What if creativity is not simply about creating something, but about entering into relationship? Through a close look at a number of contemporary artistic practices, we will explore how artists use creativity to respond to a deep human need for contact, encounter and relationship, placing this within the broader story of creation, fall, and redemption. We will then ask what it means for Christians working in the arts to listen to the culture of their time and engage with it creatively. Drawing on the reflections of Hans Rookmaaker and Tim Keller, as well as the speaker's experience as an artist and curator in the city of Rome, we will explore cultural engagement as part of our prophetic, priestly, and kingly vocation. How can Christian artists listen to, inhabit, and engage with their culture, and what traces might we leave through the work we create, the relationships we build, and the spaces we make?
