Beauty from Ashes: Art Installation with Deeper Purpose

“…Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.” – Isaiah 61:3

Every piece of art tells a story, and for Jessup University’s first permanent art installation, Beauty from Ashes, that story is one of transformation.

The Digital Communication, Art and Design (DCAD) program at Jessup exposes students to nearly every medium of creative expression through visual and digital arts. In years past, students would create artwork and display it for one-night showcases, but Norm McDonald, Program Director of DCAD, has changed that pattern.

Instead of limiting student work to temporary exhibits, the department began experimenting with installations across campus—murals, library pieces, and pop-up displays. Even still, it was evident that there needed to be a more permanent solution.

“We never had a permanent space that not only could be used for an art show, but was a place where people could go and experience art and experience that kind of peace, calmness, and engagement that art brings,” explains McDonald.

Beauty from Ashes became the next step: transforming an overlooked hallway into a flexible, permanent gallery space now known as the Jessup Museum of Art and Design.

“We took this old, dark, unused hallway and did something with it,” McDonald says. The idea was simple but profound. “We were bringing beauty to spaces that needed some life; and tying to that expression of faith that that’s what God does in us. God takes our brokenness and brings His beauty to it.”

The gallery itself is less about a single theme and more about access. A wire-hanging system allows student work to rotate regularly, creating ongoing opportunities for painters, designers, photographers, filmmakers, and even fashion designers to show their work. “It’s now a permanent place where we can easily rotate art through,” McDonald explained. “So there’s always something fresh and new.”

The gallery also reflects the growing, interdisciplinary nature of Jessup’s arts program. Participants span majors from nursing to theology, contributing everything from needlepoint and illustration to animated film previews. “It really is students from all majors,” McDonald says. “Sometimes it’s just something that flows out of them.”

It’s in those moments when students are able to express themselves and dig deeper into passions that God has given them when the art becomes so much more than something to put on display.

“Those are the moments that are pretty special to me,” McDonald explains, “of having people realize who they are and what God’s made them to be.”

When asked about what sets Jessup’s arts program apart, McDonald was quick to highlight the small class sizes that promote a more genuine connection between students and faculty. 

“We get to come alongside [students]. I think that’s a really powerful thing at Jessup,” McDonald explains. “And we’re pushing them spiritually, we’re connecting them to God. We’re hopefully graduating people that are not just skilled at what they do, but are grounded and are balanced and have a source of peace, and hopefully have a love for people in the world.”

Beyond campus, the installation has become a quiet recruitment and connection point. Visitors, from prospective students to community leaders, now see student creativity woven into everyday campus life. “It makes people feel like, ‘I want to be an artist here because art is part of what we do,’” McDonald says.Beauty from Ashes and the gallery it launched weren’t positioned as a final achievement. It’s infrastructure—space to grow, experiment, and belong. For Jessup’s arts department, that may be the most important work of all: presenting a live example of how beauty can come from the unexpected to completely transform how we view our surroundings and even ourselves.