The museum, which opened in 2023, is part of the Auckland Project, a cultural regeneration initiative spearheaded by philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer that has transformed the historic Auckland Palace and is bringing positive change to the post-industrial town that surrounds it.
 
Charting 6,000 years of faith in Britain, the Faith Museum explores the myriad ways in which faith has shaped lives and communities across Britain. It includes an active programme of rotating displays and temporary exhibitions in its four dynamic gallery spaces, which are arranged over two floors. 

The Faith Museum showcases over 250 objects from 50 lenders across England, Scotland and Wales, including rarely seen objects, national treasures, personal mementos and contemporary commissions.

David speaks with Jonathan Ruffer about the genesis of The Faith Museum and hears from Amina Wright, who was senior curator between 2020 and 2024. Clare Baron, Head of Curatorial at the Auckland Project, takes him on a tour of the galleries, sharing some of the museum’s prized exhibits, including the mysterious Gainford Stone, the remarkable Binchester Ring and the mesmerising installation ‘Eidolon’ by Mat Collishaw.

To find out more about The Faith Museum visit aucklandproject.org

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Designed to encourage encounters with the Bible through art, the VCS is a free online publication providing expert theological commentary in dialogue with historical and contemporary works of art.

Launched in 2018, the VCS is a growing resource that features curated virtual exhibitions, each one consisting of three artworks along with short textual commentaries relating them to a biblical passage.

Facilitating new possibilities of seeing and reading, the VCS explores how biblical texts and works of art can illuminate each other, bringing alive both in new and vivid ways.

Ben tells David about how the project got started, how the virtual exhibitions are curated and how the intersection of art and theology can enlighten our understanding and appreciation of both.

To explore the Visual Commentary on Scripture for yourself, visit thevcs.org

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They are joined by Terry Duffy, former organist and Director of Music at the cathedral, and Dominic Wilkinson, architect and principal lecturer in architecture at Liverpool John Moores University.

Designed by Frederick Gibberd and built between 1962 and 1967, the strikingly modern cathedral commands the Liverpool skyline. Our tour begins with William Mitchell's concrete bell tower and large sliding doors decorated with fantastical winged creatures. Inside, we discuss the Lantern Tower, designed by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens, and Elisabeth Frink's bronze crucifix.

In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel are works by Ceri Richards and Arthur Dooley, while in the Lady Chapel is Robert Brumby's Virgin and Child and Margaret Traherne's coloured windows. George Mayer-Marton's Pentecost mosaic is displayed in the Chapel of Unity, and in the Chapel of St Joseph we find scenes from the life of St Joseph carved directly into the walls by Stephen Foster. Interspersed between the chapels is a series of 14 bronze Stations of the Cross by Sean Rice, who also produced a remarkable sculpture of Abraham, ‘Our Father in Faith’ with which we end our tour.

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Kieran’s research-driven projects are centred on the interplay of environment and human culture; how people shape their environments and how those environments in turn shape people.

The conversation opens at the V&A Dundee, where Kieran is exhibiting works from his series Church Forests of Ethiopia, in the museum’s Garden Futures exhibition.

The project explores the way that Christian beliefs have created sustainable landscapes in Ethiopia’s Amhara province, an area in the north of the country where, in the last century, vast amounts of ancient forest were cleared for agricultural use, leaving only the lush groves surrounding Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. 

In Ethiopian Orthodox teaching, a church building should be enveloped by a forest, an oasis recalling the Garden of Eden. Thousands of these small church forests litter the Ethiopian highlands, scattered like emeralds across a sea of dusty farm fields. Kieran speaks about how he came to photograph these remnant forests and how the local churches are playing a vital role in the protection and conservation of the region’s biodiversity.

In addition to speaking about how he became a photographer and the role that his Christian faith plays in his work, Kieran also discusses his Border Patrol and Gingers projects.

The exhibition “Garden Futures” is at V&A Dundee until 25 January 2026. 

Works discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram.

To keep up to date with Kieran's projects visit his website, follow him on Instagram and subscribe to his Substack.

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Controversially, parts of the cathedral's majestic architecture have been covered with eye-catching graffiti. But the building hasn't been vandalised; the colourful graphics, which will leave no trace, present thought-provoking questions for God developed in collaboration with marginalised groups from Canterbury who felt that the cathedral was not a place for them. 

