Varnell Artists-in Residence-Program

Current Varnell Artist-in-Residence John Shorb

The artist(s) may come from any discipline of the art as deemed appropriate by the leadership of the program.

Artists may stay: one (1) year or more per contractual negotiation, one semester, or a six-week concentrated period. Consider the following responsibilities during residence:

1. Serve as goodwill ambassador for the seminary with the Mid-South and larger artists’ communities
2. Participate in community outreach to churches if invited and as professional schedule permits
3. Provide one salon/gallery/performance event per semester
4. Participate in the worship of the community at the discretion of the chapel staff/faculty at least once a semester
5. Have at least one brown bag “Lunch with the Artist” per semester for students and faculty in which the artist guides participants through an exercise of the artist’s choosing and/or answers questions exploring theology, personal spiritual journey, and the art form
6. Support the artistic endeavors of the seminary through instruction and/or critique of faculty, staff, and students on occasion
7. Attend the class of faculty (no more than one a year per faculty member) to speak on the intersection of the art form and discipline under discussion (to be negotiated at the beginning of the semester with faculty members)
8. At the end of the residency, leave an artistic expression for permanent holding in the seminary’s archives and for display at the seminary’s discretion
9. Donate one copy of any completed work (CD, book, portfolio, etc.) for the seminary’s art collection