History

Thanks

CA would have never been such a special blessing unless many people had contributed to this success.

Cam Floria and Leen La Rivière formed a personal partnership which led to the first European Christian Artists Seminar in 1980. Cam Floria started the USA-Seminar in 1974 and that Seminar had been successful. Because of growing interest and activities in European gospel music it was the time to start in Europe. Several American publishers helped by paying the bills in 1981! Thanks to Word, Sparrow, Lexington, CA-Music, and others. Thank you, Cam, for sharing this vision.

In 1980 Leen La Rivière called together a group of people who, with particular national insights, could contribute. They were: Gerhard Bachor, George Julin, Kurt Schnyder, Jean Claude Thienpont, Dan Butler, Karen Lafferty, John Lerber, Marc Brunet, Louis Pool, Pierre Yeremian, Ulla Lilienberg.

This group became the CA-Council, making all the decisions about programme, artists, workshops, promotion, etc. Besides the people mentioned above the council gained over the years additional members: Philippe Mermod, Andy Costa, Timo Hoekendijk, Hans Groeneveld, Ria La Rivière, Rita Hulsman, Rodney Cordner, Larry Hogan, Gunnar Wik, Ingemar Olsson, Jan-Erik Lindquist, Klaus Heizmann, Erwin Stieb, Luis Alfredo Diaz, Ron Kennedy, Dave Bruce, Denny Hurst, Thomas Nottling, Lars Peterson, Peter Sandwall, and others., who served till 1994 the CA-Council was replaced by the official board of the International Association of Christian Artists.

Let us remember
†Ron Kennedy, died 16 April 1991 (member of honour and CA-pastor)
†Steve Fairnie, died 22 February 1993 (member of honour and special advisor)
†Larry Hogan, died 1 November 1998 (member of honour and council member)

Special honour
•October 16th 1999: Leen La Rivière was ennobled by H.R.M. the Queen of the Netherlands as Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, because of his notable contributions, innovative projects, shaping of the culture.
•April 7th, 2003: Ria La Rivière became a member of the Order of Oranje-Nassau, because of her notable contributions in the field of culture and the voluntary work.

History of CA
The International Association of Christian Artists - a discussion of its role, development and successes “in a Europe on the way to integration” by Susan Snell September 1995 Edited April 2000 Edited February 2005

The International Association of Christian Artists - a discussion of its role, development and successes “in a Europe on the way to integration”
*1) Between the 19th and 23rd August 2000 the 20th European Christian Artists Seminar took place in Doorn, a small and pretty Dutch town which nestles in the woodland of central Holland. It also constituted the 10th Symposium of the International Association of Christian Artists, a forum for debate on social and cultural issues which may have political implications in a rapidly integrating Europe. After 20 years of mingling with artists of countless nationalities and of different artistic disciplines, do professing Christians who are involved professionally, or aspire to be involved, in the world of the arts have a role to play amidst the political and social turmoil of Europe at the beginning of the 21st century?

After the Dark Ages, when Christianity (who were in that era the culture keepers) was established throughout Europe, and into the Medieval and Renaissance period, art reflected Judeo-Christian and Hellenistic world-views. Musicians, painters and sculptors depended on commissions from rulers, wealthy or influential patrons, and the Church. After the Middle Ages, the arts moved away from dependence on such patrons and independence paved the way towards secularisation. Later still humanism began to determine the content of works of art, and the Enlightenment with its rationalism and scientific positivism led to the marginalisation of religious beliefs and of Christianity itself. Although Christianity continued to exert a great influence on many social issues in the 19th century, the 20th century has seen it banished to the peripheries in the current post-Christian era. Secularisation has swept through even the most ‘religious’ parts of Western and Southern Europe in the last thirty years (i.e. Catholic Spain and southern Italy, as well as Orthodox Greece) and Christianity, despite its institutionalised strongholds, has lost its spiritual dynamic as well as its social mandate and artistic inspiration for the majority of people.

