The Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) at St Vladimir’s Seminary hosted a special private tour of a recent exhibition, Africa & Byzantium, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on February 28, inviting select ISA faculty and guests to attend. The tour was led by seminarian Jaime Rall (M.A. ‘25, concentration in Sacred Arts), who completed a six-month internship at The Metropolitan Museum to support the exhibition, which ran from November 19 to March 3.
The exhibition webpage described its focus in the following words:
Art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire (circa 330–1453), but less known are the profound artistic contributions of North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had a lasting impact on the Mediterranean world…This long-overdue exhibition highlights how the continent contributed to the development of the premodern world and offers a more complete history of the vibrant multiethnic societies of north and east Africa that shaped the artistic, economic, and cultural life of Byzantium and beyond.
In her hour-long tour, held on a Wednesday when the museum is closed for general admission, Jaime took the private group on a deep dive exploration of six works out of the collection of nearly 180 items featured in the exhibition.[1] Jaime’s selections invited the group to consider the evolution of faith and tradition in the art of northern and eastern Africa from the 6th through the 18th century.
After the tour, the group was treated to a reception in the Medieval Library, a workspace for staff of the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters at The Met, which oversaw the curation of the Africa & Byzantium exhibition. ISA Founding Director Dr Peter Bouteneff gave an overview of the Institute’s work since its founding a decade prior, and ISA Associate Director Dr Alexander Lingas also added his remarks on the recent developments in liturgical music education under the ISA. Seminarian and tour leader Jaime Rall then spoke about her experience as one of the first M.A. students at St Vladimir’s Seminary to undertake the concentration in Sacred Arts, thanking Dr Bouteneff for his work in creating the opportunity for Orthodox scholars to study the sacred arts in the seminary context, through the lens of rigorous theological training and a communal life of prayer.
After the comments given by Jaime and the ISA faculty, guests were invited to give their reflections on the tour and ask questions about ISA activities and developments. Joan Shell, longtime friend of the Institute, expressed her profound appreciation for the exhibition tour and for the overall mission and work of the ISA, saying, “The Institute has profoundly enriched my life, introducing me to a wide variety of the arts as inspired by the love of our Lord. Our tour of this exhibition was a wonderful immersion into a centuries-old legacy of the inspiration of the soul, stretching across time and place.”
For more information on the Institute of Sacred Arts, visit the ISA homepage; stay tuned for future events at svots.edu/events.
[1] To see Jaime’s selections, click the following links: 1. Sinai icon of the Virgin and Child (6th c.), 2. pilgrim flasks (5th to 8th c.), 3. vita icon of St George (13th c.), 4. Nubian wall painting (12th c.), 5. Ethiopian icon pendant (18th c.), 6. Ethiopian wall painting of St Anthony (17th c.). Other works briefly discussed: North African mosaic panel (2nd c.), micromosaic (13th c.), Ethiopian diptych (15th-16th c.), light sculpture (2023).
