Westmont Art Students Receive $10,700 Grant for “Stations of the Life of Christ”

Students in Westmont’s art department have received a $10,700 Worship Renewal grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a project titled “Stations of the Life of Christ.”

Students will create a series of 14 images interpreting moments in Christ’s life that speak to Westmont’s identity as a Christian liberal arts college.

Each of the 14 student artists will form informal small groups who want to study and think about the artist’s inspirational biblical passage. Rooted in scriptural meditation and understood from the perspective of art history, the pieces will be installed around campus as art and as aids to public worship. The project aims to create images that invite more intentional practices of visual devotion to the imitation of Christ.

“It is very rewarding to see a project like this receive funding,” said Professor Lisa DeBoer, who is the program director. “The proposal was written by students and the project will be carried out by students. It is the best sort of engaged learning.”

Santa Barbara artist Marie Schoeff will supervise the project and will work with students to address the media and format for the pieces. The project will be installed on campus the last week of November 2005 to be in place for the spring semester. Each work will be photographed so it can be used for projection in chapel and reproduced on a postcard.

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship announced the 2005 recipients on May 1. The Worship Renewal program, in its sixth year, generated interest from 38 states and four Canadian provinces, receiving more than 150 proposals. This year the Institute awarded nearly $700,000 to 54 churches and organizations. A complete list of this year’s grant recipients is available at the Grants section of the Institute’s website, www.calvin.edu/worship.

Funding for the Worship Renewal Grants Program is provided by a grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. Founded in 1937, the Endowment’s major areas of concern are community development, education and religion.

For more information, contact the public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or pubaffairs@westmont.edu.