However, along with the manifold cultural influences invading Europe from the United States in the last fifty years, has come the vibrant and inspiring music of black gospel, blues and soul. Concurrent with this musical importation has come an evangelical Christian and Pentecostal sub-culture whose monopoly on new styles of worship has left many European Christians involved in the arts hungry to revitalise and recapture their roots in Europe’s own Christian heritage. In the late 1970s and through the 1980s churches throughout Europe (predominantly Protestant ones) began to wake up to the possibilities of using contemporary forms in worship, firstly music and then dance, theatre, and fine art.

With this renewed acceptance of the arts within churches, a recurrent question for those with an artistic gift who also happen to be committed Christians and Church members has been - is there such a thing as a ‘Christian artist’ or are such people artists who just happen to be Christians? Although many artists working in the secular realm of music, theatre, media and fine arts may well be professing Christians, there are also those who maintain a desire for their work to more directly speak of their Christian faith. Traditionally ‘sacred’ works of art or music, with their religious content have been confined to the Churches, and even then not always with a sympathetic audience, or else they have been seen to be exclusively ‘tools’ of evangelism. The Reformation brought a back-lash against the arts, which in Protestant opinion had become objects of worship, replacing God himself in people’s hearts and minds. The ‘sacred’ and the ‘secular’ in artistic output increasingly diverged and a dualism emerged, particularly amongst Protestant evangelicals, between what was ‘of the flesh’ and what was ‘of the spirit’ (i.e. what was legitimate art for a professing Christian to be involved in). Such pietism or even iconoclasm is slowly giving way to a return to an integrated view of life, including artistic expression, and to a rejection of dogmatic dualism. In the much more pluralist European culture of the late 20th century a Christian world-view is being expressed in every area of art.*2)

It was partly a response to such dilemmas, issuing out of a new generation of creative, and often newly converted, young people that the desire for mutual support, friendship and fellowship, learning from one another’s ideas and techniques and cross-cultural association led to the call for a forum or meeting place. In the USA a national annual conference for Christians involved in the arts had been set up in 1974 by Cam Floria, the Director of a Christian youth choir organisation, Continental Ministries. This initiative was watched closely from Europe by Leen La Rivière, Floria’s Dutch colleague in Continental Sound. La Rivière, a writer, teacher and speaker in the areas of creativity, music and the arts as well a concert promoter and tour organiser, bided his time as European ‘gospel music’ became established and accepted in the churches. However by 1980 he was planning the first European Christian Artists Seminar which was held in August 1981 at De Bron, a Christian conference centre, in Dalfsen, Holland.

The Christian Artists ‘movement’ that has grown up over the last twenty years has gone through several fundamental changes and developments as it has sought to reflect the role, aspirations and needs of those who communicate their Christianity through their art. The three main products of this movement have been the large-scale Seminars (1981 to 1993, promoting artistic quality and integrity, and from 1994 smaller scale and masterclass quality), the Association (founded in 1990, promoting national arts groups) and the Symposia (from 1991, promoting networks and specific socio-cultural studies).

The Seminar
The American Christian Artists Seminar which has taken place annually from 1974 untill 2000 in Estes Park, Colorado, has mainly encompassed MOR music *3), with concert performances, devotional sessions and practical workshops which amateur or aspiring artists and musicians can choose to participate in. This was the model that Leen La Rivière chose to imitate when discussing the possibility of a European seminar in 1980.

At the end of the 1970s in Europe only 1 or 2 overtly Christian performers in each European country were reckoned to be making a living out of their art. Thus in order to reach those who would respond to the new venture, Floria and La Rivière, in their discussions, chose to use their already established networks for the Continental Singers to get information about their proposed seminar into churches, youth groups, choirs and arts organisations. Key people in each country were co-opted onto a steering committee, ideas and possibilities were put forward, and targets for a European seminar were formulated. These can be summed up as follows:

