March 4 – June 4, 2005
art, daily life photographs
& stories from the lives of ordinary Anabaptist church members
from 17 countries around the world
conceived and curated
by Ray Dirks
Canada, USA, Cuba, Brazil,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, India, Indonesia,
Taiwan, Japan
site
menu and information on the In God’s Image: A
Global Anabaptist Family book follows the introduction
Introduction
- Culture, art, friendship,
work, hardship, family, play, sadness, joy, faith.
- Daily life photographs
and art from 17 countries around the world.
- A celebration of diversity
and common faith.
- All people equal.
All created in the image of God.
Mennonite, Brethren in
Christ and related churches can be found in 65 countries with membership
worldwide over 1,300,000 in 2005. This exhibition is an introduction
to some of the people who are involved in member churches of the
Mennonite World Conference in 17 countries. It also introduces viewers
to art from each participating nation.
Mennonite World Conference
(MWC) is an international fellowship of Christian churches who trace
their beginning to the 16th-century Radical Reformation in Europe,
particularly to the Anabaptist movement. Today, approximately 1,300,000
believers belong to this faith family; at least 55 percent are African,
Asian, or Latin American. (from the Mennonite World Conference website:
www.mwc-cmm.org)
A Global Family of Faith
What do we know of the
rest of the world? Often very little. Often only bad news. For example,
for many millions the image of Africa is hidden in an impenetrable
fog of HIV-AIDS, war, famine and corruption. While not denying the
existence of the reasons for horror and despair, this exhibition
sets out to introduce us to hope that can be found around the world
— hope found in the lives of ordinary people through photographs
and stories from their daily lives.
A deeper understanding
and appreciation of a culture can also be discovered within the
art of a nation. Therefore, this exhibition is a blend of art and
daily life photographs from the 17 represented countries. Each photo
gives viewers a literal window into a place, into everyday life
we generally never see. Art opens a place’s soul. While this
exhibition focuses on the lives of people within the global Anabaptist
community it is designed with a broader audience in mind. The subjects,
members of either Mennonite or Brethren in Christ congregations,
in many ways are not unlike their neighbors, sharing culture and
experiences. Viewers of all backgrounds can learn something about
the lives of ordinary people and the art of the participating countries.
This exhibition allows glimpses into lands east, west, north and
south around the globe, a truly unusual opportunity for any viewer.
The exhibition came together
over a three year period with reference, art gathering and commissioning
trips beginning in August 2001. Genesis 1: 27 states “So God
created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.” This declaration of the
equality of all women and men drives the exhibit. Celebrating that
fact, the exhibition presents all people, regardless of race, material
wellbeing, age or gender as equal — equally important, equally
respected, people of dignity based on what is inside them and not
on the color of their skin, their age, gender or material wealth.
Contacts in all countries
with Mennonite or Brethren in Christ groups were asked if they would
like to participate in the exhibition. From those that responded
a cross section of countries was chosen to broadly represent where
the global Anabaptist family is at early in the 21st Century. Individuals
or families were recommended by contacts in each country for Canadian
curator Ray Dirks to visit. He asked to experience their lives as
they do — eating together, taking public transport, sleeping
in their homes, going to church together, participating in family
outings, visiting markets, etc… At the same time he met artists
and purchased and commissioned artworks. In some cases art was donated.
In God’s Image:
A Global Anabaptist Family came together in order to begin a tour
at the Assembly Gathered of Mennonite World Conference held in Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe in August 2003. It opened first at the National Gallery
of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in July before moving to the assembly site
in August. It spent 2004 in Europe.
This exhibition celebrates
the theme of the 2003 Assembly Gathered of Mennonite World Conference,
“Sharing Gifts in Suffering and in Joy”. Getting to
know one another, even if just a little as this exhibition offers,
allows us to see lives of hope and joy even in places we otherwise
believe are without hope and joy. Accepting each other as equals
— different but equal — moves us closer to justice and
peace. Little else brings more hope and joy, and relieves suffering
better, than justice and peace.
The exhibition is a project
of the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery (MHCGallery) in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada.
Menu
Would you like to see In God’s Image in your area?