Questions such as ‘do you know me?’, ‘What happens when we die?’, and ‘Why is there so much pain and destruction?’ cover the historic building's walls, floors and pillars, intended to spark conversations about faith, spirituality and personal growth.

Jacquiline and Alex explain how the exhibition was developed, how they persuaded the cathedral to agree to it, and how they have dealt with the storm of criticism it has generated.

The exhibition “Hear Us” is at Canterbury Cathedral until 18 January 2026. 

For more information visit www.canterbury-cathedral.org

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This first instalment explores a selection of modern and contemporary artworks displayed in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

Based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott, the striking gothic revival structure was built in local red sandstone between 1904 and 1978. With its giant 101 metre tall central tower and massive proportions, the building dominates the city skyline.

The tour begins outside the cathedral, where high above the West Doors is Elisabeth Frink’s The Welcoming Christ (also known as The Risen Christ), a large 5-metre-tall bronze installed in 1993. Inside, Laura leads us to see parable paintings from the mid-1990s by Christopher Le Brun and Adrian Wiszniewski; a 1998 crucifixion scene by Craigie Aitchison, and Tracey Emin’s 2008 neon installation For You.

Our visit to the cathedral coincided with the 13th edition of the Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest free festival of contemporary art. This year works by two Biennial artists have been installed in the cathedral: glass collages by Ana Navas in the Lady Chapel, and a spectacular large-scale textile installation by Cypriot artist Maria Loizidou near the west end of the cathedral titled Where Am I Now?

David is also joined by the cathedral’s Canon Chancellor Ellen Loudon to discuss why it is important for the cathedral to engage with visual art.

Artworks discussed in this episode:

Elizabeth Frink (1930-1993), The Welcoming Christ (1993)
Christopher Le Brun, The Prodigal Son (1996)
Christopher Le Brun, The Good Samaritan (1996)
Adrian Wiszniewski, The Good Samaritan (1995)
Adrian Wiszniewski, The House Built on Rock (1995)
Craigie Aitchison, Calvary (1998)
Maria Loizidou, Where Am I Now? (2025)
Ana Navas, Passion Flower (2025)
Tracey Emin, For You (2008)

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Jonathan is the Eugene and Jan Peterson associate professor of Theology and the Arts at Regents College in Vancouver and his scholarship explores the interrelations of art history, theology and religious studies, with a particular focus on modern and contemporary art.

In his book, Jonathan calls for the histories of art “to be reread and rewritten in ways that understand religion and theology more seriously,” and encourages new ways of thinking and writing about artists whose works are more theologically complicated than has previously been recognised. 

Jonathan is the author of Modern Art and the Life of a Culture: The Religious Impulses of Modernism (with William Dyrness, 2016), and many articles and book chapters on related topics, including “Modern Art” in The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (2021). 

Trained as an artist, art critic, and theologian, Jonathan has a PhD from King’s College London and an MFA from California State University Long Beach. Prior to his chair at Regent College, he was the postdoctoral associate of theology and the visual arts at Duke University (Durham, NC) and an associate professor of art at Biola University (La Mirada, CA).

To learn more about Jonathan A. Anderson, visit his website and follow @jonathan.a.anderson on Instagram.

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Beth discusses her time at Salisbury Cathedral, where she programmed six ambitious exhibitions, including the group shows ‘To Be Free’, which explored human rights and freedoms; ‘Our Earth’ which focused on the impact of climate change; and a solo exhibition of work by British artist Shezad Dawood.

Her final exhibition, ‘Living Water’, brings together works by six contemporary artists who explore the power of water, both as a symbol and an influence that shapes our world. Beth speaks about what inspired the exhibition and takes us on a tour of its works, which are situated in relation to the cathedral’s stunning architecture and ecclesiastical context. 

Previously, Beth was Curator at Arts Council Collection for eight years and is currently Curator and Creative Producer for Lubaina Himid Projects. Beth is also undertaking a PhD with Manchester University to examine the representation of contemporary British working-class artists in publicly-funded art collections, and she leads the Working Class British Art Network.

Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram @exhibitingfaith

For more information on ‘Living Water’ visit the Salisbury Cathedral website.

To learn more about Beth Hughes, visit her website and follow @beth_beth_hughes on Instagram.

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Mahtab was raised in Birmingham, where he fell in love with photography at Joseph Chamberlain College before studying the subject at Nottingham Trent University and Goldsmith’s College, London.

