Sarah Armbrust wins William Wolfram Student in Liturgical Art award

Sarah Armbrust, a 2022 Concordia University, Nebraska graduate, recently won the William Wolfram Student in Liturgical Art Award. The award is conferred every two years, starting in 2022, upon a student in art who demonstrates outstanding service to the church through their talent. Eligible students are those who are enrolled at the undergraduate or graduate level at a Lutheran college, university or seminary throughout the United States and Canada.  

William Wolfram, after whom the award is named, is a Professor Emeritus of Art at Concordia University, Nebraska. Wolfram’s works are displayed in church sanctuaries and other locations across the United States. The name of the award honors his distinguished service to The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.  

This year’s application cycle attracted students from five Lutheran universities. A panel of jurists selected Armbrust’s work, entitled “Songs for Promised Sons,” to receive the 2024 award. The piece depicts the humility, hope, joy and praise found in the Old Testament story of Hannah and the New Testament story of Mary.  

Created with acrylic paint and gold leaf on canvas, the work measures 24 inches wide by 48 inches high and depicts both women as pregnant with their promised sons: Hannah’s son Samuel and Mary’s son Jesus. In the work, Hannah’s gaze is drawn to the cross, a symbol of the longed-for Messiah, while Mary’s gaze is drawn to her own womb in anticipation of her child’s fulfillment of the Messianic promise.  

As the recipient of this award, Armbrust will receive a certificate, a $1,000 monetary award and travel assistance to the annual Lectures in Church Music held at Concordia University Chicago, where she will be officially presented with the award.  The lectures are scheduled for October 21, 2024.  

Judges also presented two additional students with honorable mention certificates to honor their outstanding submissions. These students were Kelly Alice Krazl, a student at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, whose wax work was titled “Creator of All Paschal Candle” and Lauren de Guzman, a student at Concordia University Chicago, whose ceramic work was titled “Omnipotent King, humble shepherd.”  

Concordia University, Nebraska’s Department of Art is a community of visual artists and designers committed to an innovative program, a rigorous work ethic and an attitude of artistic integrity. Together they form the premier Christian visual arts learning community in the Midwest.