Artist Makoto Fujimura to speak at Judson University's spring commencement May 4
Artist, writer and speaker Makoto Fujimura will give the keynote address during Judson University's Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 4, at Lindner Fitness Center, 1151 N. State St., Elgin. He will speak at the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies.
Fujimura is an artist, writer and speaker who is recognized worldwide as a cultural shaper. He was recently appointed Director of Culture Care Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary's Brehm Center. A Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009, Fujimura served as an international advocate for the arts, speaking with decision-makers and advising governmental policies on the arts.
In 2014, the American Academy of Religion named Makoto Fujimura as its 2014 Religion and the Arts' award recipient. His books have won numerous awards including the Aldersgate Prize for "Silence and Beauty" (IVPress).
Fujimura's work has been exhibited at galleries around the world, including Yokohama Museum, The Contemporary Museum of Tokyo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts Museum, Bentley Gallery in Arizona, Gallery Exit and Oxford House at Taikoo Place in Hong Kong, Tikotin Museum in Israel, and Vienna's Belvedere Museum. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City's legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra.
A popular speaker, he has lectured at several conferences, universities and museums, including the Aspen Institute, Yale and Princeton Universities, Sato Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum.
Fujimura's second book, "Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture," is a collection of essays bringing together people of all backgrounds in a conversation and meditation on culture, art and humanity.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Crossway Publishing commissioned and published "The Four Holy Gospels," featuring Fujimura's illuminations of the sacred texts.
Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement in 1992, now IAMCultureCare, which over sees Fujimura Institute. In 2011, the Fujimura Institute was established and launched the Four Qu4rtets, a collaboration between Fujimura, painter Bruce Herman, Duke theologian/pianist Jeremy Begbie, and Yale composer Christopher Theofanidis, based on T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. The exhibition has traveled to Baylor, Duke, and Yale Universities, Cambridge University, Hiroshima City University and other institutions around the globe.
He is a recipient of four Doctor of Arts Honorary Degrees from Belhaven University (2011), Biola University (2012), Cairn University (2014) and Roanoke College (2015).