RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory Disney-Britton

Dante’s "The Divine Comedy" is an epic poem, completed in 1302, of a journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. Today, the poem has inspired the work of 40 contemporary African artists now at the Smithsonian Institution. At its core, the poem explores one soul's journey to God within the context of the struggles of his time. During this week of changing seasons, we too are struggling with what's ahead, and that makes the Smithsonian's "The Divine Comedy" (above) our NEWS OF WEEK.

Aida Muluneh, "The 99 Series," C-print, 2013. Courtesy of the artist.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: Livia Liverani's "Guhyasamaja" at Rogue Space Chelsea [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: Levi Jackson's "Pearly Gate" at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: American museums begin return of stolen works to India [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: Detroit scholar explores Islamic art in the Christian church [More News]
• Judaic Art of Week: A copy of the Sarajevo Haggadah is in a San Diego temple [More News]

Do you like what you see? You can also follow each day on Twitter; or listen weekly on Soundcloud; or sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter: a guide for collecting religious art. Each November, we also accept donations to support the religious work of artists at alphaomegaprize.org.