Past MOCRA Events
Browse the chronological list of events at the Saint Louis University Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific event. Click “View” for more information about an event. If you need further information about an event, please contact us.

Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the TIme of AIDS dance program and opening reception
October 15, 1994
MOCRA marks the opening of the first national group exhibition that explores AIDS within a spiritual framework with dance performances by three outstanding artists. Each dancer will perform a solo work in honor of those who have died of AIDS or who are living with HIV or AIDS.
Dancers:
Danny Clark is a former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He danced with the Ailey company for ten years, traveling around the world as a performer and teacher. Clark spoke at MOCRA in 1993 as part of a panel discussion called “I Remember Alvin,” in conjunction with the exhibition Body and Soul: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Danny Clark died on August 8, 1997. His wife said of him, “He touched so many lives. He was so passionate about life and beauty and God. As a dancer, his body was blessed; it was a gift, and he was a gift.”
John-Mario Sevilla is from Maui. A graduate of the University of Hawaii with a BA in literature, he has danced in the companies of Janis Brenner, Bill Cratty, Michael Moschen, Shapiro and Smith, Jennifer Sargent, The Yard, and Nikolais and Louis, has appeared in films by Laura Margulies, and has appeared as a go-go boy with Sherry Vine in Wigstock. He acknowledges the lasting influence of his mentors: Betty Jones, Fritz Ludin, Hana G. Trinidad and Jack Unterecker. Sevilla joined Pilobolus in 1989. The Connecticut-based dance company is hailed as one of the most influential modern dance groups in the world, acclaimed for its startling mix of humor and invention.
Jude Woodcock hails from Gloverbottom, Missouri. She first started dancing relatively late in life, at the age of 24 while attending Southwest Missouri State University. After graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in Dance, Theater and Art, she joined Pilobolus in 1984. Since 1989 Ms. Woodcock has represented the troupe as the Dance Captain, which involved the operation of the company and management of the company on the road, programming, the running of auditions, and the training of new company members. She also enjoys representing the company's teaching philosophy through master classes and workshops throughout the world.
above:
Danny Clark dances in the opening program for Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS
Related programming
Thomas Sokolowski: “The Changing Face of AIDS”
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS”
Listen to Jude Woodcock reminisce about Consecrations on Episode 17: MOCRA Memories - Consecrations
Exhibition | |
---|---|
2018-10-07 to 2018-10-14 | ![]() Walking in Hope: A Weeklong Celebration of the Canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero |
2017-04-20 | ![]() “The Hand Acts Out a Joyous Dance”: Celebrating the Art of Bernard Maisner |
2016-09-25 | ![]() Erika Diettes: “Stories Told from the Threshold” |
2015-12-06 | ![]() So That You Know Each Other: Intercultural Reflections on Art, Beauty, and Islam |
2014-11-15 | ![]() John Handley: “The Religious Art of Pablo Picasso” |
2018-09-28 to 2018-09-29 | ![]() Fleur-de-Lis Floral Art Walk |
2014-02-23 | ![]() “The Economy of Gift” in Socially Engaged Art Practices: A Public Deliberation |
2013-10-02 | ![]() Art21: The Spiritual Light screening at CAM |
2013-03-02 | ![]() Rituals and Spirituality in the Performative Photographic Work of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons |
2012-11-11 | ![]() Breaking Boundaries: A Conversation about the Art of Patrick Graham |
2012-05-20 | ![]() Stephen P. Durchslag: “The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah” |
