“You only need three people representing three capitals — creative, social, and business — to start a movement.”
— Makoto Fujimura
A Note from Makoto Fujimura
Dear Friends,
I am excited to announce that my illumination of the Four Holy Gospels is being re-released this month, 15 years after its historic commission. This new edition is more compact and affordable, featuring new images while maintaining the original layout and five large frontispieces. All royalties from this project benefit IAMCultureCare and Embers International, so please help us spread the word.
When asked to describe my work, I often say my art combines the style of Rothko and Fra Angelico using ancient Nihonga materials. My summer delight was seeing Rothko and Fra Angelico paired together at the San Marco Monastery (now a museum). In the hallways and monastic chambers where Fra Angelico painted his indelible images, small Rothkos were placed. Christopher Rothko co-curated his father’s work in this space, which had inspired Mark Rothko during a significant 1950 visit that helped form his iconic style.
As I turned the corner of a narrow staircase into the monastery hallway, Fra Angelico’s Annunciation fresco appeared dramatically. Fra Angelico painted each small room for Dominican monks to reflect and pray in, and Rothko must have connected with the intimacy of these unique images. The paintings are designed to be viewed from a kneeling position; in one room, the wall image only aligns with the view from the window when the viewer kneels.
In a separate section, the materials used by Fra Angelico and his contemporaries were displayed alongside illuminated manuscripts. Fra Angelico used the same materials I use in Nihonga. When I wrote the Afterword for Rothko’s The Artist’s Reality (Yale University Press), I did not connect his experience in these rooms with Fra Angelico’s materials. Yet, Rothko would have resonated with the deep cinnabar in the angel Gabriel’s wings and the lapis on Mary’s dress — wings that were on my mind when I painted the Four Holy Gospels illumination project in 2010.
We also welcome Mariah Sray as our new Creative Officer, following Jacob’s departure for seminary. This newsletter will link Culture Care movement activities and feature global practitioners. Please use these links, our essays, the monthly “Belonging Conversations” with Julia Hendrickson, and my Substack (@iamfujimura) to help create local Culture Care groups.
As suggested in the updated second edition of my book Culture Care, you only need three people representing three capitals — creative, social, and business — to start a movement. If you are an artist or a creative catalyst, consider partnering with others to meet monthly over coffee or tea to discuss these ideas.
P.S. Art Is: A Journey into the Light was recently chosen for the AIGA design award, known as the “Academy Award” of book design.
Yours for Culture Care,
Mako
Genesis Moments: Upcoming Events and Seeds for Creativity
RENEW 2026: Courageous Creativity — Washington, DC, Sept 24 – 25. Mako and Haejin Fujimura will be speaking at Dream Collective’s annual conference.
Jacob’s Ladder will be exhibited following the Renew conference at National Community Church. See the page on Mako’s website to learn more about the story behind this painting’s creation.
Daniel Flahiff exhibits his work mending secondhand and family clothing into paintings. Opening September 10 at the Moshava Art Gallery, Greenwich Village, NYC.
Generosity: Ongoing Conversations that Till the Soil
Mako’s latest Belonging Conversation with Julia Hendrickson.
Mako and Daniel Nayeri continue their conversation, reflecting on their time at Redeemer Church in NYC post 9⁄11. The first part of the interview appears in the July 2026 newsletter. The second installment appears in the August 2026 newsletter.
Generational Stewardship: Looking Back and Forward to Fallow Fields and New Possibilities
Makoto Fujimura reflects on Dolly Parton’s legacy of culture care.
Bruce Herman on Dolly Parton and the importance of warmth and welcome.
Makoto Fujimura pays tribute to Wendell Berry and his deep attention to the land.
Gratitude: Joy in the Harvest
Highlights from the month include the Hopeful Intelligence Confab with Goldenwood on artificial intelligence, envisioning what a hopeful future might look like in a world shaped by AI. Mako and Haejin also traveled to the UK and Germany. They enjoyed speaking at the Taler&Talar conference and were delighted to attend a dinner in London hosted by the Templeton Foundation honoring Professor Simon Conway Morris.
A Note from the New Editor
Dear Readers,
You may have noticed a new format to this month’s newsletter. Our vision for the future of the IAMCC newsletter is that it might connect and highlight the abundance of culture care work happening all over the country and the world. Following the structure Mako outlines in Culture Care, we’ll be filtering this web of art, music, public thought, events, and writing into three streams: genesis moments, generosity/gratitude, and generational thinking. While these three streams may prove insufficient for the abundant ecosystem of culture care, we’ll be experimenting with this structure over the following months.
At this point, you may like to know a bit me, this newsletter’s latest editor. My name is Mariah Sray. I just graduated from college with a degree in Classical Languages integrated with Choral Studies and enjoy discussing deep questions with friends across the dinner table. I love working with my hands, whether that means sewing wedding dresses, making parchment from animal hide, growing flax in my garden, or conducting choirs. My obscure interests mostly lie in the directions of choral music, medieval studies, culture, and education and generally bend towards a desire to see those around me turn towards rest, deep spiritual formation, and greater connection with each other. I look forward to sharing the abundance that happens within this network.
With joy,
Mariah
IAMCultureCare is a registered 501c(3) non-profit organization which relies on your support to continue our“Culture Care” work amending the soil of culture as an antidote to toxic culture wars. We welcome gifts of any size to continue these efforts. You can donate online or get in touch with us about corporate sponsorship and other giving methods! You can also support IAMCC’s work with a paid subscription to Makoto Fujimura’s Substack.
All content in this newsletter belongs to the respective creators, as noted, and is used with permission.