The Acton Building has been a blessing in so many ways. We have more room for our growing staff, we enjoy a highly-visible location in a flourishing part of Grand Rapids, and we're able to host more events.
To be honest, one area in which I did not expect to see such flourishing was Acton's participation in the arts. For two years, we have been an ArtPrize venue, hosting outstanding and varied works. We've enjoyed theatrical presentations on Hildegard of Bingen and G.K. Chesterton. Our lower level art gallery has showcased diverse art and artists, and screened documentaries. Looking ahead, we have more art to present and share.
Some may ask what an economic think tank is doing dabbling in the arts. The arts are at the very center of what the Acton Institute is about. Our core principles are grounded in the dignity of the human person, our social nature and the priority we must place on culture.
In 1999, St. John Paul II wrote an elegant and edifying letter to artists. In it, he reminds them that their gifts must be used for the good of all:
Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works both worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of all humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favour of the common good.
The particular vocation of individual artists decides the arena in which they serve and points as well to the tasks they must assume, the hard work they must endure and the responsibility they must accept. Artists who are conscious of all this know too that they must labour without allowing themselves to be driven by the search for empty glory or the craving for cheap popularity, and still less by the calculation of some possible profit for themselves. There is therefore an ethic, even a "spirituality" of artistic service, which contributes in its way to the life and renewal of a people.
The Acton Institute is not an art gallery. We are an institution that encourages human flourishing, and the arts are but one expression of that. While our mainstay continues to be economics and religious liberty, we will continue to encourage the expression of faith, liberty, and culture in a variety of artistic manners—and consider ourselves blessed to do so.
Sincerely,
Rev. Robert Sirico, President
