The Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts (RSA) is a program of Herron School of Art +Design that brings together artists, religious leaders, religious communities, humanities experts, and a broad range of publics from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary perspectives for sustained study, analysis, and discussion of religious texts in a classroom environment. These textual discussions will explore the varieties of religious experience and understanding and provide the inspiration for creating new artistic works (e.g. music, poetry, fiction, drama, visual art, dance).
After the seminar portion of the program, artists share their creations through exhibitions and presentations to members of the Central Indiana community, including religious organizations, congregations, schools, libraries, and community groups.
Artists accepted to participate in the RSA seminar will be matched with an emerging student artist artist to proceed with through the program and will receive compensation of $1,500 to offset their artistic production costs and to compensate for their mentorship efforts.
How do illusions, visions, and dreams intersect with everyday reality in the creation of art? What is the agency of the artist – individual or conduit? In the beginning… may be one the most recognizable phrases in religious literature, but the story it inaugurates is not the only one of the universe’s creation. Hinduism, for example, has its own creation story – rather, multiple creation stories – that reflect its multiple views of the nature of the universe, humanity, and creativity. Artists in the 2026-27 Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts program will explore both the Jewish and Hindu texts, along with a few select others. By examining these creation stories side-by-side, artists will be invited to consider not only the nature of generative and communicative art but also to confront the cultural wellsprings of human creativity.
The faculty list for the 2025-26 includes:
Prof. Karen Baldner, Print Maker, Book Artist, and Associate Faculty of Fine Arts, the Herron School of Art and Design at IU Indianapolis
Dr. Matthew Condon, Senior Lecturer of Religious Studies and Classical Studies at the School of Liberal Arts, IU Indianapolis and RSA Seminar Lead
Dr. Daniel Cueto, Composer, Performer, and Associate Instructor, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Dr. Andrew Findley, Lecturer of Classical Studies and Art History at the School of Liberal Arts and the Herron School of Art and Design, IU Indianapolis and Managing Director of the RSA
Prof. Natalie Solmer, Professor of English at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis and founder and editor in chief of The Indianapolis Review
Sessions will be held on Thursday evenings from 6:00–8:30 p.m. at Newfields, The Harrison Center, and Herron School of Art + Design. Meeting dates are: 9/17, 9/24, 10/15, 11/5, 11/19, 12/10, 1/28, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4. The annual exhibition will be held on 5/7.
For more information on the RSA, see www.rsaherron.com For any questions, please email [email protected].
To apply, please provide a letter of interest, artist resume, and three samples of work (or website link) to [email protected]. For best consideration, please apply by June 15.
Applicants may be anyone in the community who is active in the artistic disciplines, including but not limited to visual arts, sculpture, poetry, writing, music, performance, and digital art.
Selected applicants must be able to make a commitment to attend all seminar sessions and engage in open and respectful dialogue.
Artists accepted to participate in the RSA seminar will be matched with a emerging student artist to proceed with through the program and will receive compensation of $1500 to offset their production costs and to compensate for their mentorship efforts. Requirements of the program include:
Attendance and participation in all scheduled sessions (10 total, including crit sessions and the final exhibition).
Work a minimum of 4 studio hours per month with student artist mentee.
Complete an art project inspired and informed by the academic portion of the seminar. Artists are expected to work in their primary medium, present their work for peer and faculty critique, and submit their work to the RSA for inclusion in the curated exhibition.
Complete at least one collaborative art project with their student mentee that is inspired and informed by the academic portion of the seminar.
Agreement to grant IU Indianapolis and the Herron School of Art and Design the right to share your RSA work in the in-person and online exhibitions, as well as related promotional material. Artists retain the permanent rights to anything that they produce in the RSA.
All interested applicants should prepare the following:
1. Artists Resume or CV
2. Letter of Application
Artist resumes should include information about the applicant’s work as an artist, including education, gallery and exhibition experience, publications, links to a professional website (if applicable), and links or attachments to at least three (3) representative works of art.
Letters of application should be a maximum of 2 pages and include a personal statement of the applicant’s primary field of artistic production, a statement of interest in the program, and how the applicant’s work and interests would benefit their professional development. For best consideration, applicants should also explore the following questions: How do you see your art form interacting with a religious text? How do you imagine this experience will impact your creative work?
The deadline to apply is July 25, 2025.
Applicants should email the two required documents (Microsoft Word or PDF format) to [email protected] no later than July 25, 2025.
Applications will be accepted from May 3 through July 25, 2025.
Faculty review of applications will begin on July 25, 2025, and all participants will be informed of acceptance status no later than August 15, 2025.
