Amen: A Prayer for the World, featuring the work of Christina Saj (left) and Hisham El Zeiny (right)

The exhibit Amen: A Prayer for the World began in Cairo with the works of 30 Egyptian artists. By the time it traveled to St. John the Divine in New York, the collection represented 48 artists from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions. The impetus for the exhibit came from CARAVAN, an organization that supports intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Each artist was given a life-size human form of fiberglass in a pose of prayer and encouraged to paint it. The result, says CARAVAN founder Paul-Gordon Chandler, is an “aspirational expression of hope and goodwill coming ‘out of Egypt’ for the peoples of the Middle East and the rest of the world.”