EVENT: Visual Theology Conference – Beauty and the Revival of Faith

Beauty and the Revival of Faith

8-10 May, 2026

The Archbishop’s Palace, Southwell, Notts, U.K.

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Visual Theology’s fourth conference takes place this coming May. Our programme is finalised and we are now open for booking. This conference is designed to suit a range of interests and professional or avocational concerns; we invite everyone who values conversations about art, culture, and the religious imagination. Everybody is welcome regardless of personal faith.

Beauty and the Revival of Faith is the conclusion of our major two-part conference. The first took place last autumn in New York City, at the Salmagundi Club, along with a special visit to the Met Cloisters.

We are delighted to present a programme of international speakers alongside our wonderful keynotes: Professor Douglas Hedley (University of Cambridge), Dr. Bijan Omrani (Historian and Classicist), Reverend Dr. Jamie Franklin (Irreverend Podcast), and award-winning artist Simon Bray.

We hope you will join us for the talks, the keynote roundtable and addresses, the conference dinner, and the private tour of Southwell Minster. It promises to be a wonderful event.

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BOOK TICKETS
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Our main venue is the beautiful Archbishop’s Palace, next to the justly famed Southwell Minster. The Palace is historically important, with Cardinal Wolsey having been an occupant, and with King Charles I having been taken there after his arrest. There will be an opportunity to tour the Minster to see the globally important thirteenth-century ‘Leaves of Southwell’.
Venue
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Our accomplished speakers, who include academics and artists, are joining us from the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. They represent various disciplines and many renowned universities and institutions such as John Brown University, in the U.S., the Royal College of Art, the University of Cambridge, and the Watts Gallery here in the U.K.
Programme

Visual Theology Book Prize Nominations

2026 saw us long-listed for the Art + Christianity book prize with our volume

Transforming Christian Thought in the Visual Arts: Theology, Aesthetics, and Practice and 2025 saw us nominated for the annual book prize by the Ruskin Society for our book John Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Religious Imagination – Sacre Conversazioni, which we timed to coincide with the bicentenary celebration of Ruskin’s birth. We are delighted by the recognition of our work to date.

We are now working on our next volume. Watch this space!

We look forward to welcoming speakers and guests alike this May. If you are unable to join us but wish to support this important work, please consider donating to us. Your goodwill and generosity, in all forms, are greatly appreciated.

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