A new space for creativity and calling.
Leaf Institute of Art & Vocation exists to create community at the space where creativity and calling connect. As Greenville takes its next steps into the future, we long to create a place for our city to flourish together, by applying our unique gifts and fulfilling our vocations. As you reconnect to your individual calling, we hope to be the place in which you can learn and thrive. Whether you create with paint and canvas or want to reorient your vision of your daily work, Leaf Institute is for you.
In the summer of 2018, several long-time friends joined together to found Leaf Institute of Art & Vocation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a space for community enrichment in the areas of art and vocational calling. Over the past months, we have hosted a wide variety of classes and workshops, including drawing and painting classes, an entrepreneurship discussion group, a two-weekend career direction workshop, a creative writing conference, an art exhibit, and much more.
In 2019, we are expanding our offerings to include regular art exhibitions, a 9-month faith and work program called Leaf Fellowship, as well as additional art classes and community events.
What We Offer
In the coming year we will continue to roll out additional courses in the visual arts — drawing, oil painting, watercolor, color theory. We’ll also introduce a drawing club and a collaborative weekly critique session for working artists.
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In addition to several sections of The Praxis Course, Leaf Institute will host 9-week Vocational Intensives followed by a 10-month faith and work cohort group beginning in the fall. We will continue partnering with Vocationality to help you discover what you were made to do.
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We’ll be hosting six art exhibitions in the coming year, as well as dance performances, and a season of concerts from classical, folk and jazz artists. We also host neighborhood meetings, author signings, and non-profit gatherings.
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Arts Education
Pictured: Our co-founder, Michelle Radford, teaches an evening Beginning Drawing class to a group of students.
Leaf Institute of Art & Vocation was founded with a special focus of providing art training beginning at the high school level and continuing education for working artists. While we focus on foundational skills, we embrace a practical approach of helping students develop their work habits, portfolio, marketing, and business understanding. In Fall 2018, we began by offering Beginning Drawing, Oil Painting and a Color Theory Workshop. In 2019, we will strengthen our program, adding new adjunct faculty and course offerings. We plan to launch a scholarship program for high school age students with financial need, and will be partnering with other non-profits in Greenville to offer art education within underserved communities. We are soon starting a membership-based drawing club that will meet in our gallery space on a weekly basis.
Faith & Work Integration
Pictured: This past fall we hosted internationally-known choral composer Dan Forrest for a Saturday workshop on the intersection of his faith and calling.
We live in a fast-paced age that is often alienating and compartmentalized in its approach to our work, our personal lives, and our faith. Though we have an overwhelming desire for our careers to make a meaningful impact, we are often caught in the daily grind of simply earning a paycheck with no sense of greater purpose or direction. Leaf Institute comes alongside to offer a range of engagement points to help raise our perspective, from workshops and classes to discussion groups and extended cohorts. We believe that to be fully-integrated humans, we must consider and trust the calling of God on our lives. Then, in both individual and group contexts, we reflect on how we have been uniquely gifted and shaped, stepping out in confidence to love and serve all of creation. Leaf Institute partners with established organizations such as Vocationality, Praxis Labs, and Center for Faith and Work, to offer high quality, theologically-rich learning programs and resources.
Cultural Events
Pictured: From November 2018 through January 2019 Chris Koelle presented a major exhibition of new drawings entitled Taught to Fall.
Beyond our primary educational programs, we want our gallery space to be a welcoming environment for our neighbors in West Greenville. We host art shows, musical performances, community meetings, evening classes, networking events and parties throughout the year. In addition, we offer Leaf Institute as an event venue available for rent. This past summer and fall, we’ve hosted a pop-up shop, photoshoots, weddings, business meetings, church dinners, company holiday parties, off-site brainstorming sessions, songwriter concerts and more. In the coming year, we will launch a regular calendar of Leaf Institute sponsored events.