THE BAHÁ’Í ACADEMY for the Arts celebrated its tenth anniversary a few short weeks ago and has grown from 25 participants in 1993 to 270 this year. It was started by two middle-aged mums (their words, not mine), Margaret Appa and Cecilia Smith, who have put in a tremendous amount of love, energy and vitality into organising it year after year. Students this year came from all over the world, including many parts of Europe and the Americas, making the week a truly international occasion.

There were so many courses to choose from this year. For starters, there were no less than five courses for under 14 year olds, including crafts, story telling, junior theatre, dance and, of course, music – the latter including “stomping” with old broom handles and making as much noise as possible with dustbins. Great fun!

For those of us who didn’t qualify for these on age grounds, adult courses included watercolour painting, photography, Raku ceramics (pottery), creative writing, screen writing, weaving, fireside theatre, environmental sculpture, instrumental improvisation workshops, singing and even Shiatsu. What a choice! What’s more, these courses encouraged beginners, or people who would just like to have a go. Whether a beginner, or highly accomplished, the Academy sees the arts as a tool for personal transformation within the students’ own lives and the lives of those whom their creativity touches. The courses are designed to stretch the student, but not beyond his or her capacity.

If the above courses weren’t enough, two Master Classes were also available: one for painters, given by Otto Don Rogers from Canada; and one for composers, given by Professor Lasse Thoresen from Norway. These courses were for students who had already achieved a level of competence in their art.

From a personal point of view, I have attended the Academy every year since 1996. As I hadn’t done much acting in my life, the first year I decided to opt for the theatre course. I found myself not only taking three characters in a truncated version of Our Day Out but also providing an arrangement of all the songs on keyboard as the planned pianist had let us down. I was definitely “stretched”, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable week! I have taken part in drama and music theatre courses since then, including taking the part of Thomas Breakwell’s father in Rob Weinberg’s musical, “The Language of the Heart”. This year, however, was the exception as, being a composer myself, I just had to join Lasse Thoresen’s Master Class, especially as he had written the oratorio “Terraces of Light” for the official opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel. Although the number of participants was small (six, including an interested observer who doesn’t compose) this proved to be highly rewarding for all of us, as we were stimulated by Lasse’s musical ideas and their connection with aspects of our Faith, including some thoughts about writing for the Holy Temples.

Naturally, the Academy aims to link our chosen art with the Faith and, to this end, each day started with a Morning Focus in which students could offer their art, whatever it might be, as part of a devotional. This was usually a wonderfully uplifting experience and set us focusing on the spiritual aim of our art when we went to our designated course. The courses themselves run for two hours before lunch and two hours after, although the afternoon session was often extended. Two hours of free time was scheduled, although not always taken, before supper, and the evening consisted of various forms of entertainment.

Then there was Friday. This enabled all participants to see what everyone else had achieved. From Friday afternoon, the visual arts were on display, or were presented in some way. The turn for the performing arts was during the evening, starting with the children’s courses; then an example of work in progress from the Composition Master Class; samples from creative writing were read; performances from both instrumental improvisation and singing courses given; and finally there was the fireside theatre. Needless to say, it was rather a long evening – but well worthwhile!

It is also very encouraging to find that not all students were Bahá’ís, hence the week was a tremendous teaching forum. In fact, previous years have seen students declaring as a result of the week. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere the Arts Academy week provides and recommend it to anyone who wishes to have a go. The Academy’s mission statement is: The artist is not a special kind of person, but every person is a special kind of artist. As Bahá’u’lláh put it: