GLASGOW - 6 February 2008 - 300 words
Archdiocese of Glasgow launches Lenten arts festival
The Catholic Church in Glasgow is urging people do something different for Lent this year. Besides the traditional practices of giving up chocolate or crisps, this year there is an invitation to mark Lent by going to a play or taking in an art exhibition!
The idea is to encourage attendance at Lentfest 2008 which opens with a bread and water reception at a top Glasgow Restaurant on February 6 - appropriately enough, Ash Wednesday!
The six-week long arts festival is an initiative of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and is set to become a major new annual event in Glasgow's cultural calendar.
With live theatre, cinema, music, literary events, and visual arts exhibitions, Lentfest is billed as an imaginative fusion of the arts and faith with events and performances throughout the Greater Glasgow area.
Highlights this year include:
*The world premiere of a new composition by acclaimed composer James MacMillan
*A concert by Aleksander Kudjczyk - "Olek" the Polish concert pianist discovered working as a cleaner in Glasgow University
*A Film and Faith Event with appearances by award-winning film-makers Norman Stone and Sergio Casci.
Also in the programme is a new travelling theatre production and a public art exhibition to be held in St Patrick's Church in Anderston with work by a variety of artists on the theme of The Beatitudes, to be opened with a short concert by recording star Eddi Reader.
Everything from Gregorian Chant to gangster movies make it onto the programme which is complemented by an education programme open to all schools in the Glasgow area.
Lentfest is the brainchild of festival director Stephen Callaghan, Manager of the Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project, founded in October 2006 by Archbishop Mario Conti as a way of restoring the link between the Church and the Arts (a link which produced some of the most magnificent art in Western civilisation) and expressing and sharing Christian culture through the arts.
Lentfest Director Stephen Callaghan has this year written the play "Feet of Clay" - a fast-paced funny modern parable which will play at eight venues across the Glasgow area. He said: "The idea of Lentfest developed from the setting up of the arts project itself. It seemed a natural progression to move to the establishment of an annual arts festival. Our ethos is broad ranging, embracing both the popular and the classical, the contemporary and the traditional. Content need not be overtly religious as art can be a vehicle for leading people towards faith."
Archbishop Conti said: "Our vision is for more churches, more schools, more artists and more community members to become involved in this annual opportunity for expressing, exploring and sharing Christian culture through the arts. "
For full details see: www.lentfest.co.uk
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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