While working in the museums sector, he became frustrated about not seeing his own community represented in art, and he returned to photography in 2010, going on to create award winning projects such as You Get Me? a series of intimate photographic portraits examining the identity of young British Asian men.

In this episode, Mahtab discusses his recent work, the British Muslim experience and his personal journey to faith. The conversation focusses on his solo exhibition What Did You Want to See? at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery.

Commissioned by Ikon and Photoworks, What Did You Want to See? addresses themes of surveillance, visibility and the act of looking in relation to the Muslim community in Birmingham and beyond. 

The exhibition responds to a covert counter-terrorism operation known as Project Champion, which in 2010 placed thousands of Muslims living in Birmingham under the watchful eye of more than 200 CCTV cameras. Officials claimed that the scheme was a local policing initiative but, after the true purpose of the cameras was revealed, local outrage forced the scheme to be abandoned.

*** Please note that this episode makes reference to racist language that some listeners may find offensive ***

Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram @exhibitingfaith

For more information on What Did You Want to See? visit the Ikon Gallery website.

To learn more about Mahtab Hussain and his work visit his website and follow @mahtabhussain on Instagram.

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Matthew was raised in Bangladesh in the 1980s, a formative period which has inspired several bodies of work, from paintings based on his childhood adventures with his brother, to his Mission series addressing his father’s role as a priest in the church of Bangladesh, and his House of God paintings, which depict church buildings in the Bengal landscape.

Matthew’s paintings of religious meetings, ceremonies and churches are painted in a simple and abbreviated style with thin washes of paint and bold, assertive marks. Yet his uncomplicated aesthetic belies a complex web of historical and cultural undercurrents that serve to problematise his beguiling images. 

Matthew’s interest in making paintings about religion led to his Religious Workers series, created for the Southbank Centre’s Everyday Heroes exhibition in autumn 2020, which responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a vivid outdoor celebration of key and frontline workers.

Whether addressing religion, the legacies of Western imperialism, or the history of religious art, his works resist polemics, instead inviting conversation and contemplation.

Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram @exhibitingfaith @matthewkrishanu and on Matthew’s website website: www.matthewkrishanu.com 

Matthew’s first monograph will be published by Anomie Publishing in spring 2023: www.anomie-publishing.com/matthew-krishanu/

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Alastair’s meticulous paintings draw on the tradition of Quodlibet, a little known 17th-century genre of illusionistic painting, in which collections of everyday objects are depicted scattered across tabletops or pinned up on boards. Reimagining quodlibet for the 21st century, Alastair paints snapshots of the artist’s studio, where materials relating to the making of paintings are all rendered with exacting detail. In these works, still life mingles with landscape to address weightier concerns of truth, beauty, and faith.

As a writer, Alastair has reflected on the relationship between art and faith through several books, exploring from a Christian perspective what it looks like to work with integrity as an artist and religious believer. 

Alastair's work as a mentor has helped countless artists think clearly about how their personal faith connects with their work, bringing clarity, encouragement and challenge to believers working in the arts. 

Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed online via Alastair’s website: www.alastairjohngordon.com and on Instagram @alastair_gordon @exhibitingfaith

Learn more about Alastair’s work with Morphé Arts: www.morphearts.org 

Alastair’s book, Why Art Matters, is available now, published by IVP: ivpbooks.com 

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Farwa’s new textile work, Women of Paradise, is a response to the singular religious narratives that dominate western museums and galleries. It is a study of the four women promised paradise Islamic tradition: Aasiyah, the adoptive mother of Moses; Khadijah, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad and Fatimah their daughter, and Maryam the mother of Isa, otherwise known as Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Conscious that galleries and museums rarely contain depictions of Mary outside of the Christian imagination, Farwa provides a different perspective on this figure, who is of important religious and cultural significance in Islamic countries.

In addition to her exhibition at Ikon Gallery, she discusses two earlier works: Thawra (2020), which focuses on revolutionary Muslim women and the erasure they have faced throughout history; and By Your Coming We Are Healed (2020), a work made during the first national Covid lockdown that focusses on Ramadan in the time of the pandemic.

Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed online via Farwa’s website: www.farwamoledina.com and on Instagram @farwamoledina @exhibitingfaith

Learn more about Women of Paradise: https://www.ikon-gallery.org/exhibition/women-of-paradise

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