Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), Saint Louis University

We at MOCRA are anxious to welcome everyone back, and hope that we'll be able to do just that when the fall semester arrives. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit all the wonderful museums and galleries that have reopened (while respecting the guidelines that keep everyone safe).

Hear four St. Louis storytellers relay Stories of Hope as they share moments in St. Louis or Missouri history when the arts healed divides and brought together diverse communities. This Arts & Faith St. Louis and St. Louis Storytelling Festival event takes place virtually on Sunday, May 2 at 2pm. Register at: https://extension.missouri.edu//st.-/-arts-faith-st.-louis

Congratulations to MOCRA's own Abigail Schlegl and the other artists featured in Saint Louis University's Studio Art program Annual Senior Exhibit. We wish Abigail and all the other graduating students much fulfillment and success in all they pursue. https://publish.exhibbit.com//00138/atrium-gallery-58472/

MOCRA Director David Brinker served as juror for the Spring Student Exhibition for Saint Louis University's Studio Art program. Congratulations to all the students whose work was selected, and to the faculty instructors and mentors who help form them as artists! https://www.slu.edu//fine-a/studio-art/student-gallery.php

St. Francis of Assisi is remembered for his radical commitment to the care of creation (Pope Francis drew the title of his encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, from the saint’s Canticle of the Creatures). This work by Adrian Kellard is inspired by a fresco, attributed to Giotto, of St. Francis preaching to the birds. The functional room screen includes a calendar. On this Earth Day, that calendar might remind us how little time remains to act before the planet exper...iences irreversible damage to the interconnected web of life. As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic, we all have the opportunity to commit to individual and collective changesto shape a new normal that puts care of our shared home front and center. . . #earthday2021 #laudatosi . . pictured: Adrian Kellard (1959-1991) St. Francis screen, 1985 latex on wood with hardware collection of Antonia Lasicki and William DeVita See more

As Ramadan begins, we keep in mind all of our Muslim friends, colleagues, and supporters. Ramadan Mubarak!

We wish a happy Easter to those who are celebrating today. Artist @andyjulo serves as the director/curator of the @verostko_center for the Arts on the campus of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.His work draws connections between the human body, the shared past, and the cosmos by re-imagining ancient stories, traditional forms, and symbolic codes. The title of this work, Light from Light, alludes to the Nicene Creed, a centuries-old statement of Christian belief. In pa...rticular, it is an affirmation of Jesus’ co-equal divinity with God the Father. The artist notes, ‘Light from Light’ imagines the entombment of Christ in anticipation of the resurrection. This is a space of ultimate darkness where the paradox of rebirth is at hand. . . . By employing a model who identifies as queer and was raised Jewish in a remote part of Oklahoma, I am drawing a parallel with the Suffering Servant described in the Book of Isaiaha prefigurement of Christ who achieves exaltation through despisement and anguish. Contemporary tensions such as these recall the mysteries and complexities of faith in a God we cannot see or touch, but who is intimately bound within our being and becoming. . . #easter . pictured: Andy Julo, Light from Light, 2016 Digital photograph | MOCRA collection Photo by David Torrence

The deadline is coming up soon for submitting art for this Jewish Art Salon exhibition.

We wish all of our Jewish friends and colleagues blessings as they prepare to celebrate the #festivaloflights. In this year more than most, it is important to call to mind the trials endured by our forebears, as well as the resilience, faith, and hope that carried them through. May their stories bring light into our darkness. Chag Sameach! #hanukkah2020

We second what Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis said: "Learning more about each other’s holidays is a simple but powerful way to build bridges, strengthen our connections to one another, and work toward a more inclusive St. Louis region where we all feel safe and supported in practicing our beliefs."

Thank you, Nancy Kranzberg, for the shout-out in your recent St. Louis Public Radio commentary about the great diversity of #STL #museums. St. Louis is indeed a great museum town!

We'd love to see some of these "I Voted" stickers get into wider circulation in future elections. People around the world are anxious today. The outcome of today's election will reverberate for years to come. But whatever the results, may our country ultimately emerge more united, compassionate, and embracing, committed to real and substantial justice, and concerned for the welfare of all people and the planet we call home.

