“To ease the loneliness of Catholic artists.”
Our Mission
The mission of the Catholic Artist Connection is to connect and support Catholic artists of all disciplines, both professionally and spiritually. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we aim to lead artists towards Christ by encouraging them in their vocations, building friendships and professional relationships, and promoting the creation of new Catholic art.
Note: this will use your new logo once you get it.
History of CAC
The Catholic Artist Connection was founded by Cole Matson, Ph.D., and Emily C.A. Snyder in May 2016 as a weekly email newsletter sharing opportunities and events of interest to Catholic artists. Occasional artist retreats were added to the work.
In Summer 2017, several more artists came together to create a website (CatholicArtistsNYC.com) listing Catholic arts organizations and artist-friendly parishes in the greater NYC area.
This group of artists, including Cole, Emily, Laura Pittenger, Timothy Matthew Collins, Melissa Maricich, Deniz Demirer, and Alexi Sargeant, became the founding Board of Directors when CAC was incorporated in the State of New York on Feb. 18, 2018. Later that year, Renée Darline came onboard as newsletter editor. Since then, Catholic Artist Connection has grown through its 800-subscriber-strong newsletter, retreats, office hours, writing groups, and digital and in-person ministry. In May 2021, when Renée Darline became the second executive director, Catholic Artist Connection made the commitment to grow our in-person local chapters across the country and offer artists and the church the in-person community and connection we are longing to as we rebuild our culture post-pandemic.
Cole Matson This is Cole's bio.