1.It was the declared intention that the multifarious cultures of the continent of Europe should all be represented, and so spokespeople from as many nations as possible were invited to be members of the committee (now called the Council) and to take part in deciding which artists and teachers were to be invited.
2.The seminars were intended to be as far as possible ecumenical (or ‘inter-denominational’). In the event, for the first few years the make-up of the Council, and indeed the majority of the first people to attend, were predominantly from the Protestant evangelical wing of the church in Europe. Indeed it was a problem to find representatives from all the denominations. This was partly out of suspicion from churches about a new entity and partly out of theological suspicion, especially when such an organisation was bound to affect the young people of their congregations. For conservative evangelical churches anything relating to the arts, let alone the performance arts, was considered ‘of the world’, (even demonic in the case of some rock music *4); for those of a Catholic tradition, sacred music was one thing but the new ‘Christian arts’ were seen to be an invention of evangelicals. It was a number of years before Catholics were to be convinced of the purposes and aims of the Christian Artists movement though later they became widely represented both on the Council and also by artists, teachers, and registrants.*5)
3.It was decided that the Seminar would aim to attract practitioners from all artistic disciplines. This proved impossible in the early days, as the seminar could only grow according to what was acceptable among Christians and in the churches of Europe. In the early 1980s new and contemporary styles of music were becoming more widely used amongst Christians but there was little understanding of the use of fine art, and theatre or dance in the church were still an anathema in some denominations. The integration of these other art forms proved to be a slow process.

Attendance
Four hundred people gathered at the first European Christian Artists Seminar in 1981 - this number included staff, artists, teachers and participants. Leading musicians in the field of Christian communication had been asked to attend not only as performers and workshop leaders but also to be role models for the participants who would attend. The programme for the five day event was made up of talks, panel discussions, workshops, talent evaluations, devotional times as well as ‘show-case’ concerts each evening.

Each year the number of registrants, artists and teachers grew, reaching a peak in 1989. Over the first thirteen years of the Seminar, people came from over thirty different countries. Appendix table 2 shows the numbers attending each year and from which areas they came. The largest numbers came from Western Europe, in particular Holland, Germany and Switzerland. This could be accounted for at the simplest by distance and thereby lower travel costs, although large groups made the journey northwards from all over Spain and Italy for several years. The countries where large youth choirs are culturally popular also accounted for peaks in certain years, for instance in 1989 and 1991 when complete choirs came from Finland and Portugal. Southern Europe (especially the Balkans and Greece) has been consistently under-represented due not only to cost and distance but also to the denominational question (although the number of Catholics attending has grown, Orthodox participation has always been in single figures).

The effect of pre-publicity is also a factor in attendance. Since 1988 over 50% of participants learned about the Seminar by friends or word-of-mouth. The Christian Artists brochure and specific mailings accounted for between 13 and 20% of new interest. Other channels of publicity like magazine articles and advertisements at concerts or festivals made up for the rest. Many questions have been asked about the seeming ineffectuality of press releases, articles and advertisements through the media, and questionnaires received back from registrants in 1991 pointed to a lack of an overall PR or marketing plan and poor use of radio and TV promotion even in countries where access to the TV channels is relatively easy for Christian organisations (especially Holland).

The inefficiency and inexperience of some national coordinators may also be to blame for failing to reach Church groups, arts and youth organisations, which would be interested in supporting the Seminar and its aims if promotional material was available. Also the CA-Council have resisted the strong commercial pressure on the part of several major Christian publishers, thereby reducing some promotioned opportunities.

American Influences
This first Seminar was a carbon copy of the US Seminar and 50% of the artists invited were actually from the United States. The Americans were indeed very supportive of the European event - they came at no cost, neither in performance fees nor travel expenses. This of course made it feel like an imported American concept and although American support was valued and needed, in the following year (1982) the proportion of artists from the US was down to onethird, the remainder being European. By 1983 the balance was even more in favour of an indigenous event: only one non-European act was allowed at the show-case concerts each evening, the rest were ‘home-grown’. Later in the 1980s the American influence as such faded out completely. The area of liturgical dance and mime was introduced to a still skeptical audience by Randall Bane from Kansas City, and lectures and well-known pastors have been invited to give a ‘spiritual’ input. This has at times been a refreshing component for the more skeptical Europeans, but not without controversy. Franky Schaeffer, son of the widely published and respected Francis Schaeffer (who founded the Christian artistic community called L’Abris in Switzerland) and himself a writer and film director, has on many occasions provoked consternation and debate with his forthright views and more latterly in his embracing of the Greek Orthodox tradition *6). Cam Floria himself, who was a figure regularly spotted at the early Seminars bowed out of ‘hands-on’ involvement in the European Seminar, retaining a vote on the Council which he has rarely used. There fore this American ‘link’ was merely foundational, and after a period of imitation and learning, the European Seminar began to create its own identity and forge its own way ahead.

