Tidings of Great Joy: Creches From Six Continents

The seventh annual exhibition of créches from around the world is now open at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

 “Tidings of Great Joy: Créches From Six Continents” is a collection of crèches from 40 countries, many of them reflecting the cultural heritage of their place of origin, featuring figures dressed in native costumes and indigenous animals.

 Saint Francis of Assisi was responsible for the first re-enactment of the Nativity, using animals he assembled on Christmas Eve 1223 in Greccio, a village between Assisi and Rome. The word “créche” is most likely a French interpretation of Greccio.

 Saint Bonaventure described the event in his writings 40 years later, and the Catholic Church would later approve such re-enactments. The practice became common throughout the Christian world, with statues eventually replacing the human and animal participants. By the 17th century, each country had its own variation on the crèche.

 A crèche, or Nativity set, is a group of figurines representing the birth of Christ. It typically includes the holy family, angels, kings, shepherds, animals and often villagers and other characters in accordance with local customs.

 The exhibition at the Quick Center includes créches ranging in style from elaborately detailed to refreshingly simple. They are made from many different materials including the traditional media of sculptors – clay, terra cotta, glass and wood – but also tin, plastic, resin and a variety of fibers and botanicals including straw and banana leaves.

 The exhibition runs through Jan. 9, 2011.

The Quick Center galleries are open to the public and are FREE - from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  Closed all major holidays.

The university’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will observe regular hours of operation through Thursday, Dec. 23, closing Friday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 2, and reopening Monday, Jan. 3.

For more information on this event please visit http://www.sbu.edu/QuickCenter.aspx