Art Centre, Spain
 
 

(names have been changed)

 

This is a place where artists come together and share their work, lives, and dreams. One North African artist, Al, is very lonely. He hardly ever goes out, and rarely has a chance to connect with other artists. Last month, we invited Al to be part of our collective exhibit, and he was thrilled. His work was validated and he felt part of a larger group. One day when he came into the studio to bring his work, we had a long conversation about faith and purpose in life. It’s just the beginning of a relationship we want to build with him.

 

 

 

 

Carla is a 70+ year old woman who has been creative all her life but never had the chance to study. She writes poetry, sings, and has always wanted to learn to draw and paint. She leads a hard life of caring for her sickly relatives and claims that the 2 mornings she’s with us is the highlight of her week. She is blossoming like a flower, so excited to learn and create. Also, she is a Christian and openly shares her life experience and faith with other artists in the studio.

 

Pete is a street artist who has become part of our team. He is not a believer and is rough around the edges. He has a big heart, though, and loves to teach young people and invest in their lives. 

 

Over the past year, he has experienced great difficulty in his personal life. The art studio was a safe place for him to come and create, to be with friends. His is a sort-of Buddhist who believes in God and feels that God is calling him. He’s not sure what to think of Jesus, but when it comes to his experience with evangelical Christians, he shares that we are the only ones who are truly and unconditionally his friends.

 
Ilya and Emma are 2 North African children who live in the building where the studio is. The outside of our building and the open spaces are filled with rubbish, urine, and all other manner of nasty. Their parents feel they are safe, though, when they enter our space. They come in to draw and just recently started coming to the children’s class on scholarship. Our hope is to get to know their parents better, to continue to love the whole family and to share our hope in Jesus. 

Sue is a ceramicist who is looking for a new direction in life. We just met her the other day. She is recently divorced and is very hurt, often on the verge of tears. I invited her over the other day for coffee and she opened up that she feels very lonely and isolated. She needs to be part of a community, and that is what we are offering to her. Over time (and coffee and creating), our desire is to not only listen to her with compassion but to show her a path of hope and healing. In Christ!

 

These are just a few stories...there are many more. In many ways, it’s all just beginning! Relationships are being built and we are finding many ways to help open imagination. The art studio is a safe place. A place of peace and hope in a very unsafe and suspicious world.

 

There are so few art studios in our city and none that are like this space.  It is absolutely unique. Our prayer is that its presence will be a light for years to come. We have a plan to be financially self sustaining, however we are not there yet. Pray with us that one day soon we’ll be able to do this.