By Jenny Rollins

PROVO — Many religious historians agree Jesus Christ most likely had brown skin, but many popular or iconic portraits of Christ have one thing in common: light skin, blue eyes and European features. A new art gallery show in Provo is hoping to broaden how people picture Christ.

The "Mosaic of Christ" show opens Friday, featuring diverse depictions of Jesus Christ from all over the world, with an emphasis on historical accuracy and cultural expression. The show will run at Writ and Vision in downtown Provo from Feb. 2-24, with an opening reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. the first night and a panel discussion Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.

The upper portion of the gallery show will include an educational exhibit, with explanations about what Christ most likely would have looked like, why representation matters and how diversity functions in art. There will also be a coloring station for children and an opportunity to leave comments and impressions about the show.

The show was created through Meetinghouse Mosaic, a faith-promoting nationwide nonprofit run by a diverse group of Latter-day Saint women dedicated to helping artwork in church meetinghouses reflect the diversity of the church's worldwide membership and its inclusive teachings.

The organization also hopes to be a bridge between artists of color and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, connecting artists with resources to develop their skills and amplify their work by giving them a platform to share their art.

The members of the nonprofit came up with the idea to do an art show focused on depictions of Christ about a year ago.

Although Christ was a Palestinian Jew who likely had brown skin, the paintings were created in the 1500s in Italy, where antisemitism was prevalent, so artists purposefully painted him without any Jewish characteristics, Anne Pimentel, president of Meetinghouse Mosaic, said. During colonial times, colonizers specifically commissioned art with a white Christ so people being colonized would associate them with divinity.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50863031/new-art-show-in-provo-to-feature-diverse-portraits-of-christ