Profoundly Human:
A Letter from our Executive Director
When I joined the board of the Catholic Artist Connection in late 2019, it was a New York City-based organization. Yes, we had our flagship newsletter, but the events listed were mostly local. Then 2020 happened, and everything moved online. We connected with artists across the United States and internationally, learning that many of us are laboring under the false belief that we are alone in our vocations as Catholic Artists. Nothing could be further from the truth. Through technology, God has allowed many of us to find each other.
That’s why it feels so fitting that just after our 10th anniversary, Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas should be published. Not since St. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists have I personally felt so seen and cherished by a pope as an artist. I’m grateful that Pope Leo saw fit to cite so much great artwork in his letter, and I feel vindicated that he values the intellectual property of artists. It’s good to know that the Church recognizes the deep value of our work.
But what strikes me most about the letter is the pope’s call for us to always see the human being behind technology. He writes: “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours
is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace.”
The CAC is responding to Pope Leo’s challenge by forming profoundly human connections every day. You can see it in the responses to our newsletter and the warm community in our artmaking sprints. (Please join us Tuesdays at 8am and Wednesdays at 9pm EST!) You can read it in our Lenten and Advent Reflections and the music and artwork we share. We’re at our best when we can move offline, when two artists in a place far away from New York meet up for coffee and start with a prayer. It’s a blessing they were able to connect through the CAC. I’m blessed to be a part of it.
I think you know where I am going next. Throughout June, we will endeavor to raise $3,000 for the Catholic Artists Connection to continue running all the programs mentioned above. We are all real human beings here, doing our absolute best on a shoestring budget. We will never use AI to communicate with you, because we are artists aiming to elevate the soul, one human connection at a time. As we approach this mission with renewed energy, I hope we have your support.
Weekly newsletters
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Interviews with Catholic artists like you
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Artmaking sprints
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In-person community
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Weekly newsletters ・ Interviews with Catholic artists like you ・ Artmaking sprints ・ In-person community ・
Weekly newsletters
・
Interviews with Catholic artists like you
・
Artmaking sprints
・
In-person community
・
Weekly newsletters ・ Interviews with Catholic artists like you ・ Artmaking sprints ・ In-person community ・
A community where you can be yourself.
A Catholic. An artist.
“God has created me to do Him some definite service. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.”
The mission of the Catholic Artist Connection is to connect and support Catholic artists of all disciplines both professionally and spiritually, through both online resources and in-person gatherings, to ease the loneliness of being a Catholic artist and encourage the creation of art for Christ.
Art & Synodality
Art & Synodality
October 2021 marked the beginning of a three-year journey of the Church actively listening to and dialoguing with the people of God, discerning the movements of the Holy Spirit within the global Body of Christ. The Art & Synodality project was born out of the desire to share the Global Synod with the Catholic world in the most accessible and unifying way possible —through art.
What We Offer
Weekly Newsletter
Sign up for our free weekly email sharing opportunities and events for Catholic artists. Discover an opportunity or post your own to find collaborators.
Local Chapters
Our local chapters provide ways to get connected with other Catholic artists and resources in your area, including arts organizations, artist-friendly parishes, and upcoming events.
Blog
Our blog highlights the stories of Catholic artists and arts organizations, as well as helpful resources, to provide encouragement and support for others on the same journey.
Personal Coaching
Low-cost individual coaching for artists who are looking to go to the next level in your artistic career, need help with focus or strategy, or are just looking for an accountability buddy.
Artist Retreats
Opportunities for spiritual enrichment designed to speak to Catholic artists through the language of beauty and creativity, helping them to enter more deeply into their unique walk with Christ.
Emergency Fund
For artists in immediate financial crisis due to the pandemic or other circumstances. All donations to the Fund go directly to artists in need.
“Catholic Artist Connection has been an invaluable resource for helping me to develop professionally and spiritually and find exciting new work other artists are doing. As we look to live out our Faith, we need this sense of community to know that we are supported and valued as artists, and that there are resources to help us in our journey to ‘give beauty back to God.’”