Defining the Role of the Catholic Artist Today: a Symposium

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Join us for our Inaugural Symposium at 7pm on October 27^th or watch the event live at carlschmitt.org/live

This October, The Carl Schmitt Foundation along with the Office of Catechetics of the Diocese of Arlington brings together some of today's leading Catholic artists to help explore what is means to be a Catholic artists in today's society. Our panel's contributions along with the example, life and legacy of Catholic American painter Carl Schmitt (1889-1989) will provide us with insights into what the lived out vocation of an artist really looks like. This is a rare opportunity for the public to get a glimpse into the craft of professional artists, each of whom will be bringing an original painting, sculpture, architectural design or musical piece that they have created in order to explain their creative process!

Event Details

Admission is Free and open to the public

Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church

46639 Algonkian Parkway, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

Please come early to view the retrospective exhibit Carl Schmitt: A Portrait before it goes on view at the Art's Club of Washington!

• 7:00 p.m. - Artists Panel | Demonstrations and Insights 
• 8:15 p.m. - Break & Refreshments | View the Carl Schmitt: A Portrait Exhibition 
• 8:30 p.m. - Artist Panel & Scholars Panel Discussion | The Role of a Catholic Artist Today
• 9:15 p.m. - Audience | Question and Answer 
• 9:30 p.m. - Social | Meet the Panels

Andrew W. Smith - Smith is a sculptor and stonemason. Andrew studied in Florence and the US and has completed sculptures and masonry projects for churches such as Clearcreek Abbey and Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville, TN. Smith is also an educator and is currently the director of Four Crowns Atelier, an innovative working school of fine and decorative art.

Henry Wingate - Henry is an Oil Painter based in Virginia. In addition to studying in Florence, Wingate studied painting in the Boston School Tradition in New England. Henry was commissioned to do liturgical pieces for places such as St. John's in Front Royal VA and is an accomplished portrait and still life painter. Wingate's studio is based in Madison, VA.

James Langley - James is an accomplished Oil Painter working in Savannah, GA. James has done pieces for sacred spaces across the country including altar pieces for Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary and Murray Hill place and was commissioned to do decorative work for the MET American Wing. Additionally Langley teaches at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Will Seath - Will is a Project Architect with McCrery Architects. Will specializes in liturgical architecture and studied classical architecture, urban design, and political science at the University of Notre Dame. His work with the firm includes such projects as the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville and other churches across the country.

Dr. Timothy McDonnell - Dr McDonnell is a distinguished conductor and composer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His compositions and arrangements have won national awards, and he has conducted in various parts of the U.S. as well as in Belgium and Vatican City in Rome. His Advent piece "Adventus" was a Choral Composition Finalist for The American Prize in 2016. He is currently the Director of Choral Activities at The Catholic University of America.

Dr. Jacqueline Leary-Warsaw - Dr. Leary-Warsaw is the Dean of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She previously served as the Chair of the Department of Music, Artistic Director of the Conservatory of Fine and Performing Arts, and Associate Professor of Music at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.A.). A internationally renowned classical soprano, she has been heard in opera, oratorio, solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Jacqueline Leary-Warsaw is best known to audiences around the world as the host of the popular television series In Concert on EWTN Global Catholic Television Network.

Andrew de Sa - Andrew is the Creative Director at The Carl Schmitt Foundation and resides in Wilton, CT. An artist himself, de Sa has shown in exhibitions and galleries across the country and recently finished a 14 foot commisioned private mural in Potomac, MD. Andrew works and does research in the studio of Carl Schmitt, a longtime inspiration, and is currently working with the CSF to make better know the works and writings of Carl Schmitt and aims to establish an artists-in-residence program in the artist property and studio in CT.

Rev. William Saunders - Rev. Saunders is the Pastor of Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church as well as the Author of Straight Answers. Additionally, Rev. Saunders was recently appointed by Bishop Burbudge to aid the Church as Episcopal Vicar for Faith Formation for the Diocese of Arlington. Among Rev. Saunders accomplishments is the erecting of the beautiful parish church building Our Lady of Hope in Sterling, VA.

Soren Johnson - Soren is an Associate Director in the Office of Catechetics for the Diocese of Arlington. In 2006, he and his wife founded the John Paul II Fellowship, a non-profit to equip lay Catholics for the New Evangelization; in 2013, they opened Trinity House Café in Leesburg as an outreach to the community. Soren holds a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in Theology from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He studied theology and church history as a visiting graduate student at the University of Notre Dame and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Andy Hickman - Andy is the Asistant Director of the Institute of Catholic College. Andy Hickman graduated from The College of William & Mary with a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.A. in Religious Studies, and is currently working towards a Master’s from the Christendom College Graduate School of Theology. Andy taught middle school religion for four years, and in seeing how influential a parent’s level of faith formation is on their child, was drawn towards the the Institute of Catholic Culture’s mission of adult catechesis.