Illuminate: Art and Faith Conference at Southern Adventist University – Collegedale

Southern Adventist University invites guests to campus in Collegedale for more than 50 presentations, performances, and workshops during its third annual Illuminate Arts + Faith Conference, March 23-24. Last year’s event drew more than 200 attendees from Chattanooga and across the Southeast.

A snapshot of performers and session leaders for the 2026 conference includes award-winning musician Matt Maher (Lord, I Need You), author and professor Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt (Redeeming Vision), and illustrator John Hendrix (The Mythmakers). In addition to these and other national presenters, the gathering will feature faculty from Southern, Bryan College, Covenant College, Lee University, and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Iconic artists being discussed at Illuminate this year include Ludwig van Beethoven, Wendell Berry, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Woody Guthrie, C.S. Lewis, Lilias Trotter, and more. Hands-on workshops range from pottery throwing and therapeutic drumming to psalm writing. New Threads Theatre Company will perform a one-act play about philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard with staged readings of an original script still in development. The special two-day conference concludes with a full concert by Matt Maher.

Financial support for the Illuminate Arts + Faith Conference is provided by Advent Health, The Generosity Trust, and Versacare Foundation, with marketing assistance from Chattanooga Times Free Press, Classical 90.5 WSMC, Good Faith, Plainview Outdoor Advertising, and Plough Publishing House.

As a result of event sponsorships, each high school in Hamilton County receives one complimentary registration for an arts educator, and area high school students are welcome to attend the 4-5:30 p.m. session block each day at no cost. General admission tickets are $200, with bulk-ticket rates available for churches, schools, and nonprofits. To learn more, visit southern.edu/illuminate.