In the middle of the open call for personal submissions of sacred objects for our Curator in Residence’s third exhibition, our plans changed greatly. With shelter-at-home, we feel it is an opportunity for more sharing of our sacred truths, and as such, we documented the original submissions below and hosted a live community event on Instagram.

May 2nd, 2020, 6-8pm we invited our community to share their own rituals, actions, and objects that they find sacred. We reposted all #dimensionsofthesacred and archived them here on Instagram.

Join us in viewing Dimensions of the Sacred, during a time when many of us most need it. Stay safe and well.

Online Exhibition

Dimensions of the Sacred
Curated by Justin Hoover, Curator in Residence

What object embodies your belief? What rituals do you hold sacred? 

Objects, actions, totems, rituals, rites–these constructions can convey a sense of belonging, purpose, and direction. Dimensions of the Sacred explores the ways that creative and cultural practices intersect and showcases the ways that we actively construct belief. These sacred constructions not only represent a means of communication with the divine, but they also serve as personal portals that point us towards sense of universalism. They also focus on the materials and representations of faith within a particular community and provide perspectives into how individuals sustain hope, aspiration, and personal truths. 

At the core of this open-sourced exhibition is the shared need to search for meaning in life, and to do so through physical manifestations and representations of that quest.

Dimensions of the Sacred therefore is a look at the ways that society physically manifests faith, trust, and hope; and how we can share this with our community. The public is invited to share its deepest beliefs through the various ways they are manifested as objects and practices in our spiritual lives.

Through this exhibition we invite new experiences exploring diverse expressions of the sacred. We hope to create an abstract map of Portland’s spirituality, a conceptual landscape of the community’s complicated, intricate, and intersecting facets of faith. Lastly, we hope that visitors are able to reflect on how we can collectively embrace all the intricacies and nuances pertaining to the dimensions of the sacred.  

-Justin Hoover, Curator in Residence