Costs
By 1982 communication systems and networks of contacts in all denominations and areas of expertise were being extensively set up, and artists and participants alike were being challenged to look further than their ‘own small corner’ of Europe to a much wider view. However European artists who were barely making a living, if any money at all, out of their art were loath to join this new movement, to spend much valued summer holidays away from neglected families and not to get paid at all! In fact until recently they had to pay their own travel expenses too. It was only after experiencing the benefits of meeting fellow artists, widening their own networks of contacts and by that token gaining introduction to new audiences, booking agents or even record companies (which by the late 1980s were regular visitors to the Seminar too) did they begin to realise that perhaps after all it was worth the sacrifice.

Expansion
The growth of the Seminar with regard to target area 3, that of involving as wide a range of art forms as possible, was to some painfully slow. The first period of 5 to 6 years was a time for getting over teething problems and for consolidation. This was almost exclusively in the area of music. A wide range of styles were encompassed, broadening out from ‘gospel’ to classical, from choral to rock and even heavy metal. This was not only in the performance aspect of the Seminar but also in the workshops. The number of technical and motivational workshops grew from 130 in 1982 to over 300 by 1988, with topics ranging from drum technique and synthesizer programming, to choir conducting, songwriting and publishing rights.

The second period of growth was in the mid 1980s when dance, mime and theatre were introduced. This again was a 3 to 4 year process, not due to lack of will on the part of artists or participants but because the churches (mainly those Protestant denominations of a pietistic tradition) needed education in the use of such art forms, especially with regard to their use within churches themselves. The Christian Artists organisation expended much effort to promote these forms through their literature and preseminar publicity and publications. Articles were written for the Christian press and explanations given whenever invited. In traditions where the body is seen as inherently evil many hurdles had to be overcome. Progress was slow but starting out from a base of simple liturgical forms the Seminars came to encompass European genres of mime, pantomime and clowning as well as classical ballet and contemporary dance. Interpretive movement brought a colourful and inspiring dimension to both concerts and workshops, and puppet theatre and whiteface mime crossed language and cultural barriers.

The third and most difficult period of artistic expansion was the integration of the visual arts. Although many Christian painters and sculptors had gained recognition in the world at large (e.g. Janeric Johansson from Sweden and Britt Wikström from Holland) powerful notions of artwork being virtually blasphemous within church walls still dwell in many of the reformational and nonconformist traditions, particularly in northern Europe. La Rivière himself has written several publications articulating biblical precedence and theological justification for the use of corporeal and visual art forms within the church*7). After some degree of nervousness the CA-Council gave the go-ahead for their incorporation and in 1987 the first exhibition was prepared carefully, and a few workshops were introduced on this theme. This experiment to not only explore the use of painting and sculpture, but to encourage the artists themselves who had in many countries found their work misunderstood and unaccepted by the Church met with a warm response. But conflict was never far away and in 1991, after an exhibition by a German artist was judged to be “New Age”, there was a significant and negative backlash. This reaction meant that Christian Artists lost some of its hard won credibility amongst Christian groups around Europe and La Rivière’s own judgement was called into question. It took several years to re-build trust amongst some groups and artists. With the change in 1994 to a smaller seminar with top-quality on stage and in workshops and with a new type of plenary meeting total credibility was back very soon.

Going East
Another expansion was to build west-east relations. One of the central visions of CA has always been ‘all of Europe belongs together; unity in diversity’. In spite of great political difficulties an impressive network has been build from 1981 on in Eastern Europe. Thanks to wisdom, excellent contacts, the help of organizations and denominations CA succeeded in bringing each year appr. 40 - 60 delegates from the communist nations.

