Religion, Spirituality and the Arts Seminar Seeks Participants

Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts (RSA) is a program of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute that brings together artists, religious leaders, religious communities, humanities experts, and a broad range of publics from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary perspectives for sustained study, analysis, and discussion of religious texts in a classroom environment.

STIPEND:  $500 (12 participants selected)

ELIGIBILITY:  Working artists in any medium, living in central Indiana

DEADLINE:  May 30, 2020

Opportunity Description

Directed by Rabbi Sandy Sasso, these textual discussions, which explore the varieties of religious experience and understanding, provide the inspiration for creating new artistic works (e.g. music, poetry, fiction, drama, visual art, dance). Artists share their creations through exhibitions and presentations to members of the Central Indiana community, including religious organizations, congregations, schools, libraries, and community groups. Applicants may be anyone in the community who is active (as a professional or amateur) in the artistic disciplines. Seminar participants will produce creative work to be performed and/or exhibited in a public forum.

2020-21 Theme: Noah’s Ark and the Environmental Imagination
In a world in the midst of an environmental crisis and an unprecedented need for quarantine, the story of Noah provides a window through which to consider current realities. Where do the floodwaters reach first? What do we choose to preserve? What does it mean to be enclosed in our homes, as Noah’s family was sealed in the ark, a boat with neither rudder nor sail? Is there any longer a high ground to which we can escape? Through art, performance, poetry, and music we will explore the role of the artist in response to calamity. This seminar will compare the biblical flood story to the flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Faculty

• Anila Quayyum Agha, Associate Professor of Drawing and Illustration in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI
• Dr. Andy Findley, Adjunct Instructor  in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI
• Dr. Jason M. Kelly, Professor of History in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI
• Julia Muney Moore, Director of Public Art for the Arts Council of Indianapolis
• Stefan Petranek, Associate Professor of Photography in the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI
• Dr. Sandy Sasso, Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck
• Steven Stolen Host of WFYI's Stolen Moments
• Dr. Joseph Tucker Edmonds, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Religious Studies at IUPUI
• Shari Wagner, Author and Indiana Poet Laureate (2016-2017)

Meetings

Sessions will be held for 2 1/2 hours weekly for a total of eight weeks. Participants must be able to make a commitment to attend all seminar sessions and engage in open and respectful dialogue. Meetings are held in the evenings from 6:00–8:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Sept. 24
• Oct. 1
• Oct. 8
• Oct. 15
• Nov. 12
• Dec. 3
• Jan. 14
• Feb. 4

How to Apply
Applications for this seminar will be accepted from April 20 to May 30, 2020.  Apply online with a resume or biography, examples of your creative work, and answers to the following questions:

• How do you see your art form interacting with a religious text?
• How do you imagine this experience will impact your creative work?

QUESTIONS?  Contact Jason Kelly, jaskelly@iupui.edu