La Jolla Presbyterian Church brings in new pictures exhibit for Lent – San Diego Union-Tribune

For some, Lent is a time for giving one thing up. But at La Jolla Presbyterian Church’s artwork gallery, this yr it is going to be a time of bringing one thing in.

Starting Sunday, Feb. 22, the gallery will home photographic works and journal entries of Diane Dammeyer in an exhibition known as “The Struggle Within.” The exhibit will probably be free and open to the general public from 10 a.m. to midday Sundays by means of April 19 at 7715 Draper Ave.

“Each photo represents a season or a challenge in her life,” mentioned gallery curator Shannon Cunningham. “So at each [exhibit] station, half is a journal page and the other is a photo. You read the journal and see the photo. I think it’s going to be a meaningful experience. We’re really excited about it.”

What’s extra, church pastor Paul Cunningham (Shannon’s husband) will take inspiration from the items and combine them into his weekly sermons in the course of the 40 days of Lent from Feb. 18 to April 2.

“It’s a very new thing for us, but there are themes in [the exhibit] that Paul felt like he could build sermons off of,” Shannon Cunningham mentioned. A video with snippets from a recorded interview with the artist will play earlier than Sunday providers.

The works will probably be displayed within the reworked gallery, which previously was a library. The gallery was created following a historical past of congregation members displaying their paintings in hallways and makeshift areas, with a lift from Shannon Cunningham, an artist herself.

“When [Paul and I] came here, being in this congregation and getting to know people, people would come to find out that I was an artist,” she mentioned. “One day, this woman came up to me and said she wanted to get to know that side of me so [the congregation] could get to know me better. It felt weird as the pastor’s wife to showcase my art, but we met and brainstormed about ways to showcase the art of our congregation, not just me.”

About 15 years in the past, the church launched a program known as Gifts of the Heart to showcase members’ artwork, although none of it was on the market.

“We wanted people to be able to share who they are in this space, so it was a fellowship opportunity for the congregation to get to know each other through art,” Cunningham mentioned. “We had one woman that made art after her husband had passed away as a way of healing. It’s not like she would ever sell that, but she wanted an opportunity to show it and that side of her. People didn’t know what she had been through until then, so it was a great opportunity to share who they are … and make whatever they want to make.”

Through all of it, Cunningham longed for a chosen gallery area to indicate such works.

“I had been eyeing a library [at the church] that had become unused,” she mentioned. “It was really dark and had shelves all along the walls and dark carpets, so it became almost like storage. … But I didn’t have a lot of time to make it happen.”

The thought actually took form throughout a visit to New York.

“We went to the [Museum of Modern Art] three years ago and I wanted the gallery to look like that. So we decided to make the time and make it happen,” she mentioned.

A crew eliminated the cabinets and carpeting from the library area, painted the partitions and added hardwood flooring. An unused set of pews was introduced in to supply seating.

After creating the gallery, the church has hosted 5 exhibits a yr, from skilled reveals to Gifts of the Heart shows.

“The mission of this space is different because for most galleries, the purpose is to sell art and ours is just to showcase,” Cunningham mentioned. “People seem to love this space. It brings them a lot of joy.”

In having the exhibitions, Cunningham has seen significant “conversations and interactions” amongst individuals visiting to view the artwork, she mentioned.

“I feel so thankful and blessed that we are serving a congregation that lets me be me and express something I love without any pushback,” she mentioned. “It makes the worship experience more than just sitting in the pews on Sunday morning. That’s what everyone is used to … but this makes it more of an interactive experience.” ♦