2012-03-27 | ![]() 2012 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Image of the Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Consciousness” |
2011-10-06 | ![]() 2011 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Pursuit of the Spirit: The Renewed Interest in the Spiritual and Religious Dimensions in Contemporary Art” |
2011-05-01 | ![]() Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “Georges Rouault and the Art of Sacred Engagement” |
2010-11-15 | ![]() Terrence Demspey, S.J.: “Creating a Religious Environment through Contemporary Art and Architecture” |
2010-03-28 | ![]() Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Conscience” |
2009-12-01 | ![]() Day With(out) Art |
2009-11-15 | ![]() Michael Byron: “Cosmic Tears: Word and Image” |
2009-03-29 | ![]() Art and the Religious Imagination |
2008-04-15 | ![]() Wu Hung: “What Is Contemporary Chinese Art?” |
2007-10-07 | ![]() Celluloid Bible Classics: The Ten Commandments |
2007-11-04 | ![]() Celluloid Bible Classics: Ben-Hur |
2007-09-16 | ![]() Michael Morris, O.P.: “Moving Pictures: The Bible and Beyond” |
2007-03-30 | ![]() Peter Frank: “An Oskar Fischinger Tribute” |
2006-12-01 | ![]() Day With(out) Art |
2005-12-04 | ![]() Robert Rosenblum: “DoDo Jin Ming: An Art Historian's View” |
2003-09-07 | ![]() To Make Extraordinary: The Role of Sacred Objects in Life and Worship |
2002-05-04 | ![]() The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A University Response |
2002-04-30 | ![]() Fred D. Gray: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A Study That Should Never Have Occurred |
2002-01-31 | ![]() Cloudlanders |
2002-01-26 | ![]() Thomas Sokolowski: “The Last Temptation: Andy Warhols Art as Belief” |
2000-11-30 | ![]() Day With(out) Art |
2001-04-06 | ![]() Bare Naked Statues in concert |
1999-04-15 | ![]() Two Lectures: Ellen Dissanayake and Jack Renard |
1999-03-27 | ![]() Bernard Maisner: “The Art of the Illuminator” |
1998-03-22 | ![]() Renaissance and Modern |
1997-11-15 | ![]() The Role of the Computer in Contemporary Art |
1997-07-24 | ![]() Jennifer Biddle: Body, Country, Canvas: Meaning and Identity in Central Desert Aboriginal Women’s Art |
1997-06-07 | ![]() Creativity as Ancestral Mind: Living with the Ancestors |
1997-02-27 | ![]() The Artist and the Theologian Dialogue: The Body of Christ as Veiling and Unveiling the Invisible God |
1996-12-01 | ![]() Day Without Art |
1996-05-19 | ![]() The Artist as Poet: Readings by Edward Boccia |
1995-05-20 | ![]() Ian Friend: “The Edge of Belief” |
1995-05-04 | ![]() Peter Selz: “Degenerate Art” |
1995-02-05 | ![]() Lynn Hague in recital |
1994-11-13 | ![]() Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS” |
1994-12-01 | ![]() Day Without Art |
1994-11-05 | ![]() Thomas Sokolowski: “The Changing Face of AIDS” |
1994-11-01 | ![]() The Amici String Quartet in recital |
1994-10-15 | ![]() Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the TIme of AIDS dance program and opening reception |
1993-10-29 | ![]() I Remember Alvin |
1993-11-05 | ![]() An Evening with Katherine Dunham |
1992-11-07 | ![]() The Artist and Sacred Space |
2019-04-14 | ![]() A Conversation with Gary Logan |
2019-11-10 | ![]() Pursuing the Spirit in Contemporary Art: A Celebration of Terrence Dempsey, S.J. |
2021-10-26 to 2021-10-26 | ![]() Religion and Complex Social Issues Series: Panel on Immigration, Justice, and Religion |
2021-11-03 to 2021-11-03 | ![]() Sobrevida: A Conversation with Prof. Daisy Vargas |
2021-11-05 to 2021-11-05 | ![]() Meet the Artist: Tom Kiefer |
2021-11-06 to 2021-11-06 | ![]() Conversations with Photographer Tom Kiefer |
2022-04-07 to 2022-04-07 | ![]() Tom Lucas, S.J.: Art in the Jesuit Tradition |
2022-09-29 | ![]() Artist, Poet, Curator: A Conversation with Lesley Dill, Tom Sleigh and Rene Paul Barilleaux |
2022-11-19 | ![]() What Is Viral? What Is Value? — Open Mic |
2024-04-14 | ![]() René Paul Barilleaux: Crafting a Curatorial Practice |