Faith in the Arts

The FITA team is back! And since we we’ve been away, there seems to have been some subtle shifts in the faith/art conversation. Popular culture seems more interested in Jesus and the Christian faith than they were a few years ago and Marlita, Ally and Jonny want to talk about it. If you do too, join us for our mini series that asks ‘is faith back in the arts?’ If you’d like to join the conversatio...

As Christians, we are called to love people. This means that we should support and serve others and not exploit of steal from them. We all know this! But how does this apply to the art traditions that we practice within? How do we actively contribute to them, rather than exploiting them? How can we be blood donors rather than vampires? And where do sharks fit in? That’s what this episode is all ab...

We’ve heard about Ally’s art. We’ve heard about Marlita’s art. Today, we focus on Jonny’s or, should I say, Barrowclough’s. If hip-hop geekery is your thing, you won’t be disappointed. If it’s not, don’t worry though. The conversation explores the kaleidoscopic nature of art, the joys of collaboration, the unusual ways in which Christianity infiltrates culture and how we all can find our places in...

Today, Macclesfield based ceramicist, Rachel Ho introduces us to her fabulous ‘ Gift to the City’ project, sparking all sorts of trains of thought. The restorative power of art. Artists as priests. Paying the bills. And, as a podcast first, today’s episode is sponsored by a popular energy drink. Kind of. If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show . If you’...

What do you think of when you think of prophetic art? Does your mind instantly turn to the subversive power of beauty, energizing hope, alternate realities, toppling empire and the ministry of attentiveness? No? Well, perhaps you should spend an hour with Dr Mary McCampbell and the FITA team! If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at  hello@faithinthearts.show  . If you’d like to...

Today’s guest is internationally acclaimed tap dancer, Andrew Nemr. He leads us on a riveting journey through the history of tap dance, the fracturing of the media landscape, sharing your process, the morning pages and recovering from burnout. Oh, and how art practice can serve as a model for Christian discipleship. To acquaint yourself with Andrew’s work, visit andrewnemr.com and artistformation....

Anselm Mcdonnell is back! Building on the last episode’s focus on the avant garde, the conversation moves on to music in general. How is music different to other artforms and how does music specifically relate to Christianity? After all, it’s just wiggly air, isn’t it? If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show . If you’d like to help us continue to make m...

Whereas Christian artists are often known for playing it safe in the arts, today’s guest, classical composer, Anselm Mcdonnell bucks this trend. His work is experimental and avant garde and that is where the conversation goes in today’s episode. What is avant garde art, why does it matter and why should Christians practise in this area? To get an intro to Anselm’s work, listen to his piece ‘Cross...

How can artists bring the sacred to the streets and what happens when they do? Our hosts are joined by Jason Leith, a Los Angeles based artist and the leader of Saddleback Visual Arts, to explore his work and the intersection between the humble and the holy, the seen and the hidden, the base and the transcendent and whether there will be a Starbucks on the renewed creation! If you’d like to join t...

AI is reshaping our world and its impact is being felt very keenly in the arts . Programs like Dali, Chat GPT and Sora have all been moving into the mainstream over the last year or so. Are they exciting tools to sharpen are artistry or do they signal the demise of the human artist? George Aytoun, head of design at Mccann Birmingham, joins the conversation to talk us through this revolution in the...

Last time we talked about Ally’s artistry and this time we’re shining the spotlight on another one of our hosts: Marlita ! We are focusing on her latest dance piece ‘ We Need To Talk ’ and bashing around such weight themes as communication, embodiment and art as language, at times using collections of letters that may or may not be actual words. Prepare for much phenomenological viscerality! To ge...

We’ve talked about some great artists this season but this one is special as it’s one of our own Faith In The Arts team. Today, we look at Ally’s own art, focusing on the first major monograph of his career, Quodlibet and the paintings All the Postcards sent to my studio (2014) and Above and Below, Bowglass. If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show. If y...

