Art Exhibit Features Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross is a new exhibit that will be on display in the Dordt University Art Gallery, which is located in the Ribbens Academic Complex. A partnership between Campus Ministries and the Art and Design Department, the exhibit highlights the 12 stations of the cross and features the work of Scott Erickson, a touring painter, performance speaker, and creative curate.

“The season of Lent is a reminder that, as Genesis 3:19 says, we were made from dust and to dust we shall return,” says Sam Ashmore, Dordt’s campus pastor. “Lent is an opportunity to purge ourselves from our attachments to the world and become attached to Jesus.”

The exhibit will be open Wednesday, March 16 to Sunday, April 17. Two special events will also be held on March 16 at 8 p.m. and on March 18 at 11 a.m. There will be a time of reflection and prayer as well as a chance for visitors to view the art.

Erickson, the guest behind the gallery, is seeking to create a visual liturgical resource library for the ecumenical and global church.

“I really like the prospect of blending ways the galleries on Dordt’s campus might more fully engage worship and campus life,” says David Platter, gallery curator and associate professor of art. “Fostering this sort of cross-pollination between the Art and Design Department and Campus Ministries is personally important to me, and I’m thrilled we’ve been able to accommodate this.”

Campus Ministries seeks to provide space for meditation and reflection throughout the season of Lent.

“We all feel the weight of anxiety and fear as we journey through the current world,” says Ashmore. “These stations give us space to release anxiety and fear to God and remember that Jesus himself faced these same emotions.”

The Stations of the Cross began as a remembrance that pilgrims had while retracing Jesus’ final steps in Jerusalem. Desiring to share that practice with all who could not make that trip, local stations were created to lead meditation in walking Jesus’ final steps.

“Historically, the Protestant church has been hesitant to engage in multisensory worship, but Dordt’s Reformational perspective fuels fully embodied worship,” says Jeremy Perigo, director of Campus Ministries and Worship Arts. “I’m excited to be able to open my eyes and see Christ’s salvific journey to the cross. In addition to hearing the gospel, this exhibit allows our community to see the gospel.”

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Dordt, located in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review. To learn more, visit dordt.edu.