together - January 2015

event run by the Art For Change Foundation,
using art to help people see their society with new
eyes — God’s eyes. Twenty of us came together
in November to see, to interact and to use art as a
prophetic response.
By being there we boosted the work of Fusion,
a local church with projects for women and children
in a central city slum. Teeming with people,
Zamrudpur has 5 and 6-storey buildings jammed
together, blocking the sun. In a rooftop room I met
Babita, a mum of two, her husband away working as
a cook for days on end. We, her four guests, sat on
the one little bed; around us in the tiny space, were
shelves and hooks for a few belongings. Each morning
at 3 she must get up and go down the steep, dark
stairwells to the ground, to collect water for the day
while it’s flowing. When her sons are at school, Babita
goes to a church project, where she learns English and
maths, and how to make printed bags to sell.
Each of us in the project used our interactions in
the slum to portray what loving the place might mean.
Those of us who were believers had many opportunities
to share our faith with the other artists. Murals
were painted in the slum, and we carried smaller art
works back there for a “walk through” exhibition. As
people crowded around, intrigued and appreciative, we
felt their joy at being treated
as special. Finally we held a
regular art show, inviting welloff
residents of Delhi who normally
only connect with the slum
dwellers as servants.
Art creates events that can
be a catalyst for grace. God is
using artists around the world to
cross over cultural boundaries in
the heart language of the arts.
— Polly
15
sim.org.nz
ART THERAPY:
An area crying out for
input from artists is in
cities where mission
partners care for girls
and women rescued
from slavery in the sex
trade. Art therapists
have ideal skills to
contribute to helping
survivors of this
trauma rebuild their
lives. The women say
they’re not really free
until they are free of
all the after-effects.
Refugee camps
and HIV work are
other settings where
art therapy is an
effective tool of
healing and compassion,
showing
God’s love.
Do you know
someone who
could be having a
conversation with
SIM about this?
They can talk to us
at nz.personnel@
sim.org