Devotional Art

Now in its second event, the Chaiya Art Awards supports artists inspired by their faith. We speak to their Lymington-based founder Katrina Moss

- Sandra Smith

Faith and art. While most of us appreciate the combination is a match made in heaven, Katrina Moss has gone one step further. To be specific, she’s taken quite a big leap. You see, for this lover of “big projects” these two subjects have such a natural symbiosis that the link between her personal faith and a lifelong appreciation of the arts prompted her to establish the Chaiya Art Awards, a national competition judged by a well-respected panel of judges, culminating in an exhibition at a prestigious London gallery and with a generous amount of prize money at stake.

“I’ve been a Christian for about 30 years,” says Katrina from her Lymington home. “When my mother died I was praying what to do with the next stage of my life. As I went into my 60s I really felt that spirituality and faith are important to a lot of people but often artists don’t get a chance to express this because mainstream galleries aren’t so interested.”