This is the first #DayWithoutArt since Visual AIDS co-founder Tom Sokolowski passed away. Tom was an incredibly creative, generous, and compassionate and a great friend to MOCRA over the years. If you enjoyed Andy Warhol's "Silver Clouds" at MOCRA, you have Tom to thank for it.

#fall #autumncolors #urbancampus

Artist Horatio Law has transformed his daily strolls to the gym into a remarkable series of studies on his urban Portland environment. Law's work "Burnt Offerings" in on display now at MOCRA in the exhibition "Surface to Source."

Today is World AIDS Day and Day WIth(out) Art. 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the first reported AIDS cases in the U.S. Worldwide, 33 million people have died of AIDS-related causes and 38 million currently live with HIV. As anticipation mounts about promising vaccines for COVID-19, we might revisit this 1990 artwork by Robert Farber titled Altar #1. A photograph of a medical vial is centered in an ornate frame that might as easily hold an image of a Christian saint. Ch...rist, flanked by angels, raises a hand in blessing above the vial of VaxSyn HIV-1the first AIDS vaccine to be cleared by the FDA for human trials. Obviously, it did not pan out; despite the significant advances made in treatments for HIV and AIDS, a cure remains elusive. Altar #1 might say to us today: Be encouraged by the incredibly rapid progress on developing and testing (and hopefully deploying) a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, but temper expectations of instantaneously vanquishing COVID-19. Those who live with HIV and AIDS understand that the work of science is incremental. Whether it’s HIV/AIDS or COVID-19, we must support research while strengthening the networks that sustain those who are impacted by disease. Public and private entities, government at the global, national, and community levels, and each of us as individuals, all have a role to play in marshaling resources and seeking the most just and equitable distribution of care. Another work by Robert Farber bears this quote from Vito Russo: Someday the AIDS crisis will be over. And when that day has come and gone, there will be people alive on this earth who will hear that once there was a terrible disease and that a brave group of people stood up and fought, and in some cases died so that others might live. That day has not yet arrived, either for AIDS or the current pandemic. Until then let us hold in our hearts all those affected by these diseases and all those working to alleviate their suffering and effect a cure. And may we all commit to doing our part. #worldaidsday #daywithoutart #visualaids

What's this Sunday's "Songs of Compassion" concert all about? Watch this segment from Higher Education Channel TV (HEC-TV) featuring interviews with Christine Brewer and members of Arts & Faith St. Louis, then tune in on to HEC-TV on Sunday 10/25 at 4 pm or watch online at www.hecmedia.org.

November 16 marked the 31st anniversary of the assassinations of six Jesuit priests, their cook, and her daughter, at the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador. Their deaths continue to reverberate three decades on, and justice remains elusive for military leaders directly involved in the killings. Two months ago, on 9/11/20, a panel of judges at Spain’s High Court sentenced former Salvadoran colonel Inocente Orlando Montano to 133 years, 4 months and 5 days in ...prison, for his role in the murders of five of the priests. Nineteen other Salvadoran military officers charged by the Spanish court remain at liberty (Montano was extradited from the US in 2017). MOCRA is home to the Cruz for Bishop Oscar Romero, Martyr of El Salvador, by Michael Tracy, dedicated to another Salvadoran priest who spoke out on behalf of the most vulnerable and called for a more just society. This week we added more fresh bouquets to the work, honoring the memories of St. Oscar Romero and the UCA martyrs, and reminding ourselves that the hard work of justice continues in the present day. #oscarromero #jesuitmartyrs #artthatheals

I was fortunate to be present for part of the "Songs of Compassion" dress rehearsal yesterday, and to hear the incomparable Christine Brewer sing a very special arrangement of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," accompanied by Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra cellist Bjorn Ranheim and pianist Alla Voskoboynikova. Unfortunately the pandemic prevents us from gathering in person at the Sheldon for this year's concert, but thanks to HEC-TV everyone can enjoy it on TV and online, this Sunday afternoon. Tune in and celebrate St. Louis' diverse faith communities and their common commitment to living compassionately. -- David Brinker, Director