Cathedral Artists-in-Residence

When the first two Cathedral Artists-in-Residence were admitted in 2017 the Dean at the time, Andrew Hunter, wrote:

The point of having Artists-in-Residence is to acknowledge their vital contribution to the life of the Cathedral and the community, as poets and artists, and as part of the prophetic voice amongst us. Artists at their best can help us to see the world and our lives differently. They deepen our spirituality and our lives through words, literature, film, physical works of art. We are profoundly enriched by what they give us.

 

Crystal Warren

Crystal Warren was licensed and inducted as Poet-in-Residence in the context of our live streamed service of Evening Prayer, on 10 May 2020. Dean Andrew Hunter wrote:

Crystal Warren

Crystal is no stranger to us: she has been a member of PCC, a Lay Minister, a Sunday School teacher, and an Altar Server. She is based at Amazwi (formerly NELM), as Curatorial Manager. She is a published poet: Bodies of Glass (2004) and Predictive Text (2019)… Crystal joins the ranks of our other two Cathedral Artists-in-Residence, Chris Mann and Julia Skeen.

At services on the day of her induction, Crystal read three of her poems at the Cathedral’s live-streamed services: ‘Home Baked’, ‘Still Life’ and ‘In Death’s Dark Vale’. To read them, click here.

 

Chris Mann

The first two Cathedral Artists-in-Residence, admitted in 2017, were Chris Mann, a renowned South African poet, and Julia Skeen Mann a visual artist, married to Chris and a frequent collaborator with him. Sadly, Chris Mann died on 10 March 2021, and at the end of August 2021 Julia left Makhanda to relocate to the UK, where her daughter lives. Click on the links below for poems by Chris.

 

Three post-Easter monologues

Chris wrote:

After the crucifixion, many of the followers of Jesus appear to have been bewildered and depressed. Their leader had been put to death, their movement was in danger of being attacked by different factions in Jerusalem. Slowly, during the afterglow, the reality of what had happened began to filter through.

I’ve tried to express those mixed post-Easter feelings, akin I imagine to how many of us feel when buffeted by the rough, unending turbulence of contemporary life, in dramatized monologues, written in poetic form

Many thanks to the actors, the composer and supporting artists who put this together!

Please note the deliberate avoidance of visual images in the monologues. We did this so that the imagination of you the listener can respond to the spirituality of the spoken words more independently.

Original Music: © Keith Moss
Digital implementation: Julia Skeen

Click the links to download the YouTube videos.

• The Road to Emmaus, read by Malcolm Hacksley
• The Dream of Mary Magdalene, read by the Reverend Melany Adonis
• Doubting Thomas, read by Lindsay Reardon

Black Socks: 19 July 2020. In this, possibly his last published poem, Chris, already undergoing extensive therapy for cancer, faces his mortality. Click on the link to read.

Fiona Coyne

The late Fiona Coyne was an artist who gave her talents to the Cathedral in a number of ways. These included making banners to advertise services, but most notably a series of covers for the parish magazine, The Spire, between 2006 and 2011. These are reproduced here.