OC’s Department of Art and Design launches ARC Talks with game designer Amy Green Nov. 8

Hosted on OC’s campus, ARC Talks focuses on the intersections of art, religion and culture.  

October 11, 2019 - At some universities, faith and art seem opposed, but integrating the two is central to the education experience at Oklahoma Christian University. To bolster the links between art, religion and culture, OC will launch a new lecture series called ARC Talks on Nov. 8. 

The first ARC Talks lecturer is Amy Green, developer at Numinous Games and creator of the game “That Dragon, Cancer.” In a field where some artists feel pressure to keep their religion private, Green is transparent. She shares her faith, her story and her grief. In fact, her TED Talk on the subject has over 1.5 million views. Green created her fist video game based on a bedtime story she told her children to help them understand their brother’s unsuccessful battle with cancer.

The ARC Talks series is designed to bring in creatives and artists who both excel professionally and live examples of faith. OC’s Department of Art and Design will host ARC Talks, and new Gaming and Animation Instructor Ellie Kirkner will coordinate speakers.

With ARC Talks, Kirkner wants to demonstrate how art can transform lives by crossing boundaries and reaching out to those on the fringes. 

“Art can be used to evangelize in a really beautiful way,” Kirkner said. “As creatives, we must challenge ourselves to allow art to be more than just a personal statement of self-expression. We have the opportunity to let art change and challenge us. Creating art with purpose and intent can be an act of love.”

Through “That Dragon, Cancer,” Green takes the player through the narrative gameplay of an observer in the autobiographical account of her experience of losing her son to cancer. 

“It was the story of Joel,” Green said. “It was the story of hope in the shadow of death. It was the story of faith and doubt and the realization that doubt is a part of faith, maybe the biggest part of it.”

Kirkner praised Green for creating a game that is so different in many ways because, unlike most games, it is unwinnable.  

“It fundamentally breaks many of the concepts that make games, games,” Kirkner said. “She created this immersive and interactive experience that takes players on her family’s journey and forces them to bear witness and be participants in this story of loss and love. The interactive element forces the player to engage, empathize and fall in love with the characters, rather than simply being an observer. Becoming an active participant in “That Dragon Cancer” is a rich, moving experience.”

Green will speak at OC in in Judd Theater Nov. 8. Admission is free to the public. 

The Dean of the College of Libral Arts, Tina Winn, is eager to bring speakers like Green to OC because it gives students real role models who have successfully navigated how to integrate their faith into their workplace.

“We all face the questions on ‘how do we integrate our professional life with our faith?’ and ‘how do we operate in the world authentically?’” Winn said. “I think there is a benefit to seeing working professionals who are highly successful, who have a claim in their field and who are transparent about their faith, people who integrate their faith and their passion to make a difference in their culture in the workplace. It is invaluable for students to see people who are doing this and who are successful at it.” 

OC’s ARC Talks will be structured similar to TED Talks, and the concept was inspired by the artist Makoto Fujimura. He wrote about engaging in culture care rather than culture wars. Kirkner hopes the community can explore how artists and designers can explore genesis moments and act as global influencers who contribute to positive change.

Teachers, students, artists, creatives and the community are invited to the lectures. Green’s talk begins at 5:45 p.m. An artist reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in the OC Art Gallery. Admission is free, but tickets are required; those can be ordered online here. To learn more, visit OC’s Department of Art and Design here.