ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Lenten season is officially here, and for multiple religious denominations, the season includes readings of the Stations of the Cross that depict Jesus’ journey to His crucifixion.
Liberal’s Baker Arts Center opened a special Stations of the Cross exhibit Monday evening, and Baker Arts Center Director Brittyn Heronemus said she and the board had been approached about such an exhibit earlier this year.
“the Catholic church in Salina had a Stations of the Cross exhibit a couple years ago, and Jeff Mitchell, who's a local Episcopalian preacher, he went to that exhibit and was blown away by the response and emotion behind everything. After that, he thought, why not bring this to Liberal and our art community?” Heronemus said. “So he brought the idea to our board, and we've been working on creating an artists' network for the area and more of an artistic community of adult artists and younger artists. We want to move into more of an adult art atmosphere since we've already rather established a children's art atmosphere, and our goals and Jeff's goals aligned pretty perfectly. So we sent out applications to artists in the area to apply, to which we had an overwhelming response, and we picked multiple artists to contribute to this exhibit. Each artist was able to choose the station they wanted to represent, and if there happened to be two people who wanted the same station, we made the decision who would actually do it and gave the other artist another station option. Luckily, basically everyone got the station they wanted, which was awesome.”
The exhibit includes multiple media ranging from oil paintings to watercolor paintings, woodwork, and pottery/ceramics, which Heronemus said means there is something for all patrons to enjoy.
“But I think the really cool thing about this exhibit is how the artists all have different art and religious backgrounds, so it's really amazing to see 14 different pieces of art from so many different backgrounds come together to help create one cohesive entity for patrons to enjoy,” Heronemus said. “Something else that's neat about this exhibit is every Friday during Lent, we'll have a reading of the Stations at noon, which Jeff will start, and the community is welcome to come and take part in that. Then, after those readings, we will host lunch at the Baker Arts Center Kitchen. The exhibit will be up through Saturday, April 19, and people can come during our regular business hours (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday) or reserve a private viewing by calling us.”
That potential for collaboration, Heronemus added, was instrumental for the decision to put the exhibit together.
“One of the goals of Baker Arts Center is to expand our artist network and residencies, so we're really looking to grow and bring more artists in from the area and beyond,” Heronemus said. “When Baker Arts Center started, artists gathered here and painted together and got tips and tricks from each other, and we really want to bring that back. We of course have our teachers here who do a great job, but we definitely want to bring that community feel back, so what better way than to get 14 different artists on the roster for one cohesive exhibit? But Jeff really convinced me and the rest of the board to go for it, and he was the one who came and pled the case of such an exhibit being a great opportunity, and we all just went hand in hand.”
Heronemus said the exhibit should make for a very moving experience for patrons.
“It's a very moving experience even just looking at the pieces without going through the readings. I've actually never experienced the Stations of the Cross myself, so I'm really looking forward to Fridays when people come in and do that. Even if you don't have a religious affiliation, I would encourage everyone to come in, look at the pieces, and show support for the artists who helped this exhibit come together,” Heronemus said. “It's such a unique show both from a spiritual aspect and artistic perspective since we have multiple media being utilized with this exhibit. All of the pieces are just so, so moving, and with it being the Lent/Easter season, they're especially pertinent. It's just a very unique exhibit, and I hope as many people as possible come and see it.”
Overall, Heronemus said, she is looking forward to seeing how the exhibit does.
“We hope to see big turnout, I would love to see people almost just streaming into Baker Arts Center showing support for these artists and also making this year's Lent/Easter season unique and fun, and like I said earlier, I would love to see high turnout for the Stations readings every Friday through Lent. I think this will be an exhibit that blows everyone's minds and something that will blow Baker Arts Center out of the water,” Heronemus said. “This is my first time, as Baker Arts Center director, to have this type of exhibit in the center, and three of our board members also put together pieces of their own for display, so they were super involved. It's been a learning experience for everyone since I've not yet been part of something so big while at Baker Arts Center, and it makes me very excited for future collaborative efforts. We're really happy to provide this exhibit for the public, and I can't wait to see and hear what people think. Join us at Baker Arts Center for the exhibit, and come every Friday for the Stations of the Cross read-throughs and join us for lunch afterward at the Baker Arts Kitchen. We're all really excited for this, and again, I can't wait to see and hear what everyone thinks.”
