Architecture, Art, and Spirit Among The Poor
Our volunteers often lead retreats with City House program participants. One of the ways of engaging people spiritually is through art. Inviting individuals to make a collage, for example, supports one in making meaning out of life, whether rich or poor. Art has a way of speaking to and expressing the soul in ways that words sometimes can not.
Last Sunday, Krista Tippett’s program on Minnesota Public Radio aired a story about The Rural Studio. It is a program in western Alabama for student architects to 
transform dilapidated structures into “shelters for the soul.”
This short video clip stunningly portrays the spiritual importance of beauty in all of our lives. In the context of the intense poverty portrayed here, architecture is used as social art with raw and basic materials. “These are very spiritual people and they needed a place to worship,” says one student architect. “I go to church a lot. I wanted a place to be alone with God and pray”, says a resident whose home was transformed.
November 25th, 2007 at 6:21 am
Thanks for the mention of our production on Mason’s Bend. As with all the social networking sites that allow video, the quality isn’t great. If you’d like to see a larger, higher quality version, check out the Flash version at http://speakingoffaith.org/programs/ruralstudio/ss_masonsbend/soundseen_ss-masonsbend.shtml#slideshow.
November 25th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Hi Trent,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for the suggestion. I updated the link. Glad to see that we made Speaking of Faith’s radar screen. I hope that you and others at Speaking of Faith might see this blog as a resource for your program. I know that I certainly see Speaking of Faith as a resource for us. I have great admiration for what you are doing.