Exhibiting Faith

David Trigg is joined by curator Lucy Wood to discuss the intersection of art and faith in the life and work of Gwen John.Celebrated for her quietly intense paintings of domestic interiors and solitary female figures, John is recognized as one of the finest Welsh artists of the early 20th century. From the moment she left her home in Tenby, she pursued a fiercely independent course — first in London and then in Paris — where she lived until the end of her life. Although she was acquainted with leading European modernists, she never aligned herself with any group or movement. Instead, she nurtured a personal visual language rooted in subtle symbolism and a poetic vision of the world. John's conversion to Catholicism around 1913 had a profound effect on her art, evident both in her choice of subjects and the evolution of her style. For John, art making became a spiritual practice, and by the early 1920s, she was referring to herself as “God’s little artist.” Marking the 150th anniversary of Gwen John’s birth is the ambitious international touring exhibition “Gwen John: Strange Beauties”, which opened at National Museum Cardiff earlier this year and is now on display at National Galleries Scotland in Edinburgh until 4 January 2027, after which it travels to Yale Center for British Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC.In this episode, Lucy discusses the once-in-a-generation exhibition, which brings together well-known paintings with rarely seen works on paper, demonstrating how John’s faith became deeply entwined with her practice. Lucy Wood is Senior Curator of Art at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. She is co-curator of Gwen John: Strange Beauties and co-editor, with Rachel Stratton (Yale Center for British Art), of the accompanying publication.Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode David Trigg takes a visit to the Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, a unique museum exploring British history through the lens of faith.The museum, which opened in 2023, is part of the Auckland Project, a cultural regeneration initiative spearheaded by philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer that has transformed the historic Auckland Palace and is bringing positive change to the post-industrial town that surrounds it. Charting 6,000 years of faith in Britain, the Faith Museum explores the myriad ways in which faith has shaped lives and communities across Britain. It includes an active programme of rotating displays and temporary exhibitions in its four dynamic gallery spaces, which are arranged over two floors. The Faith Museum showcases over 250 objects from 50 lenders across England, Scotland and Wales, including rarely seen objects, national treasures, personal mementos and contemporary commissions.David speaks with Jonathan Ruffer about the genesis of The Faith Museum and hears from Amina Wright, who was senior curator between 2020 and 2024. Clare Baron, Head of Curatorial at the Auckland Project, takes him on a tour of the galleries, sharing some of the museum’s prized exhibits, including the mysterious Gainford Stone, the remarkable Binchester Ring and the mesmerising installation ‘Eidolon’ by Mat Collishaw.To find out more about The Faith Museum visit aucklandproject.orgSupport the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode David Trigg explores the work of Morphē Arts, a national network that encourages critical engagement between Christian faith and contemporary art.Since 2011, Morphē has provided support and resources for arts graduates and early to mid-career artists around the UK, helping them to think through issues of art and faith and to work with integrity in their creative practices.The network’s co-founders David McCulloch (aka Cully) and Ally Gordon are joined by Sarah White to discuss how Morphē began, the challenges faced by artists of faith, and the various activities and programmes that the charity runs.David and Cully also meet in Dundee to discuss Morphē's public art project Sharing Not Hoarding and the alternative art space Nomas Projects, an experimental, zero-budget gallery based in the windows of a church office building.To find out more about Morphe and its programme of events visit morphearts.org or follow on Instagram: @morphe_artsSupport the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode David Trigg is joined by Ben Quash, Professor of Christianity and the Arts at King’s College London, where he is also director of the Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS).Designed to encourage encounters with the Bible through art, the VCS is a free online publication providing expert theological commentary in dialogue with historical and contemporary works of art.Launched in 2018, the VCS is a growing resource that features curated virtual exhibitions, each one consisting of three artworks along with short textual commentaries relating them to a biblical passage.Facilitating new possibilities of seeing and