Goals
The Seminar over the years worked with the following underpinning goals, which have met with varying success:
1.To support artistic innovation.
2.To inspire quality.
1 and 2 remain an ongoing challenge.
3.To promote acceptance of all art-forms by the Christian sector (which includes churches,Christian organisations, etc.) Significant strides towards Goal 3 had been made by the end of the 80s. For example Christian festivals like Greenbelt or Flevo began to include the visual arts, whilst their musical basis remained pop/rock. Even large denominationally based conferences included youth music, mime, dance and the visual arts. For the ordinary person, who was thinking about which event to attend, the differences between the CA-Seminar and any other large Christian gathering were disappearing, and so the question was being asked ‘why go to Christian Artists?’. This widening acceptance of art in all its forms became a major reason for the reduction in participant numbers.
4.To promote acceptance of Christian artists and their work within the secular world and civil society. During the 90s there was a growing acceptance of Christian artists and their work, but this will continue to take time to develop. Work with the unions and in political spheres which CA undertakes is seen as vital in accomplishing this goal.
5.To promote acceptance by the Christian sector of formal studies in the arts. At the end of the 80s talented young people increasingly saw the need for a good education in their chosen art-form. It was not feasible to attain real quality and integrity by means of a few workshops. In the 90s Christian students were attending academies, art and dance-schools, conservatoires, etc. The day of the well-intentioned amateur appears to have passed. By fulfilling the goal, CA saw fewer participants coming to the Seminar for purely ‘educational’ reasons. But after 2003 more and more new students come for ‘masterclass’ experience.
6.To create an international meeting place. CA has always aimed to act as a cultural bridge and, with a growing need for intercultural understanding, the challenge for CA in this respect is greater than ever before. Here should be mentioned again the border-breaking activities to make contact towards central and eastern Europe since 1981.

The Association
The annual European Seminar which began in 1981 thus grew over the years from a specifically music-based forum into a meeting place for people working in every creative field. The creativity engendered during these seminar weeks began to have year long implications: cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary projects were initiated, friendships and working relationships were established and grew. New networks of cooperation were fostered, magazines and newsletters were published *8). Christian Artists had in effect become a ‘movement’ and finally the need for a more permanent structure emerged. Thus on January 1, 1990 the Association of Christian Artists came into being, it’s Covenant (or foundation) being based on Dutch law as the headquarters of the organisation has always been in Rotterdam. The Association is directed by a legal board, consisting of representatives from the original organisation, the Council which actually organises the annual Seminar and one representative each from the fields of music, corporal art (dance, theatre, etc.) and the visual arts.

The goals of the Association are numerous but include: *9)
1.promoting fellowship, unity, understanding and cooperation
2.encouraging, challenging and stimulating the improvement of artistic skills
3.producing publications and establishing data-bases and networks - ‘the voice of the movement’ - to act as a link for regional and national groups
4.being international - Europe needs to hear what this group is saying
5.acting as a Union which speaks for it’s own interests, when Christian artists face intolerance or unemployment.

The Association quickly became an ‘umbrella’ for over a hundred member organisations, ranging from the cultural division of Solidarity in Poland to DAKAB, the section for art and training of the Christian Labour Movement in Belgium, from music production companies like Séphora in France to Rosa in the Czech Republic. It also embraces longstanding Christian organisations such as Youth for Christ and Youth with a Mission and the YMCA in Norway.

By 1992 with over 4,000 affiliated members, the Association had become the fastest growing member of the Christian Trade Labour Union in Holland and by acting as a trade union new doors were opened to it’s influence, e.g. it is a member of the European committee which has been studying and preparing EU ‘cultural’ policy and has been consulted regarding cultural policy for the Dutch Christian Democratic Party. The Association is also recognised by the World Confederation of Labour.

The Symposium
Out of the Association’s new areas of influence came the next major development in the movement’s history, that of an annual symposium beginning in 1991. The Board stated in a letter to all members of the Association that: it became very clear that, besides stimulating the development of the artist (his skills and personal life), we had to start thinking about his living and working conditions: how he worked, his social status, his problems, which were sometimes the result of a political decision, etc. We became aware of the great need to study the political and social dimensions in which artists live and have to function.

