and all your sorrows). Keep your eye on Jesus and start training to reach your goal. You don't have to run alone, the Holy Spirit (Fire) will guide you. In my painting I want to show that The Lord is like a fire …. if you live your life in His presence, He will fill you with His Spirit and this is like a fire. You can see in the fire the different figures. They are one with the fire. It fills their whole life. You don’t have to be afraid that you are alone and that you can’t do what He wants you to do. He is totally around you and lives in you. You only have to walk (run) in His presence and He will give you everything you need: power, strength, love, peace, happiness, healing, guidance and protection.”

Dietske van Winkelhoff

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. 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 Henglaar– 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 will be creating 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 will make 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.

The Run with the Fire resources (virtual exhibition DVD and electronic resource package) will be available at a cost of £50.00. Any profit on the sale of resources from this project will be donated to Oxfam. 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/.