Art speaks when words fall short. It invites us to see, feel, and respond to the world—and to one another—with honesty and hope. Across centuries and cultures, art has been a powerful force in the struggle for racial equity, religious expression, and social justice.
Whether painted on protest signs or echoed in sacred music, art has borne witness to suffering, served as a vessel for resistance, and nurtured resilience.
The 2026 Race, Religion, and Social Justice Conference explores how artistic expression—across theatre, music, dance, visual arts, spoken word, film, ritual, and multimedia—shapes our understanding of identity, faith, and justice. This gathering brings together artists, scholars, faith leaders, and community practitioners whose work bridges the sacred and the civic, the personal and the political.
Centered on the theme Art as Witness, Catalyst, and Calling, the conference examines how the arts:
- Illuminate marginalized truths and challenge dominant narratives
- Express spiritual longing, sacred meaning, and collective ritual
- Mobilize communities toward healing, solidarity, and transformation
- Foster connection across lines of race, religion, culture, and experience
This conference is not only a space for learning, but an invitation to imagine, create, and co-author a more just and beautiful world.
We’d like to welcome Nebraska State Poet, Jewel Rodgers, as one of our keynote speakers for the conference!
Jewel Rodgers has been a spoken word poet for more than a decade, performing in schools, festivals, community settings, conferences, public events, and other venues. Rodgers is an Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award winner for Best Performance Poet in Omaha and a three-time TEDx speaker. She has received numerous accolades, including being a 2022 Union for Contemporary Art Fellow, a 2023 Andy Warhol Populus Fund Grantee, a 2024 finalist in the Blackberry Peach Poetry Slam, and a 2025 AIRIE Fellow.
We’d like to also welcome Siona Benjamin as one of our keynote speakers for the conference!
Siona Benjamin has an MFA in painting from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Ill., and an MFA in theater set design from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. She has exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2011 to India, and a second Fulbright fellowship in 2016-17 to Israel. As not just a Jewish artist but also as one who crosses cultural boundaries, she’s received praise in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, Art in America, Art New England, Art and Antiques, ArtNews, Moment magazine, The Times of India, The Mumbai Mirror, Marg Magazine, and other publications.
Registration is now open! If you have any questions, please contact us at rrsj@trifaith.org!
Scroll for registration, the schedule, and our speakers!
Conference Statement on Perspectives and Dialogue
The Race, Religion, and Social Justice Conference brings together artists, presenters, scholars, faith leaders, activists, and community members representing a wide range of lived experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints.
The ideas, opinions, and expressions shared throughout the conference — including presentations, workshops, exhibits, performances, and materials — are those of the individual speakers, artists, and participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of Tri-Faith Initiative, its Board of Directors, Faith Partners, sponsors, or affiliated organizations.
Consistent with the Tri-Faith Initiative’s mission to cultivate inclusive environments that advance interfaith relationships and understanding, we believe meaningful engagement requires openness to listening, learning, and encountering perspectives different from our own. We recognize that some content may challenge, inspire, discomfort, or invite disagreement, and we encourage participants to engage one another with curiosity, respect, empathy, and compassion.
We hold space for sacred disagreement and believe that deeper understanding is made possible when we are willing to hear and see one another’s humanity across difference.
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