The Role of Art in Shaping Culture
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 10:21AM The following is an update from a friend in India. He began to introduce values into Indian culture through art. Here is his report on the power of art has over culture.
David
“Here, there is something different.” We just finished our latest artist residency, on the topic of ‘Men’s Behaviour and Attitudes towards Women’—exploring the roots of violence against women in India—and one of the three artists-in-residence, a recent Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) graduate, was describing her experience. “Here, there is something different”—she was comparing our residency with the one she had earlier completed, at what is arguably the most cutting-edge secular arts organization in New Delhi. In fact, I had been following that residency in the papers and when this young woman contacted us about our residency I was apprehensive that we would not live up to her expectations. Yet I felt led to take the risk. The result was a three-week residency that stretched into five weeks at the request of the artists, and this same artist claiming that our residency was far better than the other. The reasons? She felt a special peace here, she experienced trust and community with the other artists, she loved the staff, and she ‘got it.’ “I didn’t understand how my work fit with social issues. But now I see it.” And having participated in many painting events organized elsewhere, she admitted for the first time working on her painting as if it truly was her own, and not just something to get over and done with.
What are the indicators that we are having any impact as we seek to disciple a nation through art, “seeing art shape society with beauty and truth” as our vision statement states? Besides numbers—e.g. numbers of exhibitions held, articles about us in the newspapers, art and creativity classes run for the public, or art workshops done with the poor and marginalized—it has been hard to measure how art has impacted culture. What is easier to see is the impact on individual lives, and in particular, the individual lives of artists.
Over the years we have had the opportunity to share our personal testimonies with artists, to pray with artists about their needs, to introduce artists to church communities, to watch artists make life-giving choices, and to see artists begin to experience God in new and exciting ways. As we explore how art shapes culture with beauty and truth we have seen artists’ worldviews shift, their attitudes and behavior towards the poor and marginalized change, and their values transform: One of the most profound moments for me during this last residency was to hear the same artist mentioned above describe how her paintings have changed. As is currently fashionable in the contemporary art world, all her works depict a fictional ‘character’, in her case a middle-aged Indian man whom she paints in different public situations where men typically misbehave with women, in order “to see what he does.” Earlier, she would be at pains to explain: “I am not saying that he is doing good or bad, I am only observing him.” As a result of our residency she shared: “For the first time I have started saying that what he is doing is wrong.” In the extreme relativism of the art world, she has made a stand for something absolute—truth.
“This is the first day of the rest of my life”. Besides the artist residencies, the work of our ‘Made to Create’ project continues, led by my wonderful colleagues Chuck and Janis Lindley. Teaching art and creativity classes to the public in a way that points people to the Creator, this project uses the proceeds to then turn around and help the poor and marginalized discover through art their God-given identity and purpose. Core to this work is the team of 3-4 artists who volunteer to help run these activities, key, because Made to Create is equipping them as art educators, at the same time as giving them a chance to experience serving the poor. Recently a brother in Christ from Tonga, who has moved to Delhi and is the only self-proclaimed ‘artist missionary’ I have ever met, joined the team to do an art workshop among destitute men. I had met this brother years ago while he was still a student and had shared with him the vision of ‘art discipling a nation’. Returning from the experience of using art to serve deeply broken and destitute lives he was profoundly moved. As he shared, it was as if he had found what he was created to do. His words were: “This is the first day of the rest of my life.”
By the end of the year Chuck and Janis, who over the last three years have spearheaded this effort and lovingly built up the team, will be leaving for the US due to family responsibilities. We are excited to see the Made to Create project continue, in particular with an emphasis on reaching out to Delhi’s most marginalized and vulnerable.
“That a Christian group like this is responding is very, very encouraging to me.” On October 1, ‘Salt Initiatives’ completed its first official year as a stand-alone organization. Salt Initiatives is the church-training team I helped start twelve years ago with my colleague Raaj Mondol. For most of those 12 years, providing wholistic ministry training to local churches and Christian organizations, we operated from within the ‘Evangelical Fellowship of India’, the umbrella group for all evangelical churches in India. In the course of those 12 years, two of our initiatives spun out into their own organizations, the art initiative becoming the ‘Art for Change Foundation’ which I currently lead, and an initiative to bring a biblical worldview to the sphere of disabilities resulting in the ‘Ashish Center,’ an organization for children with autism run by Raaj’s wife Geeta. A year ago we finally launched Salt Initiatives as its own organization, and together, Salt Initiatives, Ashish Center, and the Art for Change Foundation form the three expressions of Food for the Hungry’s work in India. To better focus on the Art for Change Foundation I have since transitioned from assisting Raaj run Salt Initiatives to being only a board member of the new organization.
