Bronze sculpture of two people facing each other in conversation
Long chains of origami paper folded butterflies hanging from the rafters of the Sanctuary
An art installation of feathers made from metal strips

The Arts

The mission of the McMane Arts Ministry is to create, encourage, and promote opportunities for people to experience and explore the dynamic flow between spirituality and the arts including, but not limited to, visual arts, dance, and music through exhibitions, worship, and workshops. The McMane Arts Endowment, created in 2015 in honor of Rev. Martie McMane, Senior Minister of First Congregational Church from 2001 to 2016, supports the work of our Arts Ministry.

Exhibitions

The McMane Arts Ministry is honored to host exhibits of artists from Boulder and beyond – individual showcases, groups, and organizations, rotating every three or four months. Our Heritage Room and Chapel Hallway serve as gracious gallery spaces for community viewing and artist receptions.

From November 2024 through February 2025, we are pleased to host an exhibit of the Pastel Society of Colorado. Well-known and emerging artists from Colorado are showing their pastel paintings, as well as works using other media, including oils, watercolors, and drawings.

 

Worship

Fabric paraments and visual art installations enhance our worship experience in the Sanctuary. During the pandemic, the Arts Ministry lifted to the Sanctuary rafters strings of origami butterflies made by members of the congregation as a memorial to all who died from COVID-19. Then in 2021, when ten of our Boulder neighbors were killed in a mass shooting at our local King Soopers, we folded Soul Boxes. The panels of 108 boxes each serve as a vivid reminder of the number of people who die every day from gun violence in the United States. As a traveling exhibit, the Soul Boxes were displayed for a season at a local library and at the Colorado State House.

Workshops

The McMane Arts Ministry plans opportunities for artists and non-artists alike to experience various art forms, practices, and media, sometimes sponsoring an artist-in-residence.

Art Collection

The beauty of our facility is enhanced by the visual art you can see everywhere in our building. A sculpture of Rising Cranes by New Mexico artist Kevin Box welcomes you at our Pine Street entrance. The Conversation sculpture by nationally renowned artist Carol God sits on our Plaza. A Mosaic Dove, intended to depict the Descent of the Holy Spirit, is mounted in Plymouth Hall. Created by artist Arno and Paul Heuduck, the grandfather of church member Marty Heuduck, the dove is the inspiration of our church logo. Smaller sculptures by UCC minister Charles McCollough and a sandstone painting by Burke Burbank of the Navajo nation, former artists in residence, grace our hallways. Larger than life paintings by Gene Matthews meet us in the Chapel, a stairwell, and the church office.