Workshop: Art as Host

At the end of the summer, GINGKO organised a series of public events in collaboration with the Suermondt Ludwig Museum in Aachen. GINGKO’s Interfaith Fellowship Retreat had taken place in Bensberg, west of Cologne, over the preceding days, allowing the Fellows to join the public for the events. One of the events, the ‘Art as Host’ workshop, saw spiritual leaders from the three Abrahamic faiths, including Bishop Anthony Ball, Rabbi Natan Levy, and Imam Dr Mohammed Gamal Abdelnour, explore and discuss an artwork from the museum’s collection.

The workshop revealed the different perspectives that can emerge from a religiously diverse audience, as well as how different aspects of faith can impact the ways in which an artwork is read. The workshop was inspired by Divine Dialogues, a concept developed by Revd Dr Ayla Lepine at the National Gallery in London.