About the Institute
Rooted in the Letter to Artists
A house for the vocation at its beginning
John Paul II addressed his Letter "to all who are passionately dedicated to the search for new “epiphanies” of beauty." The Wonder Institute takes that Letter as its charter, and turns toward those whose search has only just begun. Most great artists were once unknown, working on first pieces nobody asked for. We want to find them then.
“Looking to the Third Millennium, I would hope that all artists might receive in abundance the gift of that creative inspiration which is the starting-point of every true work of art.”John Paul II, Letter to Artists, ¶15
A span of years made into a promise
The first ceremony falls in 2028, twenty-nine years after John Paul II wrote to artists on Easter Sunday 1999. So the Awards are open to artists aged twenty-nine and under: every laureate will be younger than the Letter itself.
The cutoff is not about youth for its own sake. It is a way of saying that the Letter was a seed, and that the generation born after it is now old enough to bear fruit.
History
- April 4, 1999. John Paul II publishes the Letter to Artists on Easter Sunday.
- 2026. The Wonder Institute is conceived (concept) by artists, scholars and patrons.
- September 1, 2027. The first call for submissions opens.
- April 22, 2028. The inaugural Wonder Awards, twenty-nine years after the Letter.
The new alliance
The Letter calls for a renewed partnership between the Church and artists. The Institute builds that alliance at its most hopeful point: pairing young artists with established mentors, introducing parishes to emerging talent through the Directory, and giving first works a serious hearing.
“art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience”John Paul II, Letter to Artists, ¶10