Sanctuary

Religious Arts Award

Squaremoon Studio

Salt Lake City, Utah

Sanctuary reexamines the fundamentals of sacred space by constructing a spatial experience in an unexpected setting. A cardboard surface designed with parametric modeling software is erected on a sidewalk to form a domed space with three side chapels. The structure’s materials—cardboard and repurposed manufacturing waste—clearly manifest its fragility and its theme of constructing beauty from the mundane. The form of the structure reads as contemporary, while reimagining historical elements of sacred space, such as the arch and the stained-glass window. Participants complete the experience by writing directly on the surface. They respond to a prompt to share their feelings in the context of LGBTQ+ lived experience and read what others have shared.

The space aspires to transcend the everyday by becoming a monument to personal struggle and triumph, as metaphorically expressed in the conversion of simple materials to something more transcendent.

The project was presented at Utah Pride, then Rexburg Pride (in Idaho), and finally at West End Church during New York City Pride Week, where it was shown in a closed-street festival and then installed in the historic church as a backdrop to the sermon.

Jury Comments

This environment allows people who don’t always fit into standard religious tropes to find a place that is accepting of their spirituality. The quality of light and color is exquisite.

Project Team Members

Doug Staker / Squaremoon Studio

Project Consultants
3-Form
Utah Pride Festival
Flourish Point
Rexburg Pride Festival
West End Church
Side Gig Productions

Photo Credit / Rick Egan and Doug Staker