Jean-Claude fled the fighting in Cote d’Ivoire several years ago. He left at a moment’s notice and escaped with his mother. His father and brother died in the conflict. Jean-Claude made his way to North Africa with the hopes of entering Europe but his journey has stopped there, the way it stops for so many refugees seeking a new life. Entering Europe as a refugee, even one with UNHCR documents is a difficult venture. Without working status in North Africa, Jean-Claude depends heavily on his primary skill – painting.
We met Jean-Claude and a half dozen other artists, all in situations similar to his, as Tina and I led workshops with refugee artists earlier this year in North Africa. They have formed an art group and together they hold exhibitions in order to gain income and to express life from the perspective of artist and refugee.
This year’s Silent Auction at the CBF General Assembly in Houston will feature the work of Jean-Claude alongside other art pieces from around the world. Proceeds from the sale of his art will go back to support the ongoing work of his fellow artists.
The Silent Auction, now in its eighth year, will showcase the work of artists from the areas where CBF Field Personnel live and minister. It’s designed to not only give us a way to support ministries and projects. It also shows us the wide range of skill and artistic creativity that emerges in faraway and often dire situations. In western countries, we are sometimes taught that art is a luxury and has little to do our lives. But in actuality, art and the creative spirit are at the core of being human.
When you buy a piece of art at the Silent Auction, you support an artist and a CBF ministry. But you also take home with you a connection to the world in which that artist live and breathes. You get a glimpse of how he or she sees life. Joshua stacked up stones on the river bank after the children of Israel had crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan. God said it would help them to remember what God had done that day. Art points beyond itself, reminding us that a world exists outside our own, whether it’s in a West African conflict, a Balinese Hindu village, or a Macedonian school. If you plan to be at the CBF General Assembly this year in Houston, stop by the Silent Auction at the resource fair. You don’t have to bid in order to enjoy the art and learn something new about CBF’s work around the globe.