reading, the VCS explores how biblical texts and works of art can illuminate each other, bringing alive both in new and vivid ways.Ben tells David about how the project got started, how the virtual exhibitions are curated and how the intersection of art and theology can enlighten our understanding and appreciation of both.To explore the Visual Commentary on Scripture for yourself, visit thevcs.orgSupport the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In the second of two episodes exploring the vibrant artworks of Liverpool’s cathedrals, David Trigg is joined by Laura Moffatt for a tour of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, the largest Catholic cathedral in England.They are joined by Terry Duffy, former organist and Director of Music at the cathedral, and Dominic Wilkinson, architect and principal lecturer in architecture at Liverpool John Moores University.Designed by Frederick Gibberd and built between 1962 and 1967, the strikingly modern cathedral commands the Liverpool skyline. Our tour begins with William Mitchell's concrete bell tower and large sliding doors decorated with fantastical winged creatures. Inside, we discuss the Lantern Tower, designed by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens, and Elisabeth Frink's bronze crucifix.In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel are works by Ceri Richards and Arthur Dooley, while in the Lady Chapel is Robert Brumby's Virgin and Child and Margaret Traherne's coloured windows. George Mayer-Marton's Pentecost mosaic is displayed in the Chapel of Unity, and in the Chapel of St Joseph we find scenes from the life of St Joseph carved directly into the walls by Stephen Foster. Interspersed between the chapels is a series of 14 bronze Stations of the Cross by Sean Rice, who also produced a remarkable sculpture of Abraham, ‘Our Father in Faith’ with which we end our tour.Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode David Trigg is joined by Kieran Dodds, a Scottish photographer known for his award-winning photo stories and portraits. Kieran’s research-driven projects are centred on the interplay of environment and human culture; how people shape their environments and how those environments in turn shape people.The conversation opens at the V&A Dundee, where Kieran is exhibiting works from his series Church Forests of Ethiopia, in the museum’s Garden Futures exhibition.The project explores the way that Christian beliefs have created sustainable landscapes in Ethiopia’s Amhara province, an area in the north of the country where, in the last century, vast amounts of ancient forest were cleared for agricultural use, leaving only the lush groves surrounding Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. In Ethiopian Orthodox teaching, a church building should be enveloped by a forest, an oasis recalling the Garden of Eden. Thousands of these small church forests litter the Ethiopian highlands, scattered like emeralds across a sea of dusty farm fields. Kieran speaks about how he came to photograph these remnant forests and how the local churches are playing a vital role in the protection and conservation of the region’s biodiversity.In addition to speaking about how he became a photographer and the role that his Christian faith plays in his work, Kieran also discusses his Border Patrol and Gingers projects.The exhibition “Garden Futures” is at V&A Dundee until 25 January 2026. Works discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram.To keep up to date with Kieran's projects visit his website, follow him on Instagram and subscribe to his Substack.Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode, David Trigg is joined by curator Jacquiline Creswell and poet Alex Vellis to discuss the exhibition "Hear Us" at Canterbury Cathedral, which centres on the idea of asking God a question.Controversially, parts of the cathedral's majestic architecture have been covered with eye-catching graffiti. But the building hasn't been vandalised; the colourful graphics, which will leave no trace, present thought-provoking questions for God developed in collaboration with marginalised groups from Canterbury who felt that the cathedral was not a place for them. Questions such as ‘do you know me?’, ‘What happens when we die?’, and ‘Why is there so much pain and destruction?’ cover the historic building's walls, floors and pillars, intended to spark conversations about faith, spirituality and personal growth.Jacquiline and Alex explain how the exhibition was developed, how they persuaded the cathedral to agree to it, and how they have dealt with the storm of criticism it has generated.The exhibition “Hear Us” is at Canterbury Cathedral until 18 January 2026. For more information visit www.canterbury-cathedral.orgSupport the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode, David Trigg is joined by Laura Moffatt, Director of Art + Christianity, for the first of two episodes exploring the vibrant artworks of Liverpool’s two magnificent cathedrals: the protestant Cathedral Church of Christ and the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.This first instalment explores a selection of modern and contemporary artworks displayed in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.Based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott, the striking gothic revival structure was built in local red sandstone between 1904 and 1978. With its giant 101 metre tall central tower and massive proportions, the building dominates the city skyline.The tour begins outside the cathedral, where high above the West Doors is Elisabeth Frink’s The Welcoming Christ (also known as The Risen Christ), a large 5-metre-tall bronze installed in 1993. Inside, Laura leads us to see parable paintings from the mid-1990s by Christopher Le Brun and Adrian Wiszniewski; a 1998 crucifixion scene by Craigie Aitchison, and Tracey Emin’s 2008 neon installation For You.Our visit to the cathedral coincided with the 13th edition of the Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest free festival of contemporary art. This year works by two Biennial artists have been installed in the cathedral: glass collages by Ana Navas in the Lady Chapel, and a spectacular large-scale textile installation by Cypriot artist Maria Loizidou near the west end of the cathedral titled Where Am I Now?David is also joined by the cathedral’s Canon Chancellor Ellen Loudon to discuss why it is important for the cathedral to engage with visual art.Artworks discussed in this episode:Elizabeth Frink (1930-1993), The Welcoming Christ (1993)Christopher Le Brun, The Prodigal Son (1996)Christopher Le Brun, The Good Samaritan (1996)Adrian Wiszniewski, The Good Samaritan (1995) Adrian Wiszniewski, The House Built on Rock (1995) Craigie Aitchison, Calvary (1998)Maria Loizidou, Where Am I Now? (2025) Ana Navas, Passion Flower (2025)Tracey Emin, For You (2008)Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode David Trigg speaks to Jonathan A. Anderson to discuss his new book The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art (University of Notre Dame Press, 2025), which challenges the notion that religion is irrelevant to modern and contemporary art. Jonathan is the Eugene and Jan Peterson associate professor of Theology and the Arts at Regents College in Vancouver and his scholarship explores the interrelations of art history, theology and religious studies, with a particular focus on modern and contemporary art.In his book, Jonathan calls for the histories of art “to be reread and rewritten in ways that understand religion and theology more seriously,” and encourages new ways of thinking and writing about artists whose works are more theologically complicated than has previously been recognised. Jonathan is the author of Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism (with William Dyrness, 2016), and many articles and book chapters on related topics, including “Modern Art” in The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (2021). Trained as an artist, art critic, and theologian, Jonathan has a PhD from King’s College London and an MFA from California State University Long Beach. Prior to his chair at Regent College, he was the postdoctoral associate of theology and the visual arts at Duke University (Durham, NC) and an associate professor of art at Biola University (La Mirada, CA).To learn more about Jonathan A. Anderson, visit his website and follow @jonathan.a.anderson on Instagram.Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee

In this episode, David Trigg speaks to Beth Hughes, an independent curator and researcher who was Visual Arts Curator at Salisbury Cathedral from 2023 to 2025.Beth discusses her time at Salisbury Cathedral, where she programmed six ambitious exhibitions, including the group shows ‘To Be Free’, which explored human rights and freedoms; ‘Our Earth’ which focused on the impact of climate change; and a solo exhibition of work by British artist Shezad Dawood.Her final exhibition, ‘Living Water’, brings together works by six contemporary artists who explore the power of water, both as a symbol and an influence that shapes our world. Beth speaks about what inspired the exhibition and takes us on a tour of its works, which are situated in relation to the cathedral’s stunning architecture and ecclesiastical context. Previously, Beth was Curator at Arts Council Collection for eight years and is currently Curator and Creative Producer for Lubaina Himid Projects. Beth is also undertaking a PhD with Manchester University to examine the representation of contemporary British working-class artists in publicly-funded art collections, and she leads the Working Class British Art Network.Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram @exhibitingfaith For more information on ‘Living Water’ visit the Salisbury Cathedral website.To learn more about Beth Hughes, visit her website and follow @beth_beth_hughes on Instagram.Support the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me a coffee