News

This spring, Regent is celebrating the artistic gifts and vocations flourishing within our student body with an unprecedented number of IPIAT presentations from graduating students.

An IPIAT (Integrated Project in the Arts and Theology) is a capstone project completed by many MATS students in the Christianity and the Arts concentration. Similar in role and scope to a thesis or comprehensive exam, the IPIAT offers experienced art-makers an opportunity to create and present a major new work of art, accompanied by a research paper investigating theological dimensions of the work.

One of the highlights of Regent’s Arts program—and our community life—is the tradition of spring IPIAT presentations, where students present both their art and the academic work that informs it.

According to Arts Administrator and Dal Schindell Gallery Coordinator Gillian McLean, 2025 is Regent’s busiest IPIAT season in recent memory, with eight graduating students presenting their projects to friends, family, and the Regent community.

As the following list demonstrates, this year’s IPIAT schedule is also remarkable for the wide range of themes and artistic media represented. This diversity of methods, styles, and subject matter captures something of the breadth and depth of the artistic practice and scholarship that flourishes at Regent.

Please join us as we celebrate the hard work, deep thought, and theological insight on display in this year’s IPIAT presentations.

Completed Presentations

This year’s IPIAT season received a wonderful kick-off with a presentation that embodied Regent’s traditions of artistry and hospitality. This was followed by a screenplay table read and a presentation focused on arts education.

Maureen Hickman | Spoken Word

Preaching Holiness through Spoken Word: Word and Kitchen Table Party

Stephen Bell | Screenwriting

Thin Places

Eunice Derksen | Arts Education

Cultivating the Practice of Attention through the Visual Arts

Upcoming

The 2025 IPIAT season will continue in the coming weeks, with presentations of poetry, photography, playwriting, painting, and textile art.

Christina Hubbard | Poetry & Photography

Martyrs in Monochrome: the Witness of Women, Christian Resilience, and Photopoetry

• Academic Presentation: April 9, 3 pm, Room 10
• Exhibition Opening Reception: April 9, 4 pm, Dal Schindell Gallery

Caleb Berberich | Poetry

This Small Contented Matter: The Importance of Being Impersonal

• Poetry Reading and Academic Presentation: April 14, 12–1:30 pm, Room 10

Elizabeth van Bebber | Playwriting

Atlantis

• Script Table Read: April 15, 6–9 pm, Pacific Theatre (https://pacifictheatre.org/)
• Academic Presentation (completed): "Toward a Theological Theater: An Apology for Live Drama as Epistemological and Theological Method"

Nicole Conklin | Visual Arts – Painting

The Portrayal of Mary in the History of Religious Premodern, Modern and Contemporary Art

• Virtual Exhibition and Academic Presentation: April 16, 1–2:30pm, Room 10

Freeman Lam | Visual Arts – Textiles

Clothed in Glory: Learning to Embody Christ

• Creative Project Presentation: May 14, 4:30–7:30 pm, Regent Chapel and Dal Schindell Gallery
• Academic Presentation (completed): "Textile Art and Dialogue: Exploring God’s Glory Through Communal Garment Making"