Arts Programming at St. Matthias
In March 2024 The Chapel Gallery welcomed a highly anticipated exhibit The Last Resort: Black & white portraits of the people and places of Lahaina and Maui by Arifin Graham." For more information on the exhibit, please click: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallery/pages/upcoming-exhibit-the-last-resort . To learn more about the artist, please click: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallery/pages/upcoming-exhibit-artist-bio
We greeted 2024 with a special celebration of "The Twelve Days of Christmas and The Epiphany," featuring original paintings by Michael Utgaard plus a graphic rose window image. St. Matthias thanks John Azar and parishioner-sponsor Arifin Graham for bringing this opportunity forward.
The St. Matthias community humbly acknowledges our uninvited presence on the traditional land of the lək̓ʷəŋən People, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. We gather, worship and work in gratitude.
What's new with the Chapel Gallery?
Indeed, we've been thinking hard, working to balance our set of human resources, administrative requirements and, of course, our community's great love for all the arts. We have a new mission statement:
St. Matthias Church welcomes, encourages, and supports all arts by making space available for creation, display and performances. Artists/creators are invited to explore and reflect on the liturgical seasons.
Information alert: this might be more detail than you want! Because the Chapel Gallery is (wonderfully!) formally a ministry of St. Matthias, we comply with the associated administrative requirements, particularly those associated with insurance. Accordingly, we've been thinking about how to be creative.
One wonderful idea suggested we might shift the way we used to hold exhibitions. We might, for example, perhaps post videos on our website and schedule in-person open times to those times when the church is open.
We're still mulling the possibilities. As Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee says, "The future is not going to look like the past, and the future is bright!" We are proud of the past outstanding seasons of the Chapel Gallery, giving such inspiration and joy. That great foundation strengthens our faith in the bright, multifaceted future.
The St. Matthias community has a deep and wide love of the arts: we treasure music and drama as well as the visual arts of painting, textiles and sculpture. We look forward to embracing the possible expressions of the arts in forms related to liturgy and worship.
Thank you for your interest and support. In particular we extend our deepest appreciation to participating artists, the local community and visitors to Victoria. We look forward to our future together! We embrace our future as we treasure our past, so we invite you to review our earlier exhibitions by following the links below. And, of course, if you have any questions, please share them with us by email: wardens@stmatthiasvictoria.ca
To review earlier exhibitions: For the first year, please click on this link:https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/programs/the-chapel-gallerys-first-year
For the second year, please click on this link: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallerys-second-year
For the third year, please click on this link: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallerys-third-year
For the fourth year, please click on this link: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallerys-fourth-year
For the fifth year, please click on this link: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/ministries/the-chapel-gallerys-fifth-year
We acknowledge with thanks the artists who have taken part. We are delighted that we can offer folks a taste of those previous exhibits!