ArtWay Newsletter December 2017

ArtWay Newsletter December 2017

Dear ArtWay friend,

This Polish icon hangs in my home. To me it typifies the convergence of the old tradition of iconography and contemporary art. It is a work by the Polish artist Jerzy Nowosielski (1932-2011). He gave – with respect for the religious tradition in which he stands – an interpretation of his own of familiar biblical stories.

This is what visual art does more often: seek surprising forms to provide well-worn paths with a new surface. A startling painting of the Nativity can for instance make you look at Christmas with different eyes and can add new accents to your appreciation of this special feast. 

Renewed Looking
That is exactly what ArtWay wants to achieve. The visual arts cultivate a fresh and renewed view of deeply entrenched values. That is why we are happy to provide an online platform for old and new art rooted in the rich Christian tradition, so that a wide audience can become acquainted with it. Also this year our editor-in-chief Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker, our Canadian associate editor Laurel Gasque and American assistant editor Victoria Emily Jones worked hard to make ArtWay a website of value. They do this as volunteers, deeply motivated to try and bring a wide range of art into the limelight.

One Million Visitors!
Let me mention a few facts and figures that underline the significance of ArtWay:

Once again ArtWay reached more people than the year before: daily 2500 visitors on average browse around in our digital art world. During Advent, Lent and Easter the number of visitors rises to 3500 per day.

Half of the visitors come from the Netherlands and Belgium, while the other half come from all over the world, with countries like the USA, England, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, India, the Philippines and Ukraine taking the lead.

This boils down to one million unique visitors a year, which may arouse the envy of quite a few art museums!

This year we worked on setting up French and German sections on the website. They are still small, but growing. We were happy to discover that the number of French reading visitors to the website went up considerably.

Our weekly visual meditations reach 4100 subscribers, half of which are English reading. You are invited to let friends and acquaintances know about this service. In fact, encouraging subscriptions might be the best Christmas gift you can give them. It lasts all year round!

For quite a few people the meditations offer a breathing moment amidst a never ceasing stream of messages, feedback from pressured professionals to pastors makes clear.

In the Netherlands we have helped set up an art minor at the Christelijke Hogeschool Ede (CHE), so that there will be a place art students can go to when they seek to connect their art and their faith. Something like this was lacking in the Netherlands. Marleen is also working hard on a book about Christianity and art with an added focus on Calvinism and Neo-Calvinism and art that will be published in Dutch and English next year.

We Live on Donations
ArtWay is for 100% run by volunteers. For the expenses we make we depend on donations. That’s why we call upon your generosity: your gift can be remitted online. Go here to give a donation. 

When you prefer to send us a cheque, here are our account details: Account holder: Stichting ArtWay, Sloetmarke 33, Zwolle. IBAN: NL25INGB0003847269; BIC (also known as Swiftcode): INGBNL2A.

In Canada
Canadian citizens and residents can claim a tax credit by giving through MSC Canada, specifying that your gift is 'to support the work of the Lord under the direction of Laurel Gasque, Associate Editor of Artway.eu.' The mailing address is: MSC Canada, 101 Amber Street, UNIT 18, Markham, Ontario L3R 3B2, CANADA

The ArtWay team and board wish you a rich and creative Christmas and 2018.

Wim Eikelboom,
Chairman of ArtWay 

NB – Would you like to know more about the work of the Polish artist Jerzy Nowosielski? Then go to a presentation of his icons here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBslyBqzoU0.

PS – For a recent presentation about ArtWay by our chairman Wim Eikelboom, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EWtKVuHFmQ&t=24s.