Around Town: Juno Awards reverse course, Saint John’s Bible, ArtWay . . .

Vancouver will host the annual Juno Award ceremonies next March, but for a few days it looked as though Christian/gospel music would no longer be part of the show. Juno organizers have now backtracked, in the face of considerable pushback.

A September 9 article on CBC News noted:

The Juno Awards are pulling four categories from next year’s ceremony as part of a wider review of Canada’s biggest music awards show.

In a letter obtained by The Canadian Press, organizers told committee members last week of plans to put on “hiatus” reggae recording, children’s album, Christian/gospel album and international album of the year.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says the decision is part of a “broader set of updates” yet to be announced.

However, Allan Reid, President and CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), which oversees the Junos, posted a message on Instagram September 17 stating that they are reversing course.

Three of the categories – children, reggae and Christian/gospel – will be retained. He said, “given the feedback from the community, CARAS will not put these three categories on hiatus this year.”

Some of that feedback came from the west coast. Stephen Quinn interviewed three artists from the affected categories September 11 on The Early Edition: Brian Doerksen (Christian/gospel), Jessaii (reggae) and Sharon Hampson, of Sharon, Lois and Bram (children).

Quinn noted that Doerksen, who lives in Abbotsford, won the Juno Award for Contemporary Christian and Gospel Album of the Year in 2008. That album was Holy God; some of his best known songs are ‘Come Now is the Time to Worship’, ‘Refiner’s Fire’, ‘Hope of the Nations’ and ‘The River.’

Asked what he thought when he heard about the decision, Doerksen said:

I was sad, disappointed. But I think the main thing that disappoints me is that it’s a move towards reducing diversity. I’m thinking about what Jessaii [described by Quinn as “an up and coming Canadian artist”] was just saying about all the next generation of artists.

This is the most significant aspirational goal they hold as a musical artist in our nation. So to remove that takes away that diversity in all four categories that you mentioned, in a time where I think we need to be moving towards more diversity, more inclusion.

All of us as musicians, our goal, ultimately, is to serve and support the population that surrounds us, telling stories, writing and singing songs that convey the universal human emotions in different ways, in different styles, in different genres.

Doerksen also pointed out that the 2021 census said Christians make up more than 50 percent of Canada’s population’ Go here for the full 14-minute interview.

Reid said on Instagram: “An official notice outlining all of the changes for the 2025 JUNO Awards categories will be released on Monday, September 23rd providing further clarity on our direction and vision for the Awards now and into the future.”

Saint John’s Bible

Regent College is encouraging us to come out to their campus for a unique book viewing next Monday (September 23):

The Allison Library invites you to an informal presentation of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition.

This event will feature a short introduction and display all seven volumes, which highlight the beautiful, large-scale illuminations and calligraphy ranging from Genesis to Revelation. Please join us for an opportunity to view and learn about this piece of art and history.

The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition is a seven volume fine art reproduction of The Saint John’s Bible, the first handwritten, illuminated Bible in the modern era. Donated to Regent College, the Bible is housed in The John Richard Allison Library as part of our Rare Book Collection.

Colton Whelpton, Library Services Manager, will present the works between noon and 1 pm.

The seven volumes focus on various books of the Bible:

• Volume I: Pentateuch
• Volume II: Historical books
• Volume III: Wisdom books
• Volume IV: Psalms
• Volume V: Prophets
• Volume VI: Gospels and Acts
• Volume VII: Letters and Revelation

If you do stop by Regent College, check out two other art exhibits in the building:

• also in the Allison Library: Art in the Stacks, currently featuring ‘Rice Lake’ by Geoffrey Feng and ‘Recollections’ by Chantelle Cook
• upstairs at the Dal Schindell Gallery: Shirley Wiebe: Wandering in the Shades of Night

ArtWay

Over in England, another development in the arts world has a connection to Regent College. A September 19 Zoom event (9:30 am PDT) will recognize a new partnership between ArtWay and the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge.

The KLC notice states:

ArtWay.eu has been hailed as “a jewel in the crown of work in Christianity and the arts,” and having come under the custodianship of the Kirby Laing Centre, the much-loved publication is entering an exciting new chapter in its story with the launch of a new website on the 19th of September.

Since its founding in 2013, ArtWay has published a rich library of materials and resources for scholars, artists, art enthusiasts and congregations concerned about linking art and faith. Founded by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker in 2013, ArtWay’s significance is reflected in its designation as UNESCO digital heritage material in the Netherlands.

Join us online as we hear from the ArtWay team, who will explore the history of this much-loved resource (reaching back well beyond its founding in 2013), look ahead to an exciting future, and discuss pertinent questions relating to Christianity and the arts with longstanding ArtWay contributors.

The Regent connection? ArtWay Editorial Advisor, Laurel Gasque will “unpack the multifaceted history and legacy of ArtWay” during the online event.

The Allison Library (which will host the Saint John’s Bible event) has several ‘special collections,’ one of which is the Laurel Gasque Collection. Following is their brief description of her work and legacy:

As a cultural historian and writer, Laurel Gasque has taught courses on art history at Trinity Western University and on Christianity and the visual arts at Regent College.

Gasque is the biographer of the art historian Hans Rookmaaker and was instrumental (along with husband Ward Gasque and colleague Thena Ayres) in bringing Rookmaaker to teach at several Regent summer schools during the 1970s.

Gasque is associate editor of ArtWay, contributing editor of Radix and serves on the board of Image and that of New College Berkeley. She served for many years on the board of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) and as a consulting editor of Christian History and Biography. She also led the Faculty and Graduate Students Ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of Canada for more than a decade.

Laurel Gasque’s interest in Christianity and the visual arts is reflected in her collection of over 1,800 published titles, which she donated to the Allison Library. Her collection includes books on gallery collections, icons and religious art, manuscript illuminations, landscape painting, art history, the Passover meal in the Christian home and much more.

The other ArtWay Editorial Advisor is Victoria Emily Jones, host of the Art & Theology blog, which is focused on “Revitalizing the Christian imagination through painting, poetry, music and more.” She has  has done some postgraduate coursework in worship and the arts at Regent College.

Events are listed below, but there is also an Events page and a Jobs page on the Church for Vancouver site.