Saint Stephen's Creates Space to Engage the Arts

I am delighted to share a project that has been in the works for several months.  During the interview process when I was discerning with Saint Stephen’s about being your Rector, one of the concerns and desires of the committee was to activate our space, especially the new edition of the Parish Hall, and to engage the community and our church in new ways.  The parish hall will be completely paid for in January, so it is exciting to be growing in our understanding of the space and how to use it.

 I am pleased to share that beginning in September the Gathering Space and the hallway leading from the Nave will be used to host quarterly art exhibits in an effort to support and educate the community about the arts.  We are kicking off the space with a 30-piece show featuring the diverse work of Fred Marchman (1941-2016), a talented and prolific artist from Mobile, Alabama.  Marchman is also the brother of church member, Louise Meredith. Marchman’s work mostly focuses on his Southern legacy and roots.  Louise writes, [she hopes this will be] “an offering of how we can explore the creative spirit: perhaps we can remember scenes and symbols that are meaningful, and through the arts, we can uncover fear and we can see love more clearly; and we can be joyful, seeing the beautiful.”  Much of Marchman’s work is playful, inspired from his influences from impressionism, pop-art, and as he has written, “My own brand of abstract expressionism.”   

Marchman’s work is in the permanent collections of the Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville and Birmingham Museums of Art and was selected for the Alabama Print Portfolio. Currently, 75 pieces are being shown in conjunction with four other Alabama Artists at the Mobile Museum of Art in effort to celebrate the state’s bi-centennial year.  Our Saint Stephen’s show will run through the month of September and will kick off with an opening reception on September 8th at 4:00pm in the Gathering Space.  All are welcome to attend.  The next exhibit will run in January of 2020. 

- John+