wfn.org | Cutting-edge Glasgow cathedral opens doors to experimental art

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Worshippers at St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, are to share their pews with
some of Scotland's most avant-garde artists.
The Gothic revival building has taken on a new role as a spiritual home for
experimental art, after its performance facilities were upgraded in a #3.5m
restoration.
The West End congregation, which includes many painters, writers and
musicians, has just moved back after 20 years of rebuilding and
construction.
Members are planning to celebrate their return with a festival of music and
the arts throughout the month of May called FEAST. Eleven contemporary
Scottish artists will be given free rein to display ground-breaking works
inside the building.
"We're looking at some severely contemporary work," said Ian Balch, the
multi-media artist and member of St Mary's congregation who is co-ordinating
the displays.
"It's going to jolt people out of their skins - although the building will
still be able to function as a cathedral."
Participants, who include composer David Paul Jones, and artists Mary
Redmond and Craig Mulholland are still drawing up plans. One has suggested
shooting laser beams from the east corner of the cathedral to the west.
Another has come up with a high-tech scheme to play with sunlight coming
into the cathedral. Sunny windows could be blocked off while the darker ones
could be lit with artificial light - as if the sun had decided to rise in
the west.
Church leaders plan to use the festival to launch a new partnership between
the cutting-edge cathedral and artists from Glasgow's vibrant West End
community.
The cathedral, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and consecrated in 1884,
will become Glasgow's newest modern arts venue.
The Very Rev Griff Dines, St Mary's provost, said: "Our chief purpose will
still be to worship God.
"But we are also a resource for the community - which for us is the vibrant,
creative community of Glasgow's West End. We're not interested in
controversy for controversy's sake. But modern art often likes to challenge
the norm - and so does the church.
"We see this as very much a spiritual venture. We can afford to take risks
with young artists because we have a lively congregation and we don't rely
on the exhibitions for our income."
Historic plaques have been moved from the main walls to clear exhibition
space.
Pews have been reorganised to make room for a stage, which doubles as the
cathedral's second altar. The performance space, designed for everyone from
string quartets to dance troops, is surrounded by a theatrical backdrop of
15-foot spikes.
Craftsmen have also carved 20 new gargoyles around the outside of the
building, based on the faces of church members, friends and supporters.
St Mary's has always been associated with art and craftsmanship - from its
famed stained glass windows to Gwyneth Leech's striking modern murals along
with her triptych of the Easter story, set this time in Glasgow's
Kelvingrove Park.
NOTE TO EDITORS
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican family of
churches. It has hundreds of congregations across Scotland, from Burravoe on
the Isle of Yell in the north to Kirkcudbright in the south.

CONTACT

Andrew Heavens
(press officer)
0131 225 6357 (tel)
07929 003809 (mob)
0131 346 7247 (fax)
http://www.scottishepiscopal.com

The Very Rev Griff Dines,
Provost of St Mary's Cathedral,
300 Great Western Road, Glasgow
0141 339 6691 (w)
07974 611438 (mob)

Ian Balch
St Mary's congregation member and multi-media artist
0141 579 1432

Aileen Campbell
FEAST co-ordinator
0141 342 4553