This one-year celebration marked a new focus for Salt Initiatives: providing a biblical and church-based response to the problem of female foeticide in our nation, called the ‘Let Her Live’ initiative. Our chief guest was Dr. Nalini Abraham, a Christ-following doctor and activist who was instrumental in bringing about a nation-wide law against sex-determination banning among other things the use of ultrasound technology to target and kill unborn girls. She recounted how at the time of writing the law, although she appealed to churches and Christian organizations for help, there was practically no response. But now, “to see that a Christian group like Salt Initiatives is responding is very, very encouraging to me.”
“Don’t leave this place”. In the last few months I’ve been surprised by the number of times I have heard those words from neighbours, artists, shopkeepers, businessmen, even landlords in the neighbourhood where four years ago we took the step of faith to set up the beautiful ‘Reflection Art Gallery & Studios’ space. With our four-year lease ending October, and the value of property having risen dramatically over the same period, we are simply unable to afford our landlord’s new rent. But our ‘Lord-of-land’ opened up a wonderful new space on the outskirts of Delhi for almost half the rent. Unfortunately, because it is on the city’s periphery and in the middle of an ‘urban village’, we will not run a dedicated ‘gallery space’ for the foreseeable future, although exhibitions will still take place in other venues. The flip side is that with the extra space we can finally offer residential facilities to artists, making our artist residencies truly ‘residential’. The combination of the lack of access, the residential capacity, and a personal decision to view this new year as a sabbatical of sorts, made me suddenly recognize this as an opportunity to pilot the vision of an ‘Art Ashram.’
An ashram in the Indian tradition is a place for spiritual reflection removed from the routine demands of life. An Art Ashram uses art to make the connections between God and a broken and beautiful world. One of the key learnings of these last four years is that ‘discipling a nation through art’ will require a deeper, longer, more sustainable engagement, and one focused particularly on mentoring artists. More than just a couple of exhibitions, we realize it will take the life-work of artists compelled by a vision of the Kingdom to speak prophetically into Indian society. An Art Ashram, as a permanent residential art center, plays a strategic role in intervening in the lives of artists already on trajectories that take them to the heart of the Indian art world.
We are trusting God for the finances to eventually purchase a piece of land and establish an Art Ashram dedicated to: (1) creating art with the power to disciple culture, and (2) mentoring artists to become ‘nation disciplers’. But in the meantime I am excited about piloting the idea in our new rented space.
“Today, are we going to get our baby?” The shift to a quieter neighbourhood and the subsequent slowing down comes at just the right moment. Having been surprised by the joy that Ashish and Anjali are to us, and each other, Neeru and I have often discussed the idea of adopting child number three. Having once playfully checked with Ashish he began enquiring, at regular intervals, “Today, are we going to get our baby?” Well, as a result our hearts were very ready to discover that God had a surprise for us and was indeed giving us a third child, albeit biologically. We are thrilled to share that our baby is due in January 2012!
We appreciate your prayers for the delivery as Neeru and I are feeling a little old this time round. Also do pray for the transitions in our work, for the Made to Create project, and for the piloting of the Art Ashram concept in the new studio venue.
We are so deeply grateful for your friendship and interest in the work of the Kingdom here in Delhi!
With much love, Stefan (and Neeru, Ashish, Anjali, and Life)
If you would like to join our team by giving one-time or regularly, kindly make a check out to ‘Food for the Hungry’ with “India 60504” in the memo section, and a separate note that this is for Stefan Eicher’s support in India. For gifts towards establishing a permanent Art Ashram, kindly put “India 32002” in the memo section. You can send the check to: Food for the Hungry, 1224 E. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, USA. Bless you!
