Presence and Mystery
Location
Resurrection Philadelphia
Date
September 24–26, 2026
Presence and Mystery
Re-Echo Arts and Resurrection Philadelphia are thrilled to announce Presence and Mystery: a Re:Echo Symposium on Art and Flourishing, September 24–26 in Philadelphia, PA.
Join philosopher James K.A. Smith, theologian Natalie Carnes, filmmaker Ben Stamper, and film historian Joe Kickasola for an inspiring exploration of the surprising relationship between art and mysticism; unknowing as spiritual and creative practice; and how the embrace of mystery restores us to the world — a re-enchantment vital to our formation and flourishing.
These stimulating lectures and discussions expand on themes at the heart of Re:Echo’s 2026 project, The Aesthetics of Shalom.
Presence and Mystery will also include the premiere of a new film by Ben Stamper, the inaugural Re:Echo Journal Literary Salon, and the release concert for The Divine Dark – Vol. II. Finally, Re:Echo artists will provide guided tours through the rich and unique arts offerings of Philadelphia.
Makers of all kinds, thinkers, art-lovers, or simply the art-curious: all are warmly invited!
James
K.A.
Smith
James K.A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University. As a cultural critic and commentator, he explores the tensions of modern life, inviting readers and audiences to more intentional practices of faith and flourishing. He is the award-winning author of a number of books including You Are What You Love, On the Road with Saint Augustine, and How to Inhabit Time. His latest is Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing from Yale University Press (2026).
Smith served as editor in chief of Comment magazine (2013-2018) and Image journal (2019-2024). His essays and criticism have appeared in magazines that include the Christian Century, America<, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, LitHub, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Natalie
Carnes
Natalie Carnes is Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, where she teaches classes in systematic theology, feminist theology, and theology and the arts. She has written several books, the most recent of which is Attunement: The Art and Politics of Feminist Theology. Currently, she is finishing a co-written manuscript on art and poverty and beginning a new monograph on creativity. She’s on the Board of Reference for Cambridge Elements in Christian Doctrine, Cambridge Elements in Christianity and Science and the journals Modern Theology and Scottish Journal of Theology. When she’s not teaching or writing, she spends her time hanging out with friends or family and looking for her cell phone.
Joe
Kickasola
Dr. Joe Kickasola is Professor of Film and Digital Media at Baylor University and the Director of the Baylor in New York program (NYC). He is the author of the award-winning book The Films of Krzysztof Kieślowski: The Liminal Image, and his essays span dozens of popular and academic venues. He frequently speaks and writes on the nexus of cinema and religious expression, most visibly in public conversations with the filmmaker and author Paul Schrader. Together, they have held public conversations around the world, regarding Schrader’s conception of “Transcendental Style” in film. His most recent project is a monograph on film aesthetics and religious expression. He lives in New York City.
Ben
Stamper
Ben Stamper is a filmmaker who explores the nature of perception and human consciousness through slow cinema. His most personal work has been likened to a “spiritual mandala” by film critic Paul Schrader in his book Transcendental Style in Film (Second Edition).
Ben’s video installation commissions include Dark Burn Creative (LA), The Sorenson Center for Excellence at Utah State University, The Center for Faith and Work, New York City, and Met Live Arts at the Met Brauer, NYC.
Ben is a Lincoln City Fellow and has been the artist-in-residence at Center for Faith & Work and Grace Farms Foundation. He is a longtime collaborator with director/cinematographer Andrew Michael Ellis and renowned choreographer Andrea Miller.