About ARS

Mission | History | Membership | Officers | Contact

catholicartists.org is the web site of Artists for a Renewed Society. Our legal name is Catholic Artists of Greater Washington, Inc.

We meet monthly at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, near the Catholic University of America, for discussion, fellowship, lectures, and planning.

Our Mission

Art has always been closely affiliated with the spiritual and ontological nature of man. It has the ability to open up the human heart to those realities beyond the material world which ultimately rest in God. Art also reveals the fullness of our humanity which is not only material but spiritual as well.

Since the dawn of Christianity, artists have served the Church and humanity by giving sensory form to the reality of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Christian art has helped win hearts and souls for God when written or spoken words could not. In our day, the Church invites artists to continue to communicate the message of Redemption, entrusted to her by Christ, through the transcendence of beauty. Thus, in his Letter to Artists, Pope John Paul II writes,

I wish to remind each of you that... the close alliance that has always existed between the Gospel and art means that you are invited to use your creative intuition to enter into the heart of the mystery of the incarnate God and at the same time into the mystery of man.... Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and destiny. (#14)

In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council spoke of the fine arts as the "noblest activities of man's genius, especially religious art and its highest manifestation, sacred art." (SC, 122)

Similarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that

man also expresses the truth of his relationship to God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works.... To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what He has created. (CCC, 2501)

As Christian artists we desire to serve God, the Church, and the wider human family by restoring the artist's vocation to witness to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. We believe that all artistic expressions of true beauty, culminating in sacred art, reflect the glory of God and give profound witness to Him. Furthermore, art that is oriented towards Truth and upholds human dignity is a gift to humanity, as were the cathedrals and numerous masterpieces of earlier Christian cultures.

Our desire then is to respond to the Holy Father's invitation to artists and his vision for a new springtime of Christian culture. We recognize that in our time there is a special need for Christian artists to receive the professional formation and the spiritual support necessary to fulfill their artists' vocations. We believe that Christian artists can fulfill their vocation with the renewed and indispensable support of the Church and the Christian community, and find common strength and mutual support. With these goals in mind, we have founded Artists for a Renewed Society (ARS).

Fittingly, we look to Christ who in His Incarnation unites, once for all, the radiant beauty of the transcendent and immanent mystery of God. Moreover, we turn to Mary, the Mother of God and "tota pulchra," as the most perfect model of humble obedience to Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, for it is her "fiat" that enabled the radiance of that divine beauty to become incarnate in Christ. And so we place our work as artists under the guidance and protection of Mary, as well as under the care of Blessed Fra Angelico, patron of all artists.

To accomplish its goals, ARS activities will include:

• The recovery of the good practice of the arts, based on strong fundamentals, imbued with a Catholic identity and understanding of the relationship of truth and beauty.
• Collaborative art exhibits and multidisciplinary events in the Washington area and beyond that promote and create venues for Catholic artists to display their artistic creativity.
• Providing opportunities for art appreciation and education in the form of lectures, conferences, and pilgrimages, and the reprinting of articles devoted to Catholic religious, liturgical, and sacred art.
• Monthly meetings devoted to discussions on artistic themes and the current projects and agendas of the Association.
• Seek sources of financial support for artists and art projects.

How ARS Began

Throughout history, artists have gathered into groups to support one another and to share common ideals, from the medieval Christian guilds whose artists created the great works of Gothic art to the Salon des Refusés of the French Impressionists.

In January 1998, two artists from the Washington area, Dolores Daly and Scott Sullivan, discussed the idea of gathering local Catholic artists into an association. From that point, the idea of a network of support open to artists with a commitment to faith and to their vocation as artists grew. After discussing objectives and discovering a growing interest among other local artists, the group came into existence.

ARS, Artists for a Renewed Society, is a Catholic organization founded for the purpose of helping to renew society through art that will effectively communicate the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

ARS members, among them Scott and Jem Sullivan,
assisted at the Jubilee for Artists on February 18, 2000,
the memorial of Bl. Angelico.

ARS assists artists by facilitating the personal, professional, and spiritual support and formation needed to fulfill their vocation as artists.

Membership

ARS membership consists of Catholic artists working in any artistic discipline, lovers of art, and all those who wish to support their mission. While our goals are thoroughly imbued with a Catholic identity and fidelity to the Church's Magisterium, we welcome all who are committed to a Catholic vision of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

A printable membership form is available online.

Officers of ARS

Rev. Giles Dimock, O.P., Chaplain
Scott Sullivan, President
Dolores Daly Flessner, Co-President
Jem Sullivan, Secretary and Corresponding Officer

Contacting us

You can reach us electronically at info@catholicartists.org, or by paper mail at:

ARS
c/o Scott F. Sullivan
6511 Queens Chapel Road
University Park, MD 20782

About this site

Our webmaster Richard Chonak developed these pages using Movable Type web publishing software. He also wishes to acknowledge the makers of the following open-source products: The GIMP graphics tool, the Perl and php languages, and GNU/Linux systems.