The objectives of the symposia are to bring together leaders from trade unions, Christian political parties and associated arts organisations to discuss topics such as European culture, the role of Christian artists and, in view of the growing unification of Europe, the possibility and desirability of a common, concerted policy for the arts at a European level. The aim of having such a symposium was to “initiate ideas with the aim of contributing to a common European endeavour to support the arts and thus participate in a renewal of European culture”, and of “connecting creativity with social and political processes” *10). There has been much discussion in the intervening years about the role of Christian artists in fostering a renewal of civil society based on a Christian perspective and world view, given the new realities of the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe and the demise (and discrediting) of old models such as the Christian Democrats in Italy. But cultural as well as political models are changing - Socialist Realism has been superceded by an explosion of creativity in the East, and art produced on a foundation of Christian belief also directly challenges the emptiness of post-modernism which prevails in much Western European thinking and art.

New relationships have thus been developed which have linked those involved in the creative arts with those involved in issues of social and political concern. From 1991 to 1993, the Symposium was incorporated into the main annual Seminar, but was only open to invited delegates. In 1994 a significant change took place - namely the Seminar became the Symposium, sothat all teaching had to be upgraded to masterclass level.

The Seminar in its large format (in 1989 there were 2000 participants, artists and others meeting at the large and unwieldy conference site, “De Bron”, near Zwolle) had been for several years financially unviable. It had also taken on the nature of a festival. There are several large Christian Arts festivals which take place around Europe, most notably Greenbelt in the UK and the Flevo-Festival in Holland. For several years some participants came to the Seminar as a concert venue to see their favourite artists but not to learn or take part in workshops. Agents, record companies and press were also highly visible visitors to the Seminar, making it a commercial opportunity for the artists. The ethos of fellowship and training had been lost to a consumerist approach to the Seminar. After the 1993 Seminar drastic measures were needed if the annual and most visible product of the Association of Christian Artists was to survive and the decision was taken to build on the already established entity of the Symposium (there had been 20 delegates to the 1st Symposium in 1991, 40 to the 2nd in 1992 and 50 to the 3rd in 1993 etc.) and make that the focus of the annual gathering. Thus the venue was changed to a smaller but more comfortable conference centre in Doorn near Amersfoort, and numbers were reduced to a target level of 150 to 200 participants (in 2004: 300 participants). There was to be a higher proportion of official delegates, i.e. representatives from culture & art organizations, trade unions and political parties, and lecturers who had expertise in a broader sweep of social issues (i.e. in education, city planning and policy making).

A new model was created to stimulate learning, thinking and therefore creativity. The programme now comprises an in-depth morning lecture, followed by discussion groups and plenary sessions and ‘hot-house’ debates. The evening concerts/presentations remain, though practical workshops in the afternoon are fewer in number.

Thus these annual gatherings are more directed to the discussion of the role of the arts, specifically from a Christian world-view, in a rapidly integrating Europe. The Symposium receives support from the European Commission and financial support from EZA (Europaïsches Zentrum für Arbeitnehmerfragen *11) and has published papers following each Symposium under the umbrella title Art AD 2000.

In a small way the discussions engendered in the Symposium have prefigured moves in larger bodies like the EU. Back in 1991 there was a plea from delegates for the inclusion of a cultural paragraph in the Treaty on European Union to be ratified at Maastricht. Within two months a cultural paragraph was indeed added which put forward that the Community “shall contribute to the flowering of cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore” *12). Although much was left unsaid in the treaty, the Symposium concluded that the inclusion of the paragraph paved the way for future European policies on culture and the arts.

Over the years the Symposium has sought to discuss many elements relating to understanding the importance in peoples’ lives of culture and art, how it can contribute through it’s communicative function to the process of people throughout Europe getting to know and appreciate each other’s values and perceptions. The Christian Artists movement has for example been a positive forum for ecumenical dialogue over 20 years and despite the entrenched views of some of it’s members and occasional misunderstandings it has succeeded in promoting greater mutual recognition and acceptance.

Christian Artists Europe also sees itself as supporting and safeguarding the values and significance of the Judeo-Christian heritage in European culture. Dilemmas remain though and the question was posed following the 1st Symposium “What form should a Christian understanding and political declaration take which aims to protect and support the arts without becoming a religious, fundamentalist dictate?” *13) Possibilities of building new initiatives to combat social problems facing Europe have also been looked at. In 1994 the role of city planning was discussed with a view to environmental harmony as well as economic viability. In that year delegates looked at the role of education in not only promoting the arts but of providing a balance to the economic/scientific motivators which prevail in most European education. The following year CA held a discussion on youth culture (with it’s concomitant issues of mass media, consumerism and the dominating role of the music/ entertainment industry).

