The Future of the Arts at St. Thomas
Gratitude and Anticipation from the Claritas Initiative
As co-directors of an initiative that aims to cultivate appreciation of beauty in our lives, the experience of being in the atrium of the Schoenecker Center during the announcement of John Monahan's $20 million dollar gift to elevate arts education at St. Thomas was about as beautiful as it gets. Standing in a beautiful building, surrounded by beautiful works of art, listening to beautiful music, and – most importantly – hearing the beautiful stories of colleagues and students was awe inspiring. And it was exactly what the Claritas Initiative is about.
Last year, through Claritas, we embarked on a journey to reclaim the idea of beauty as something that is fundamental to our lives; the initiative's ultimate purpose is to enliven education at St. Thomas and beyond by illuminating insights regarding beauty, goodness, and truth. During our first year, we connected with students, colleagues, and community members to explore how incredibly meaningful encounters with beauty can be.
We spent time with scholars who helped us fathom the significance of beauty – the idea that beauty is far from trivial or temporary and that experiences of beauty help put us in touch with reality itself.
And then we had experiences of beauty.
We took photographs on and around campus of places that bring us wonder, joy, and a sense of interconnectedness with our common home; and those photographs then served as inspiration for two murals we painted together as a community. We gathered around the Gabriel Kney organ at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas to hear – and feel – the beautiful music it produces. We interacted with much-loved sculptures and paintings on campus and learned about the artists' visions for these pieces and what they mean to community members. We celebrated the beauty of the holiday season with campus musicians who performed with the Basilica of St. Mary Cathedral Choir. We used live microbes from our stewardship garden to create paintings in petri dishes. We were transfixed by a sound bath meditation. And we took time out of work and studies to experience moments of beauty in our everyday lives. Maybe it was a pause to gaze into the Portal Icosahedron in the Schoenecker Center. Maybe it was a glance at the beautiful stained glass in the O'Shaughnessy Frey Library. Maybe it was an intentionally slow walk across the upper quad to take in the beautiful architecture of the Iversen Center.
John Monahan's exceptionally generous gift will grow experiences that bring us a sense of awe, make us feel truly human, and connect us to the world and to each other. We are excited to be part of this transformative time at our university, and we look forward with anticipation to working alongside everyone who is part of this effort.
Reflections by Mark McInroy and Wendy Wyatt