Grounding the Sacred through Literature and the Arts Conference
23 to 26 July 2015, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135
The conference will bring writers, artists, musicians, academics, researchers, religious and members of the public together to discuss where creativity sits in relation to religion and the search for meaning. Are the arts a conduit between the divine and the everyday? To flourish, do we need both a sense of the sacred and the means to express it? Do the arts provide a common ground for people of different faiths – or maybe none – to explore the ineffable?
Invited speakers and performers include Imam Afroz Ali, Carmel Bird, Kathleen Deignan (Iona Spirituality Institute), Kevin Hart (Virginia), David Jasper (Glasgow), Vivien Johnson, Dr Rachael Kohn, Dr Genevieve Lacey, David Malouf, Michael McGirr, and Thaddeus Metz (Johannesburg). Some 70 conference papers are also anticipated.
The Conference will be accompanied by an exhibition of paintings by Papunya Tula Artists and the Warlayirti Artists of Balgo.
A post-graduate seminar will be held on 23 July with Kevin Hart, Alison and David Jasper and Thaddeus Metz to encourage interdisciplinary discussion and networking on the sacred and the arts.
Registration is essential and is encouraged by 8 July 2015. To register, visit http://www.acu.edu.au/