Great art and faith is the product of community.  Guilds, salons and other professional associations are places where artists have found encouragement and inspiration.  These intimate gatherings have spurred individuals to profound creative insights that have invigorated cultural and political institutions.

As the curators of Inside Outside we have taken the opportunity to highlight and encourage the growth of ECVA Chapters.  These chapters are groups of practicing visual artists who meet to discuss their creative efforts in the context of the Episcopal community and the art world.  By identifying work that springs from these small communities we endorse our conviction that art is energized by fellowship and not isolation.

Just as God is found in relationship and community, so also, we believe, our efforts as artists are located by discourse and contact with other artists.  Inside Outside is a step in that direction.  It is an exhibition that raises the profile of artist-groups with in the Episcopal community for the benefit of making more potent art work that finds a deeper relevance to the world and in the church.

ECVA Chapters

Building a visual arts community is essential to ECVA's mission. ECVA chapters offer the opportunity for dialogue among Episcopal artists. A Chapter creates a local community for artists to discuss the spiritual nature of their work and its relationship to the church. Often an ECVA Chapter meeting is the first time an Episcopal artist has had the opportunity to meet with another Episcopal artist. Through guest lectures, conversations over dessert and coffee, and Internet debates, the issues of the visual arts are brought to the table and explored. Chapter members may be from all areas of the art world and include professional artists, liturgical specialists, art historians, and parish program coordinators. This varied membership fosters mentoring, networking, and shared resources.

An ECVA Chapter forms locally for these purposes, as a community of artists, arts' supporters, and art historians gathered to encourage visual arts in the life of the Episcopal Church. ECVA Chapters currently exist in New York City and San Francisco with others forming.

An ECVA Chapter begins with a dinner where guests share a meal, present their work as slides or display, and see a presentation of the ECVA website, with lots of opportunity for fellowship. Once formed, individual chapters decide upon the type and level of activity that they will pursue. Some ECVA chapters may choose to publish a newsletter, gather regularly, sponsor arts exhibits, seminars and workshops, while others may simply gather once a year for an artist dinner and renewed fellowship. The chapter format is designed to be flexible, in service to the changing needs and interests of local ECVA members.

If you are interested in forming a chapter or for more information, please contact Brad Johnson at bradmail@mindspring.com.

Bradford Johnson
Co-Curator

Bradford Johnson is an alumnus of the Rhode Island School of Design and finished his formal art education with graduate studies at Hunter College in New York in 1994.  He has been a frequent resident at Yaddo and McDowell and received numerous awards including a grant from the Pollack-Krasner Foundation.  His works on paper can be seen at The Bernard Toale Gallery in Boston, MA.  Johnson is also represented by the Pepper Gallery in Boston and the Gwenda Jay Addington Gallery in Chicago, IL.