Contact curator Ray Dirks for information regarding bringing the
tour of In God’s Image to your area. Within North America
or Europe tour costs (shipping, insurance, etc…) must be picked
up by the local hosts. If there is sufficient interest and a proper
venue secured in a Global South country the curator will attempt
to raise funds in order to cover costs. Exhibition costs will not
be the responsibility of hosts in Global South countries. Dirks
can be reached at: (204) 888-6781; rdirks@mennonitechurch.ca and
MHCGallery, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3P
0M4.
Credits
Canada
curator/designer/writer/photographer, Ray
Dirks  Prayer
Garden architect, Agatha Doerksen
photo panel mounting, John Funk Jr., John Wieler, Michino Tsuboi,
Ruth Maendel, Ruth Wood, Jenny Western, Jake Suderman, Warren Schmidt,
Jane Zheng
Mennonite Heritage Centre: Alf Redekopp, Connie Wiebe
web, Grant Klassen
the many women who helped Agatha bring the Prayer Garden together
-- quilters and artists
Katie, Lauren and Alexa Dirks
Brazil
Peter and Anne Pauls, Henrique Ens, Alfred Pauls,
Geraldo Dyck, Liesbeth Vogt Hiebert, Peter Siemens, Konrad Dueck
Cuba
Felix Raphael Curbelo and Leyda Verde, Daniel Cabrera,
José Ernesto Martin Torres, Maria Regla Reyes Coto, Jésus
Lescano Peres and Maria E. Aguirre Calderon, Marcelino Mestre Elia
and Martha Gonzalez Vega
Democratic Republic of Congo
Robert Neufeld, Mwaku Kinana, Mattieu Lelo, Rev. Ndunda
Ethiopia
Kenna Dula, Aster Wolde, Bedru Hussein, Girma Teklu, Kebede
Bekere
France/Switzerland
Max and Astrid Wiedmer
Germany
Stefan van Delden
India
Rufus Gurugulla, Gordon Nickel, Shearamma
Indonesia
Abang Rahino, Marthen Tahun, Taman Petra, Ulis Tatik, Lilik
Setiyanto
Japan
Mari Iida, Yoshiko Harada, Gen and Michiko Tsuboi, Sally
Ito, Gerald Neufeld
the Netherlands
Ineke and Peter Reinhold, Annelies Soomers, Pieter de Hart, Francien
Risseeuw, Antje de Vries-van Dijk
Paraguay
Ewald and Katie Goetz, Ernesto and Elsa Unruh, Eduard Friesen, Melvin
and Gudrun Warkentin, Hilde Amstutz
Taiwan
Debbie Lin, Paulus Pan, Joshua Chang, Chih-Chun Yuan
Uruguay
Doris Haak, Günter Meckelburger, Hermann Woelke, Milka Rindzinski,
Hugo Moreira, Maria Jésus Otero, Eva Maria Bachmann
United States
Scott Jost, Doug and Joanne Ranck Dirks
Zambia
Elijah Muchindu, Enock Shamapani, Leonard Hamasele, Abert Seemani,
Daniel and Sophia Seemani
Zimbabwe
Ronald Lizwe and Su Moyo, Dothan and Sigqibile
Moyo, Voti Thebe
Sponsors
DeFehr Foundation, Mennonite Central Committee,
Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Bill and Margaret Fast Family
Foundation, Paul and Polly Wang, Herb and Erna Buller, Neil and
Herta Janzen, Frank and Agnes DeFehr, Mari Iida, Larry and Jessie
Kehler, Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, KidsPak (through Mennonite
Church Canada Sunday Schools), Don and Gloria Dyck, Helen Pauls,
Ray and Eleanor Martens, Lori Matties, Ingrid and Ron Lamp, Jubilee
Mennonite Church, Dan and Yvonne Nighswander, Scott Jost, Robert
and Lois Coleman Neufeld, anonymous donations
Special thanks to Mennonite World Conference: Larry
and Eleanor Miller, Ken and Marilyn Langeman, Ronald Lizwe Moyo,
Dothan Moyo, Ray Brubacher
Please forgive us for those who have been missed.
Many more than listed above have helped. All, whether doing a little
or a lot, were valuable.
contact: In God’s Image, Ray Dirks, rdirks@mennonitechurch.ca;
(204) 888-6781; 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB Canada R3P 0M4.
NO IMAGES PERMITTED TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE
CONSENT OF THE CURATOR, RAY DIRKS, OR MENNONITE HERITAGE CENTRE
DIRECTOR, ALF REDEKOPP. |
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