If all these discussions are to amount to more than just talk it is vital that delegates take away from the Christian Artists forum a commitment to act in their own particular sphere of influence. This is happening in a variety of ways. For example, An Knaeps of the Belgian Christian Labour Movement was working to integrate artistic training into local ‘labour’ clubs. She had also initiated projects which fall under the Kaleidoscope scheme *14), and following the 1995 Symposium has worked on a collaboration between her organisation in Belgium, a British ‘classical/rock’ musician and a Portugese youth choir. Political connections too are important if the views of Christian artists are to be heard in places where policy is made. Alexander Ogorodnikov, leader of the new Christian Democratic Union in Russia, has been a regular visitor to the Symposium and uses the arts to promote and communicate his social concerns in his work for the homeless on the streets of St. Petersburg and Moscow *15).

Conclusion
The evolution of Christian Artists from a yearly Seminar gathering to a ‘movement’ of artists seeking to learn from one another and to work together and thence to a formal Association has been too many a worthwhile enterprise. It has succeeded in drawing together a network of artist organisations and of creative people who on their own struggle to make a living, are often misunderstood by their own churches and who want to learn how to operate with integrity and be more proficient in their artistic endeavours. For those in the outlying parts of the European continent the loneliness is more keenly felt, though cost and distance have rendered their efforts to ‘stay in touch’ even harder. Even if the Seminar has therefore not been practical for those who needed it most the aims and objectives of the Association have sought to keep people in touch with one another. Indeed in the last 10 years local networks and regional ‘support’ groups have also grown up, not necessarily under the Christian Artists wing but certainly inspired by and sharing a similar ethos.

The Seminar though has encountered major problems: most notably finance, but also poor facilities, reliance on volunteer staff, poor promotion and communication. It was generally felt that workshops were too numerous, (up to 25 parallel workshops each hour), and sometimes of a poor standard, and sometimes cancelled without notice - an irritation for those who had travelled miles to participate.

Inevitably the problems of coping with people from different cultural, linguistic and denominational backgrounds are immense, but nevertheless bravely faced. Even the choice of food caused problems - the preponderance of bread, ham and cheese was reviled by the southern Italians but was a luxury to the East Europeans! The linguistic make-up (see Appendix table 3) meant that translators were needed but not always available in sufficient numbers. The Seminar was always conducted in English and for many years translated into German, French, Spanish and Italian (though now only into German and French). With regard to denominational and therefore theological differences the Seminar has bravely tried to ‘be all things to all men’ *16), but has over the years met with misunderstandings and even outrage at different styles of worship. Even now, in the Symposium format, where the theological/inspirational teaching and worship sessions have been reduced to a fair minimum, evangelicals have been heard to complain at the lack of devotional input and Belgian Catholics have been exasperated that “God seems to be brought into everything!” *17) However, over the last few years many of these early irritations have been ironed out, and with EZA/EU support the Symposium has been able to continue purposefully. It has improved qualitatively, and has increasingly accepted and respected by unions on mainland Europe and by others in the political arena. More careful planning, with regard to invited artists/teachers and to the number of participants from each country, has ensured a better balance of artistic and cultural diversity.

For those with a vision for life beyond their own art form or simply making a living, the Symposium has helped to articulate the possibilities of bringing change to bear on European society. For many it has failed to go beyond a ‘talking shop’, though the meeting of artists from all corners of the continent has had an implicit benefit, that of educating one another in each others’ cultures and ways of thinking, and in approaching the problems not only of Europe but of life itself. Understanding and appreciation is not the only gain - for many artists used to a solitary and often unsupported existence, friendship and solidarity with those of a like mind has been a profound and ultimately inspiring benefit. The Christian Artists Association has shown that with it’s networks, publications and symposia artists who are willing can have a role to play in an integrating Europe. To this end, in La Rivière’s own words, it has acted as “guardian of the process” *18).

