RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

This was a big week, my religious art family! As we made art purchases for the holiday season, we also enjoyed our first Christmas Opera; went to see "The Hobbit" with our pastor (loved it); watched the funeral pageantry of the homegoing for Nelson Mandela; plodded through the white snow of winter; picked up that power2give grant check you funded; and joined a NEA press conference on arts journalism. My favorite part was the selection of Pope Francis as TIME's Person of Year 2013. To capture the pope's essence, TIME commissioned a portrait by Chicago-based artist Jason Seiler (above), making it my NEWS OF WEEK. Much has been made about his humility and gentleness. What do you see?

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: Redevelopment threatens ancient Buddhist temple. [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: "Bandits & Saints of Brazil" in Detroit ends January 5. [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Hindu homosexuality comes under attack by extremists. [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: "Prince meets Muslim holyman" at Saint Louis museum. [More News]
• January 2014 Meetup: "King Breakfast" in Cincinnati on January 20. [More Meetups]

We are all members, united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. For us, it's more than Art. It's Religion. We follow artists who dare to explore religious ideas with their creative vision. When you follow religious artists, you join others who do the same. Some of us join as one of the "Collectors" of the A&O Project who make the final decisions; others as "Curators" when they donate to the Artist Fund; and most of us join as "Subscribers" to this "free" weekly newsletter; (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud). All are welcome.