September 27 to November 8 2026
The Liturgy & Light Collective
The Inaugural Exhibition of the Grace & Light Gallery
In Loving Remembrance of Artist James “Jim” Patrick Wise
FPC’s new art gallery provides an intersection
for faith & beauty
D
edicated art galleries housed on Protestant church campuses are relatively rare. In fact, they are so uncommon that research examining the intersection of dedicated gallery spaces and Protestant churches is nearly nonexistent. Barna research offers little on the subject, and even a broad Google search reveals only a handful of examples. In the 11-county metro Atlanta area, there appear to be approximately six dedicated galleries housed within churches—a small number considering the thousands of churches throughout the region. Perhaps that is not surprising. Within the American Protestant tradition, visual art has often taken a back seat to the spoken word and music. Yet throughout the history of Christianity, beauty, imagery, architecture, and visual art have played a profound role in how people encounter and understand faith. First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta is embracing that tradition in a new way. On Sunday, September 27, following worship, FPC opens the Grace & Light Gallery, a dedicated exhibition space designed to bring art, faith, and community together. The gallery is part of our church’s On the Way Capital Project and occupies the long wall adjacent to the DuPre Garden, along the hallway leading from The Correll Commons to the back parking lot. But the gallery is intended to be more than a place to display art. It is envisioned as a place of encounter. Bryan Brooks, an arts advocate and ministry leader, has spent much of his work bringing together visual art, faith, education, and community engagement. At FPC, he has served in multiple areas of church
Sindhu Giedd and Bryan Brooks discuss the new avenues the art gallery will open in church life.
life, including as the former Arts Council Ministry Leader and Gallery Coordinator and Curator. When the Rev. Dr. Tony Sundermeier contacted Brooks about the gallery, Brooks immediately saw its potential and was ecstatic. “It’s about beauty to me,” Brooks said. That simple statement captures much of the gallery’s philosophy. The Grace & Light Gallery will feature liturgical and sacred art, but its exhibitions will not be confined to exclusively to those categories. Instead, the gallery will explore the possibility that the sacred and the secular are not always separated by a hard line. Art can provoke questions. It can create wonder. It can challenge assumptions, reveal something
unexpected, or simply invite us to slow down and pay attention. For Sindhu Giedd, FPC Assistant Director of Worship and the Arts and one of the staff liaisons working with the gallery, that understanding resonates deeply with Scripture. She cites Philippians 4:8:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Beauty, in this sense, is not merely decorative. It can be a way of directing our attention toward what is true, excellent, meaningful, and worthy of contemplation. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition embodies that spirit in a particularly meaningful way. In a fitting tribute, the first exhibition features the work of the late Jim Wise. His work will provide an opportunity for the church community to remember and celebrate an artist whose life was deeply connected to the church and to the creative arts. Additional exhibitions are planned throughout the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. For members of FPC’s Arts Council, the hope is that the Grace & Light Gallery will become something more than an exhibition space tucked along a church hallway. It could become a gateway through which people encounter something of the character, creativity, and spiritual life of First Presbyterian Church. And the invitation extends beyond the congregation. The gallery is envisioned as a way to open the church more intentionally to the broader Atlanta community, creating opportunities for gallery openings, art talks, and conversations and questions.
About Jim Wise Jim Wise’s large-scale, meticulously rendered paintings present familiar objects in unexpected and often striking ways, creating a viewing experience that is at once familiar and mysterious. Born in 1951, Jim grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, attended the North Carolina Governor’s School in art, and graduated from the College of Design at North Carolina State University. After a long and accomplished career as a graphic designer, producing award-winning work for major corporations and institutions throughout the country, Jim turned his full attention to painting. Jim and his wife of 38 years, Hollis, divided their time between Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and Asheville, North Carolina. A passionate supporter of the arts, Jim was also a proud docent at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Jim passed away on April 9, 2025, at the age of 73. He leaves behind a remarkable body of work and a tremendous community of family, friends, fellow artists, collectors, and art lovers.
First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
www.firstpresatl.org
1328 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, Georgia 30309