Thirty years ago an organization dedicated to examining the intersection of faith and the arts was started at Bethel University. This week, that organization—Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), which now consists of more than 1,300 members around the world—is returning to the place of its founding for its 2009 Biennial Conference.

The conference, themed “Culture?”, is examining how 21^st century Christians live out their calling to the arts with joy, creativity, and obedience. The event features artists, theologians, and critics from across the country, as well as some Twin Cities natives.

“Whether it be the religious art of Renaissance or the individuals’ perspective seen in postmodernism, visual art throughout the centuries has always played a role in defining culture,” explains Michelle Westmark, galleries director at Bethel University and one of the event’s coordinators. “This conference will engage questions of how Christians and Christian art affect, respond to, fit in to contemporary culture.”

Well-known national speakers include Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright professor of systematic theology at Yale Divinity School; Makoto Fujimura, founder of the International Arts Movement and a presidential appointee to the National Endowment for the Arts; and Karen Mulder, architectural historian and faculty member at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. Local presenters include Twin Cities artist Chris Larson; St. Olaf College Professor Charles Taliaferro; and Bethel University Department of Art Chair Wayne Roosa.

For more information on Christians in the Visual Arts, go to www.civa.org.