29 May 2017

More than 500 people of all faiths, and none, attended an open house interfaith art exhibition, which ran at Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue (BHPS) throughout May.

The synagogue has a long-standing commitment to interfaith work in the local area and, as part of the Brighton Festival this year, hosted the exhibition, welcoming visitors over the four Sunday during the month.

Titled ‘Reflections of the Divine: artwork inspired by sacred art traditions’, it included an amazing array of multimedia works – inspired by Jewish, Islamic, Daoist and Christian traditions. Each week, a different artist gave a talk about their work.

The works by Andrew Franks, Jess Wood, Tracy Wideman and Sandra Hill represented contemporary expressions of the sacred using traditional methods and materials brought to life through four artists’ unique perspectives of the divine.

Jess Wood, who also acted as curator, said: “We artists have been so blessed to have worked in partnership with the amazing BHPS to put on this unique exhibition.

“Lots of visitors commented on how special it was to see such beautiful sacred artwork inside a synagogue.”

One of the purposes of the exhibition was to show, through the art works, how the use of traditional techniques enables the artist to explore theological ideas through the work and especially in the earthly and animal materials used to make them.

Jess added: “At a time of great turmoil in our country, it was inspiring to see artists working with different sacred traditions come together to create beauty, peace and harmony in a Jewish space open to all.”