20 Years of Friday Arts Project

A young artist named Stephen was flying home from an almost euphoric experience in New York City. He had just finished a summer program there centered on the arts and his Christian heritage. In the midst of processing the whole affair, a fellow college student said to him, “You need to start something at Winthrop”.

As Stephen settled back into his Fall semester, he found several other art students rally around him (including our own staffer Brandi Voigt Fox). At the inception Friday mornings and art were central. Hence the name—Friday Arts. And since this was an ongoing “adventure” of sorts, they added the word “Project”. Thus was born Friday Arts Project.

When Stephen and his fellow artists started Friday Arts Project in the early Fall of 2006 they were motivated by a love for the arts, a love for their talents as artists, and a desire to see that love grow. By cultivating this love they believed they became better human beings, better neighbors. As their love for the arts grew, their love for the art community in Rock Hill grew, and their love for their fellow artists in the community grew. This was a significant way they served their community.

The students of Friday Arts Project wanted not only to cultivate love through their art, but also to engage with their imaginations. CS Lewis once wrote “Imagination is the organ of meaning”. The religious faith of these students invited them into a place of seeing and learning from the unseen truths of this world that existed outside the observable world. It is in this space where the power of art–and anything truly beautiful–can draw a response of awe. The phrase from FriArts vision statement, “…Beauty exists where Truth and Goodness meet Mystery…” is a summary of this idea.

Many of the early participants of FriArts believe in traditional Christian beliefs. They wanted to have a place where there was no tension between their art and their religious pursuits, and wished to invite others to this place as well.

Sarah and I have joined these students—now adults—for the last 13 years. We have presented Jesus in our words and lives, as well as in our pursuit of excellence in our art. We trust that God will give our community 20 more years of even greater impact.

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support.

**This newsletter is a condensed version of an online blog I (Kirk) wrote in late September. To read the entire essay—and view the associated photo album—go to Friday Arts Project’s website: (https://www.fridayartsproject.org/20-years).

Blessings-