*1) This appears in the overall title of each of the ten Symposia, incorporated since 1991 into the annual Christian Artists Seminar: “The role of the arts in a Europe on the way to integration. A debate on social and cultural issues with political implications”.
*2)These themes are discussed by Calvin Seerveld in Rainbows For The Fallen World (Toronto: Tuppence Press, 1980). Calvin lectured at CA (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004).
*3)‘Middle-of-the-road’, i.e. popular, contemporary music with a broad appeal
*4)See examples cited in Steve Turner, Hungry For Heaven (Eastbourne: Kingsway Publications, 1988), pp 36-37, 156-157 and Steve Miller, The Contemporary Christian Music Debate (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1993), pp 28-31
*5)See Appendix table 1 for a breakdown of the religious background of participants from 1987-1992
*6)He has set out his controversial critique of Christian arts and the evangelical church in the books Sham Pearls For Real Swine and Addicted to Mediocrity
*7)For example Royal Creativity and The Creative Church
*8) e.g. the International Music & Art magazine, published a few times & The Christian Artists Directory, an annual publication.
*9) As described in the membership document, my paraphrase.
*10)Aims as pinpointed in various letters to the Association’s affiliated members between 1991 and 1995.
*11) This is commonly translated into English as the ‘European Centre for Workers Questions’
*12) Treaty on European Union, article 128, Maastricht, February 7, 1992
*13) Art AD 2000, Vol. I, p. 27
*14) An award scheme of the European Commission which promotes cross-cultural projects involving participants from at least 3 member states.
*15) Khristianskoye Miloserdtse’ the Christian Mercy Society runs soup kitchens, a shelter for ‘street girls’ and prison visiting. Ogorodnikov, a former cinematographic student, was a leading Russian Orthodox intellectual and dissident who served 8.5 years in prison.
*16) A Biblical injunction. See 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 22
*17) Impressions from my own conversations with participants, August 1995.
*18) Interview with Leen La Rivière, Monday August 7, 1995.

Bibliography
•Seminar programmes, Christian Artists Europe Seminars, 1981-2000; 2001-2004
•Art AD 2000, Vols I-X, papers compiled from the 1-10th Christian Artists Symposium, 1991-2000; and the volumes 2001-2004
•Christian Artists Europe, International Council Discussion Papers & Guidelines for the 12th International Seminar August 10-15, 1992 in Holland (Rotterdam: Christian Artists Europe, 1992; and those documents of other years)
•Leen La Rivière, Royal Creativity (Rotterdam: Continental Sound/Christian Artists, 1989; Revised version: Creative and Christian, Piquant Books, febr.2005)
•Leen La Rivière, The Creative Church (Rotterdam: Continental Sound/ Christian Artists, 1993) •Steve Miller, The Contemporary Christian Music Debate (Wheaton: Tyndale, 1993)
•Calvin Seerveld, Rainbows For The Fallen World (Toronto: Tuppence Press, 1980)
•Franky Shaeffer, Sham Pearls For Real Swine (Brentwood: Wolgemuth Hyatt, 1990)

Tables compiled from statistics kindly provided by the Continental Art Centre, Robert Kochplaats 342, Rotterdam and taken from annual Seminar & Symposium reports. Other information and impressions taken from interviews with Leen La Rivière, Council members, artists and delegates, 5th Christian Artists Symposium, Doorn, Holland, August 5-11, 1995. Edited from Board-papers and reports 1995-2004.

Themes
Each year now CA now has a particular theme. This is published in the CA-Symposium-papers, the series Art 2000. But even in the early years there was always a special theme, forum or speaker. See the webpage themes/subjects.

The great work
From 1981-1993 CA held their annual Seminar at De Bron. Because in the latter years 1500-2000 people came, CA needed a staff of 200-250 people to arrange all the details, to set up the conference-site for our demands and to change it back. CA is impossible without the help of many volunteers.
CA should never forget the help of key people (on the management teams) like •Aad Vermeyden • Jeanette Vermeyden • Petra den Hartog • Rob Maas • Koos Vis • Willem La Rivière • Magiel La Rivière • Ella Ros • Anita van Wijnbergen • Lidia Biervliet • trainees.