Great Treasures of Gold: Calling All Canadian Latter-day Saint Artists

“Great Treasures of Gold: A Canadian Latter-day Saint Religious Art Exhibition” is seeking religious art submissions from Canadian members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a unique opportunity for both professional and amateur artists to submit their creations in a variety of mediums and interpretations. The submission deadline is February 28, 2025. For more information and to submit artwork, please visit the “Great Treasures of Gold” website.

Exhibit curator Amanda Taylor recently sat down with Newsroom staff to discuss the call for art.

Can you share why you decided to organize a Canadian Latter-day Saint art exhibit?

Amanda: My inspiration for this exhibit came from an exhibit in Mesa, Arizona. Mesa and southern Alberta were early pioneer colonies with a rich Church culture and history. The Mesa exhibit draws from a group of known artists in the Latter-day Saint art world but with few Canadian artists. I thought if Arizona has enough Church members to host a Latter-day Saint art exhibit, Alberta probably could, too. It’s rare to have a Latter-day Saint art exhibit outside of Utah, but rather than drawing from the more well-known selection of Utah artists, I wanted to discover the Church members across Canada who were creating art. The exhibition title, “Great Treasures of Gold,” symbolizes the spiritual and cultural riches amassed in over a century of Latter-day presence in Canada. We want the exhibit to celebrate the artistic tradition that has grown from Latter-day Saints in this land of refuge and encourage the creation of more religious art by Church members in Canada.

Can you tell us about your interest in art and why it matters to you?

Amanda: I did my undergrad in art history at Brigham Young University and my master’s at Carleton University, which changed my life. I’m drawn to Christian art in the Renaissance, as well as sacred architecture and the profound symbolism we often see with it. Seeing a scriptural story or a religious experience depicted in a visual art form makes us stop to think a bit harder about that story. Art leaves impressions on our hearts.

What would make “Great Treasures of Gold” unique from other Latter-day Saint art exhibitions?

Amanda: My vision for this art exhibit is to see what has made members of the Church in Canada sit down and create something visual. What spiritual experiences are they reflecting on? How are they trying to draw closer to the Saviour? What stories are they drawn to? I want this to be a catalyst for trained artists as well as hobbyists to say, “Hey, let’s create something together.”

What kind of submissions are you looking for, and how can people participate?

Amanda: I’m looking for everything! Sketches, carvings, linocuts, photography, glasswork, woodwork. Perhaps there’s a painting of the temple or biblical stories gathering dust in an attic. Themes around Jesus Christ, Adam and Eve, and other scriptural figures, as well as items in our visual culture — like olive trees, beehives and temples — are examples of what would be of interest. I’m looking for symbols and symbolism, and realism and abstraction, that ground us in our faith. Perhaps you or someone you know has created something spiritually meaningful and beautiful for your home or created something inspired by a famous existing piece of religious art. Create something new. Submit something old. Submissions of works in progress are also welcome.

Are you working with any partners or organizations?

Amanda: My friend, Mary Margaret Pilling, is doing a lot of work on this with me and is doing a lot of independent curating. We don’t yet have a sponsor, but that’s in the works.

Where and when will this exhibit take place?

Amanda: It’s a chicken-and-egg situation: I can only move forward with a venue and, therefore, a date for exhibition when I know what kind of art I’m working with. I’ll only know that when people submit their artwork. My dream would be to have submissions from across Canada. Our goal would be to have an exhibition in Calgary in late 2025 and, perhaps, a recurrent exhibition space for Canadian Latter-day Saint artists in the future.

What do you hope people will take away from this exhibit?

Amanda: I hope that the exhibit will help Latter-day Saints reflect on their shared faith and religious experience in Canada and also serve as a venue for those not of our faith to see and feel what we value and believe. I hope we’ll see events depicted where viewers will say things like, “Oh, I remember that” or “This was a spiritual turning point for my family.” I hope we’ll identify symbols that ground us in our faith as a Canadian people.

The submission deadline is February 28, 2025. For more information and to submit artwork, please visit the “Great Treasures of Gold” website.

Read the article in French