A professional art installer checks the display at St. Paul’s Commons of artwork by Katharine Gould. The works will be on display and for sale until June 20 – World Refugee Day – to benefit IRIS, the diocese’s immigration and refugee ministry. Photo: Janet Kawamoto
Artist Katharine Gould stands next to one of her artworks to be displayed at St. Paul’s Commons and introduced at a reception on April 15 benefiting IRIS. Photo: Janet Kawamoto
[The Episcopal News] Members of the diocesan community and their friends are cordially invited to “Crossings: An Evening of Paintings of the Refugee Journey and Storytelling,” on Saturday, April 15, from 5 to 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Commons. The event, held on World Art Day, is a benefit for Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service (IRIS), the diocese’s migration ministry.
The evening will feature pastel paintings by Katherine Gould, whose work has been celebrated in numerous exhibitions and private collections throughout the United States. In addition to the art exhibit, for which refugees will serve as docents, the program will feature music by a jazz trio, storytelling by refugees, and an interactive experience that will invite attendees to create their own poetry.
“As humans we destroy not only each other but also our earth,” said Gould. “Yet nature is resilient, just as the will to survive keeps the refugee traveling in spite of persecution and extraordinary losses. Pastel is the ideal medium to capture the transient lives of the refugee seen against the transient beauty of nature even in the darkest of times.”
“Refugee journeys reflect the strength, perseverance, and beauty of those who make them,” said Troy Elder, IRIS’s executive director. “And it is sometimes only through art that their truths are wholly revealed.”
The works will remain on view and for sale until June 20, World Refugee Day.
Tickets are $100, which includes a hosted bar with wine, beer, and non-alcoholic options, as well as gourmet appetizers from a local Near Eastern kitchen. Net proceeds from ticket sales and a percentage of sales of Gould’s art during the evening and subsequent exhibition period will benefit IRIS’s ongoing refugee resettlement work.
To purchase tickets, click here. St. Paul’s Commons, the ministry and administrative hub of the Diocese of Los Angeles, is located at 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles. Secure underground parking is available.
This article, originally published on March 22, was updated on April 5 with additional information and photos.