GTU Alum Sr. Martha Ann Kirk Uses Art to Empower At-Risk Youth
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk, ThD, is a professor emerita of Religious Studies and of the Arts at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. She is a leader within the global Charter for Compassion movement, advocating for respect and justice for all and for the Earth itself. She has been the San Antonio Peace Laureate, the Texas Pax Christi Peacemaker of the Year, and recognized in various ways for building interfaith and intercultural bridges. She was included in the PBS "Women, War, and Peace" series as a “Teacher of Peace.” As a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio, she serves as a leader in their International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Committee. In a recent conversation with GTU, she spoke about her work founding the Artistic Bridges project, the importance of utilizing art as a tool for healing and developing compassion, and how her GTU education prepared her for a career of service. This article is based on that conversation.
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk, a distinguished alum of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), has spent decades using the power of art to empower vulnerable youth across the globe. With a Doctor of Theology earned from the GTU in 1986, Sr. Kirk's education has driven her lifelong mission to foster creativity, healing, and compassion in some of the world’s most marginalized communities.
"My ThD based in theology and the arts gave me such a wonderfully strong foundation," Sr. Kirk recalls. "What I'm doing with children in different parts of the world, inviting their creativity, is very much in continuity with my doctoral degree." This foundation has been instrumental in her creation of the Artistic Bridges project, a partnership with the Charter for Compassion, which was launched on Golden Rule Day 2024, but grew out of the Iraqi Art Exchange which she was leading in 2007. After witnessing the suffering of Iraqi refugee children displaced by war, she recognized the ways that creating and interacting with art helped them understand their feelings about the world around them.
The origins of Artistic Bridges are deeply rooted in Sr. Kirk’s experiences in Amman, Jordan, where she first encountered the art of Iraqi refugee children. "A Catholic priest there had a space in the basement of his church for an art therapy program," she explains. Inspired by the resilience and expression of the young refugees who participated in that program, Sr. Kirk began transporting their artwork to San Antonio, Texas, where she organized exhibits at the University of the Incarnate Word to share their stories with the local community.
The project grew as Sr. Kirk continued to courier art back and forth between children in San Antonio and those in Iraq. Through this exchange of art, the children could connect with one another from different sides of the globe. She recounts how these exchanges helped American children develop empathy for their peers in a war-torn country. "Children were developing empathy for each other... this project was helping young children see photographs of children’s faces, children’s laughter, children holding up the pictures they had done," she says.
Sr. Kirk’s work with Artistic Bridges is not just about fostering empathy; it is also about instilling a sense of compassion and agency in the youth involved. "Empathy is feeling with another person," she notes, "Compassion is not just feeling with another person, but it is having a sense of agency, a sense that I can do something, I can make the world better." This philosophy is at the heart of Artistic Bridges, as it encourages young people to envision their ability to make a positive impact in the world.
Through Artistic Bridges, Sr. Kirk has worked with children in a variety of challenging environments, from refugee camps in Jordan to impoverished areas in Guatemala, to her local community in San Antonio. In each of these settings, she has witnessed the transformative power of art. Through students and friends, she had connections with Uganda, Palestine, and Ukraine. "When we create—whether it be poetry, drama, or drawing—the creative process invites us to go deep within ourselves," she explains. "There are sources of healing deep within ourselves... as healed whole persons, we can reach out compassionately to the other."
Through ongoing outreach efforts, Sr. Kirk’s global efforts continue to inspire and expand. Starting September 18, she will take part in the Nobel Laureate Summit in Monterrey, Mexico, where she will present on Artistic Bridges. She remains deeply committed to her vision that "all of the children of the world belong to all of us." This belief drives her ongoing work to bridge cultural divides and nurture the next generation of compassionate leaders.
As she reflects on her nearly two decades of work with Artistic Bridges, Sr. Kirk is clear about the most rewarding aspect of her efforts, and she shares the story of a young boy at the Inner City Development program in San Antonio. After learning about the struggles of children in other parts of the world, drew a heart and said, "This is a heart of love for all the children in the world," Sr. Kirk recognized the profound need for creative expression in times of hardship. For her, moments like these encapsulate the profound impact of Artistic Bridges: "How can the rest of us learn to have hearts of love?" she asks.
Sr. Kirk’s work, deeply rooted in her GTU education, continues to build bridges of understanding, empathy, and action across the world, empowering vulnerable youth not only to express their dreams but also to make those dreams a reality. She invites all artists, young and old, to “Be truthful. Share what's in you. Open your eyes and create.”
For more information about Artistic Bridges and how you can get involved, visit the webpage on that within the charterforcompassion.org.