Arts discipleship in the artistic heart of Tbilisi, Georgia to grow you into the creative gospel minister God made you to be.

Residency Options

Seasonal Residencies

  • 4 weeks each

  • Full-time (40 hrs./week)

  • Full access to facilities & group events

  • 1 Short Course included

Semester Cohort

  • 5 months

  • Part-time (10 hrs./week) for 2025*

  • Full access to facilities & group events

  • 2-3 Short Courses included

*Semester Cohort full-time in 2026

Program Details

NUTS & BOLTS

  • Do you love art and The Unsung Arts Collective brings together arts + missions. We are looking for those who have both a genuine call to cross-cultural ministry—bringing the good news of Jesus to those who have never heard—and who have an artistic ambition, call, or gifting from God.

    Applicants should currently be pursuing, seriously considering, or in cross-cultural ministry. Applicants should also be practicing art in some way. We are as generous as possible in this point. You do not have to be a full-time or professional artist (though you may be). But it is also not suited for beginners. We are not an art school; we nurture and train you in the artistic call you are pursuing in God.

    We welcome applicants of any age or stage: singles, couples, families with children, or finishers in their retirement years!

    • 24-hour access to our arts facility including workshop (basic supplies included) with dedicated table space, gallery/performance space, recording studio and audio/video editing suite.

    • All books included in your program, with weekly discussions.

    • Weekly teaching in theology of art.

    • Inclusion in ongoing arts gatherings such as gallery showings, art discussion groups, and outings.

    • Short Courses at no added charge.

      • SEASONAL: one 3-5 day course

      • SEMESTER: two to three 3-5 day courses

  • 2025

    SEASONAL RESIDENCIES 2025 (1 month):

    • Winter: February 15 - Mar 14, 2025

    • Spring: April 12 - May 9, 2025

    • 40 hours/week (Total appox. 160 hrs.)

    SEMESTER COHORT 2025 (5 months):

    • January 12 - May 30, 2025

    • 10 hours /week (Total appox. 190 hrs.)

    2026

    SEMESTER COHORT 2026 (5 months):

    • January 11 - May 31, 2026

    • 40 hours/week

  • Participants in our residential program live independently throughout the city. You are responsible for your own shopping, cooking, cleaning, and transportation. We can help you locate housing.

    Twice a week we all meet at the UAC building for worship, teaching, and discussion. This facility also provides studio space for students to work on the portfolio aspect of the program.

  • We charge students tuition for the program. This includes use of the arts space, basic supplies, classroom teaching, short courses, mentoring, and possible excursions. The rest of their living expenses — including room and board, utilities, transportation, entertainment, etc. — are up to them to provide or raise privately.

    2025

    SEASONAL RESIDENCIES (1-month, full-time): USD $347

    SEMESTER COHORT 2025 (5-month, part-time): USD $597

    2026

    SEMESTER COHORT 2026 (5-month, full-time): USD $2,500

STRUCTURE

  • Our part-time residency will divide into two parts:

    1. Our art

    2. Others’ art

    Our art. Art in missions begins with claiming—or for many of us, reclaiming—our identity as artists in the Lord. We spend the first third of the program unpacking our relationship to our own artistic gifts and calling, and how those gifts serve the grand redemptive work of God in the world. This segment lays a theological foundation of “art for God’s sake” and explores the prominent ways the church has related to culture. We also engage in a process of creative recovery involving selected readings, daily journaling, a survey of influences in our artistic journey, regular arts exercises, and weekly small group meetings for processing. Finally, this segment kicks off our weekly studio hours in which we devote 15-20 hours/week in personal studio time. These studio hours continue in some degree each week through the rest of the program. The end result of this is a performance or exhibition midway through the session.

    Others’ art. Art in missions cannot be limited to our own artistic expression; its heart lies in connecting with through their arts for Kingdom gain. The second half of the program we turn to focus on others’ arts and how we can successfully cross over to connect with them. Here we enter the domain of “ethno-arts” or “ethnodoxology.”

  • Artists need time and s p a c e to create. This programs helps create that for you. Every week you are required to spend time on a project which will run the length of the session and which will be shown/shared at the end of the session.

    SEASONAL: 15-20 hrs./week

    COHORT: 3-5 hrs./week

  • We gather twice a week for worship, teaching, arts devotion activities, prayer, and book discussions.

    Two or three times in the session we will offer short courses of 3 to 5 days each. These are open to the wider community but will be free of charge for our residency participants.

  • The best discussions happen over food. Every month we will open up Desser & Discussion to the wider community: a time to consider a text together (podcast, blog, article, etc.) and to process together and think, maybe to disagree, and always to listen. Sometimes special guests are present to enrich the conversation.