THE DOCUMENTARY
On Sept. 23, Biola was honored to hold “Heading Home: Glimpses of New Jerusalem”. The traveling exhibition, consisting of different pieces of art, follows a two-week pilgrimage of a small band of Christians visiting churches and religious sites across Europe and the Middle East. Roberta Green Ahmanson visited Biola to present “Heading Home: A 21st Century Pilgrimage,” a documentary of the journey following the group’s effort to seek beauty through the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, through Italy, and ending in London. Completed in 2022, the pilgrimage brought together a group of creatives and other believers who were united by beauty and their love for the Lord. The documentary was completed and screened privately in 2023 as part of the traveling art exhibit, eventually making its way to Biola through Barry H. Corey, who took part in the pilgrimage.
Ahmanson shared her heart for this project, which was to bring to life the stories in Scripture. Her hope was that people’s eyes would be opened and that any close-minded expectations would be broken up through this journey through beauty and the Gospel.
Before the documentary was shown, the filmmaker, Jody Hassett Sanchez, shared why she was the one behind the camera. She wanted to see art come to life, particularly the art within churches. Sanchez wanted to understand how to find beauty in everything, not just the obvious, but in the more difficult. The war zones of the world, for example, show how beauty is connected to justice. This came to life through capturing the pilgrimage of the artists and putting it on film for others to see.
THE PANEL
After the documentary, Luke Aleckson, an art professor at Biola, held a panel featuring the four artists: Jody Hassett Sanchez, Roberta Ahmanson, Kieran Dodds, Street Hymns and Biola’s president Dr. Corey. They reflected on each process of the project, expressing how deeply they appreciated the devotion of each and every person involved. To them, each artist delivered their heart and soul into the final piece, such as Dodds’ photography, or Street Hymns’ spoken word, inspired by this trip. They discussed the process of each part of this project, sharing their thoughts and opinions. They each expressed their appreciation for everyone involved in the project and the work and hearts of each artist.
They also discussed how this journey transformed them. Dodds voiced how intense the journey through every city was. He stated that belonging to a place is a personal experience which draws community together. Already being a big traveler himself, Dodds loved being able to process these sights and experiences so intentionally.
Street Hymns had an enlightening moment at one of the chapels that the group visited. He realized that his work was seen as reverent, comparatively to this chapel and the beautiful, handmade work within it which reflected Christ. Sanchez, though she was filming, was later able to experience how America tries to make everything “quick and easy,” as though you can put it all in the palm of your hand. She expressed how being away from the hustle and bustle of American culture forces you to slow down and deeply appreciate everything.
THE ART
After the film screening, spoken word artist Street Hymns came up to perform beautiful symphonic pieces of poetry spoken as rap partnered with orchestral music, creating a deeply emotional and impactful experience for the audience. After the performance and the panel, the audience was directed over to the Earl & Virginia Green Art Gallery to feast on some dessert and the photos taken by Dodds, documenting his perspective of the pilgrimage. This photography is still on display in the Green Gallery, and remains open to the public.
