Art for God's sake at Scottish festival

A number of Scottish artists, professional and amateur, will take up residence in the Royal Highland Centre in a special ArtZone on the weekend of 3-4 May 2008 as part of Scotland's Church Without Walls 2008: The National Gathering.

This interactive creative arts area will provide visitors to The National Gathering an opportunity to see artwork being created and to browse works for sale.

The church has a long tradition of supporting the arts and of providing artists with opportunities for their work to be recognised. This tradition continues today.

Dr Donald Smith, Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, says, "The arts are flourishing in contemporary churches as people reach for inspiring new ways to communicate deep and ancient truths."

Fiona Campbell, one of the artists working in the ArtZone, says, "Art and spirituality have always had a close relationship. Most artists would describe the creative process very much as a spiritual process. I hope that the ArtZone will help to shine a light on the creative process of making art for visitors to the National Gathering."

The National Gathering is a large event organised under the umbrella of Church Without Walls with input from many different churches covering the whole of Scotland, and with visitors and speakers from across the world.