I asked Coventry Cathedral if I could sell prints and postcards from their shop - and they said yes! They even dismissed the customary shop overhead so that there would be more to share with the Open Table Network. Not only did they display the work for the shop, they made a gorgeous display for it! There is still just time to visit today and time tomorrow morning. But by after lunch, the exhibition will be folded away, tucked into Abi for the next trip. St Asaph’s, here we come!
How do you encapsulate that feeling of discomfort and also longing that can be found in the in-between?
The Open to All Exhibition of my artwork is in partnership with the Open Table Network, a charity dedicated to helping churches open spaces for LGBTQI+ people. Peter Jones, one of the Trustees, came to the Coventry part of the tour to represent the charity. These are Peter’s words of experience of it, answering the question put in this blog title:
This was the central question in my mind when I encountered Elizabeth Gray-King's work at Coventry Cathedral through the Open To All exhibition in partnership with the Open Table Network, for whom I am a trustee. Elizabeth has put together a thought provoking collection of her artwork which reflects the diversity of human life, in subtle and yet exposing ways. Much of her work plays with materials and the idea of becoming, with several pieces (including the gorgeous and compelling "Nativity Tancred") showing visible signs of being 'in progress', whether it be through canvas stretched over window frames, or leaving parts exposed and unprimed. For me as a queer, trans man and Christian, encountering Elizabeth's work fostered in me a new and at times conflicted sense of visibility. I found her art inviting me to look at myself, my identity, and my current conflicts through this unfinished, becoming, in-progress and in-between way. Instead of feeling the pressure and demand to resolve things I found my time at Coventry Cathedral and encountering her work to be a space that held me tenderly as unresolved. To be in such an exposing and yet awe inspiring place as Coventry Cathedral, with its dedication to reconciliation (something I have a complex relationship to as for many years I was hounded to reconcile my queerness and my faith), I found myself invited in by Elizabeth's work. In between the space of the cathedral and the stretched canvas, I found myself unexpectedly and somehow tenderly held, with my inner conflicts acknowledged and seen, and yet also soothed for a while. For me this is the wonderful overlap between the art and vision of Elizabeth and the Open Table Network, that within these spaces of becoming, that are so often filled with discomfort, there is opportunity for connection; to find a sense of belonging as you are, without needing to be resolved or finished. Through Elizabeth's gentle and honest depictions of diversity, inclusivity, and becoming, I found a gentle encounter with the Spirit I had been longing for and I was invited to just be and see myself as I am. I felt seen. I am grateful to have spent a day encountering such a precious and tender form of genuine visibility and have been thinking about it ever since
Nativity Tancred and the Baptistry Windows speak colour to colour
The Baptisty windows in Coventry Cathedral are more than stunning. Designed by John Piper, they fill the space with light and pattern, a physical demonstration of the all encompasing love of God at Baptism. For this month in 2024, Nativity Tancred stands opposite, open armed outside of the Chapel of Unity, sharing the same all encompassing love. I am beyond amazed that my work is in this glorious place.
Nativity Tancred through Coventry's Angel doors
Here he is. Zoom in through the doors etched with Angels and Nativity Tancred speaks colour to colour with the stained glass. It is amazing to see him here. He fits with everything the Cathedral is about - inclusion, justice, truth.
Exhibition Map and two Nativities
Oh I’m enjoying this map! https://www.elizabethgrayking.com/exhibitions-tours-map. It shows that somehow, we’ll have managed to cover much of the UK in 2023 and 2024. Open minded and open loving artwork is making an impact and we’re delighted. Here is my Nativity Tancred next to the Nativity crib at Liverpool Parish Church.
The Exhibition continues to make a difference
My apologies! To those of you who don’t follow my newsletter, you won’t have heard details about how the exhibitions are going. As we come to Christmas time, grateful for God in Person as Jesus, I express deep gratitude for how my artwork is speaking to people of God’s love for everyone. A viewer in Newcastle saw a dance of the Trinity in Searching Knowing and another viewer said that simply being with the artwork made her feel loved and more peaceful in a stressful day.
Sunderland Minster’s pastor team danced and grinned, so excited to share Nativity Tancred for a month. Sacred Trinity Salford sang us in at the Launch with the Scholar’s choir. They stand in between Am I Free and Nativity Tancred, and in front of the rest of the artwork which hangs on the wall in a gallery style at the back of the Church. One viewer said that at last, they felt part of something bigger and they knew they were loved. In a few weeks, we collect from Salford and deliver to Liverpool Parish Church. We have already seen the perfect spot for One.
The best news is that we’ve already secured £240 for the Open Table Network, one of the purposes of the exhibition in addition to raising the profile of God’s inclusive love. We have at least six more venues for 2024 and look forward to more financial support coming to the work of the network as we look forward to sharing the work with more and more communities. If you want to see the work in person, please visit the exhibition pages. Thanks to Andre, there is even an interactive map!
Until I write again, I send you my warmest wishes for a Holiday Season which moves your soul and brings you joy and laughter.
The Series, Points, gathered by the stained glass of Newcastle St James URC
Nativity Tancred graces the Altar of Sunderland Minster
The Scholars Choir sings us in to Sacred Trinity Salford
A privilege to tour
I’m on a train to Sunderland Minster for the Open To All tour second stop. What a privilege. I’m on a train, freely moving in my resident country. I have a data signal with the network working. There are storms howling and my train is active. Then I get to set up the exbition in a church which welcomes freedom of thought, radically challenging closed stereotypes. Then I get to talk about my own work and I’m an ordained woman who will be standing in a church which still struggles with who it will recognises as leaders. I have the freedom to talk about God's inclusive love whilst parts of the world fight against this very notion. I’m privileged by my background, my colour, my knowledge. I intend to use that privilege to break down doors and shout about love and forgiveness. If I change one heart and one set of behaviours, my mustard seed will bear fruit.
