Interfaith Sacred Art Forum and Sacred Art in Collections pre-1900 Network

This initiative is part of our Art and Religion designated research strand, which is generously supported by Howard and Roberta Ahmanson. The first network, for faith community leaders and theologians, is the Interfaith Sacred Art Forum. The second, for curators and art historians, is the Sacred Art in Collections pre-1900 Network. Each year, both networks focus on a theme and two paintings in our collection as a foundation for wide-ranging events and activities that make new connections with sacred art, interfaith dialogue, and public life.

The theme of our network events and research for 2024 will be Storytelling. Our focal artworks will be Messengers (2019) by Bridget Riley, The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio and Judith (or Salome) (1501) by Sebastiano del Piombo. We will be exploring the relationship between narrative in sacred text and the visual art of the collection. Look out for two network events - an Interfaith Sacred Art Forum colloquium in the summer and a cross-network conference in December.

Previous themes include Crossing Borders (2021-22) and The Art of Creation (2022-23)