Calvin has announced an overarching theme for the arts departments in the 2018–19 season: “Reconciling all things.” This is the first time this has been done.

The theme will shape the Calvin Theater Company season and the visual art displayed in the Covenant Fine Arts Center as well as influencing aspects of other arts departments on campus. The deans’ council for the arts approved the theme on Nov. 30. It is being announced now to allow participants to get a head start on their entries.

When asked what inspired this theme, Dean Vander Lei shared, “One thing that recommended this theme to us was its broad scope — we hope that various arts groups will explore the theme in many different ways.”

The theme of reconciliation appears quite frequently in the Bible, as God “works out the plan of salvation,” Vander Lei added. “For us, the theme of reconciliation will press us to see the gap between how the world is now — its brokenness and divisions evident to all — and the Christian vision how the world should be.”

The overall theme of reconciliation, Vander Lei says, “will encourage us to think about themes like justice and mercy that are central to God’s redemption of all things. Beyond our own work in the arts, we hope that the theme will encourage the entire campus and the communities of which it is a part to recognize and repair divisions, to strive toward an inclusive, joyful, redeemed community.”

Grace Swanson, a member of the art collaborative, spoke on being part of the program. “I’ve met great people and I’ve gotten to make art that has deep meaning and that serves a purpose. I am also excited to go to Indonesia in January with the group and to reflect on those experiences through art.”

When asked what she thought of the upcoming arts theme of reconciliation, Swanson responded, “I really like the theme as it stresses the importance of Christ coming to renew all things. He’s not just coming to reconcile the obviously broken things but the church as well.”