We loved focusing on the Book of Revelation in the last episode so we decided to keep talking about it while throwing one of the greatest British artists of all time into the mix: William Blake. Join us on a whistlestop tour of William Blake’s illustrations on the book of Revelation, focusing on the paintings The Ancient of Days, The Whore of Babylon and The Four and Twenty Elders casting their Cr...

Today, we’re looking at by far the most popular piece of art in the series so far. It features in a literary anthology that is by far the best selling book in history. It’s the book of Revelation by John! There will be beasts. There will be dragons. There will be absolutely no controversial opinions shared of any sort… (well, two out of three of those statements are true!) If you’d like to join th...

After a mid season break, the FITA team are back, discussing the work of painter Peter Howson. Peter’s visceral, unflinching work sparks a discussion about artistic portrayals of good and evil, how becoming a Christian affects an artist’s work and the wildness inside. If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at  hello@faithinthearts.show . If you’d like to help us continue to make m...

We had the privilege of hosting a main session at Hutchmoot 2023 and here it is! Marlita, Ally and Jonny are joined by Andrew Peterson and Mark Meynell to talk about artistic community and give a bit of an introduction to their own artistic groups- Rabbit Room, Morphē Arts, Kingdom Artist Initiative and Sputnik Faith & Arts. This episode also features a live version of the song ‘Shine Your Lig...

When you think of Christian art, what’s your first thought? Horror movies! Of course it is. Today, the team delve into the genre of horror through a conversation around Scott Derrickson’s 2013 scarefest ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose.’  If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show. If you’d like to help us continue to make more episodes like this, you can donat...

In this episode, Marlita presents the 2013 album, Songversation by India Arie and it inspires a conversation about artistic success, how we relate to our audiences and what it means to be a good guest. Before listening why not check out the album? If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show. If you’d like to help us continue to make more episodes like this,...

Today, Ally introduces us to Vincent Van Gogh and Jonny and Marlita struggle with the Dutch language! Art isn’t just worth talking about, it’s worth feasting upon, so to get the most out of this episode, you should check out the two paintings ‘The Sower’ by Van Gogh and ‘The Vision’ by Paul Gauguin. (Links below) If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at  hello@faithinthearts.show...

This season, we’re going to be basing our episodes around pieces of art and the artists that create them. Today Jonny introduces the album, The Big Day by Chance the Rapper and sparks a conversation about authenticity, expectations and language. To get the most out of this conversation, it would be good to give the album a listen or two if you haven’t already. If you’d like to join the conversatio...

Ally, Jonny and Marlita are back! To kick the second season off, they catch up on how the faith and the arts conversation has moved forward in the last year, navigating AI, the London urban music scene and artistic isolationism. And there are puns. Lots of puns. If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show . If you’d like to help us continue to make more epi...

We asked for your questions and you sent in some crackers. Today Marlita, Ally and Jonny round off our first season by dealing with questions ranging from creativity, to art and culture, to personal humility. Although Season 1 is now finished, we are planning a podcast party soon, so follow us on Twitter or Instagram to hear more details. Resources and references: Morphe Arts (Ally) Faith and Work...

Deconstructing faith is a contentious topic. Some see it as highly destructive, others deeply enlightening and, for others, it is an inevitability that every person of faith will have to face at one time or another. As we continue our episodes asking 'why we’re still Christians?' Jonny opens on why he is still the type of Christian that he is and how his faith has changed in the last few years. If...

There can be a real tension between being an artist and being a Christian. An easy way to relieve this tension might be to stop being a Christian! So, today we ask Marlita why she is still a Christian. Prepare to have your heart warmed as she talks us through her faith journey, how she hears from God and why she wouldn’t be able to know art without God. If you’d like to join the conversation, plea...

There can be a real tension between being an artist and being a Christian. An easy way to relieve this tension would be to stop being a Christian! However, none of our hosts have taken that option. In the next few episodes, we ask them why, starting today with Ally. If you’d like to join the conversation, please email us at hello@faithinthearts.show . If you’d like to help us continue to make more...