The Leighton Ford Initiative in
Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness
Gordon-Conwell Art Collections
The Gordon-Conwell Art Collections exist to share the beauty of visual art with the seminary community and beyond, making it possible for churches, galleries, educational institutions, museums, and other organizations to host compelling religious exhibits. In doing so, these art collections advance the mission of the Leighton Ford Initiative in Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness to form students, enrich the church, and propel participation in God’s mission to make all things new through the gift of artistry.
Each collection is framed and comes ready to hang, including labels and an exhibit poster, and can be requested for a rental of 1-6 months, pending availability. To get a sense for the quality and wide variety of collections, we encourage you to browse the gallery below, and if you are interested in bringing a collection to your space, please reach out with a specific request, and we will respond with more information.
The rental fee for each collection is $500/month, with all proceeds supporting the ongoing work of the Leighton Ford Initiative in Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness. Host organizations are responsible for insuring the artwork while on their premises and covering shipping costs back to Gordon-Conwell or the next borrower.
For more information or to submit a particular request, please email [email protected].
Sadao Watanabe: Biblical Scenes in Japanese Style
Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996) is Japan’s foremost Christian artist of the twentieth century. After making a commitment to Christianity, Watanabe dedicated his talents to the glory of God. He wanted to depict the stories of the Bible in a way Japanese people would understand, so his biblical characters appear in kimonos and eat Japanese food.
Watanabe is known for his technique of stencil dyeing, a traditional craft dating back to the fifteenth century. Stencils served as the key blocks for his unique style of graphic art. Creating biblical scenes using large sheets of textured paper, his work is reminiscent of the folio parchment pages of illuminated manuscripts decorated by monks in the monasteries of medieval Europe. One of Watanabe’s greatest achievements was creating art that reflected his Japanese cultural heritage while remaining rooted in his Christian faith.
Watanabe viewed himself as a simple channel through which the power of God flowed and he believed that profound beauty would grow from a profound faith. “We are not to look on as observers,” Watanabe explained. “We must enter into the story and become one of Jesus’s disciples, so Jesus washes my feet. Only when we interpret the story in this way are we able to follow Christ’s example.” For Watanabe, his form of worship and glory to God was found in the distinct act of art-making.
Watanabe’s stencil prints can be found in the permanent collections of museums around the world, including the Vatican Museum of Modern Religious Art.
The gallery below provides a selection of images from the collection, and to view the rest, please reach out to [email protected].
Leadership
Dr. Wes Vander Lugt
Acting Director of the
Leighton Ford Initiative,
Adjunct Professor of Theology
Dr. Wes Vander Lugt is the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Initiative and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell. Dr. Vander Lugt is a pastor-theologian with a deep love for the arts. He holds a PhD in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts from the University of St Andrews, has pastored in a variety of church contexts, and is a board member of Christian in Theatre Arts and Lorien Academy of the Arts.
He also writes, speaks, and publishes in the area of theology and the arts, including Beauty Is Oxygen: Finding a Faith that Breathes (Eerdmans, 2024) and A Prophet in the Darkness: Exploring Theology in the Art of Georges Rouault (IVP Academic, 2024).
To learn more, visit his faculty page or reach him by email.
Funding for the Leighton Ford Center
Brian Gardner
Vice President of Advancement
The Leighton Ford Initiative will become an official Center within the Gordon-Conwell Institute once $3 million is committed for the Leighton Ford Endowed Chair in Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness. Currently, $1.6 million is secured, and once the full amount has been committed, the Center will launch, and attention will turn toward creating operational and scholarship endowments for the Leighton Ford Center.
In addition to the Endowed Chair, the Leighton Ford Initiative relies on gifts that support current programming and operations, and both recurring and one-time gifts are invited.
You can give online by selecting either the Leighton Ford Chair (endowment) or the Arts and Gospel Witness Initiative (operations) in the dropdown menu, or you can give by check, wire transfer, or other methods.
If you have any questions about your gift, please contact Brian Gardner, the Vice President of Advancement, by email. Thank you for your prayerful consideration!