Sacred Space and Contemporary Art

Dear Colleagues,

In 2004, James Elkins asked, “can contemporary art say anything about spirituality (On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art)? He quotes John Updike, who referred to modern art as “a religion assembled from the fragments of our daily life.” Elkins inquires whether, contemporary art is then inherently spiritual? Traditionally, only sacred art was incorporated into consecrated spaces. This art was representational or textual and followed the symbolic codes of the particular religious environment in which it was displayed. Recently, churches have begun to open their doors to contemporary art exhibitions. Additionally, the banal space of galleries or other spaces serving as exhibition venues, have presented contemporary art as hierophany, transcending a profane existence to reveal the sacred. This Special Issue of Religions aims to examine spiritual spaces that have served as galleries for contemporary art and the potential for galleries to affect the sacrality in art. For example, in 2012, the exhibition “Sint-Jan” opened in Sint-Baafs (St. Bavo’s) Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The exhibition was a collaboration between curators Jan Hoet (1936-2014) and Hans Martens (with considerable input from participating artist Kris Martin). Through the frame of religion, spirituality, and pilgrimage, “Sint-Jan” aimed to expose the similarities between public-facing art in a Gothic cathedral and the ways in which contemporary artists engage the public through symbolism and metaphor. Three years later, Antwerp artist, Jan Fabre, installed his bronze sculpture The Man Who Bears the Cross to the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. The sculpture, which depicts the artist balancing a life-sized cross in his hand, stands directly opposite an altar, above which Peter Paul Rubens’ triptych The Descent from the Cross (1611-1614) depicts Christ’s body being lowered from the cross after his death. In 2023, in collaboration with the urban collective B-murals, Catalonian street artist ARYZ hung a large-scale installation entitled Crianza, above the altar in the Basilica Santa Maria del Pi in Barcelona. ARYZ had previous experience with similar interventions collapsing what would appear to be a profane work of art with the spiritual space of the Saint-Merri Church in Paris, Ex Chiesa San Mattia in Bologna, and the Temple Saint-Eloi in Rouen. For the 400th birthday of St. Augustine, sound artist Bram Bosteels created Sound Sketch I/Augustine in Ecstasy for the St. Augustine Church in Antwerp underscoring that it is not only physical art that can alter the perception of a specific site. The Sint-Jan exhibit and the individual works of these three artists document examples of the entrance of the profane into Christian consecrated spaces. But what about spiritual spaces dedicated to other faiths? For example, does the 3D projection of the Bamiyan Buddhas, by Janson Yu and Liyan Hu, reinvigorate the hollow niches that once held the monumental 6th-century statues of Vairocana and Sakyamuni Buddha?

This call for papers asks: Does art affect sacred space? Can we, as David Carrier asked in Hyperallergic in 2019, reconcile secular art in sacred spaces? Is a spiritual context revealed only through the environment? Does the determination of the sacrality of art depend on the attitude and expectations of the beholder? Is there a place for contemporary art that is not defined as spiritual or religious, in sites or rituals of sacred practice? Can there be a dialogue between contemporary work and the historic environment of a church or temple? Possible topics may include, but are certainly not limited to, a specific artist or artistic collaboration, issues surrounding spiritual or religious representation, a specific spiritual site or religious building, or mundane sites transformed by contemporary objects.  

In this Special Issue, we encourage the subission of original research articles. Please submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing your contribution by April 30 to Guest Editor Dr. Karen Shelby (karen.shelby@baruch.cuny.edu). Please include the author’s name, contact details, affiliation, and a short (150 word) biography. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Authors will be notified of outcomes by June 15, 2025. Full manuscripts will be submitted directly to Religions for double-blind peer-review by December 15, 2025. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Karen Shelby
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sacred space
• hierophany
• sacred art
• contemporary sacred art