Artist-Missionary Kristine Lim Champions Social Sustainability Through Art

While she went through a decade’s worth of pause from her life passion, Kristine Lim was able to bounce back to the art scene with a renewed sense of purpose. Her brush with pain, loss, mental lapses, and social struggles may have left a huge lump in her heart, but her mission as an artist sustained her strength along the bumpy highway.

Wreaking havoc on the once-stable order of her universe was the untimely passing of her son, John. Prior to his death, Kristine has been diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder, driving her pain to its peak. Her life at the time seemed irreparable, but it was grace that saved her from this situation.

Now with a never-ceasing mission to champion social sustainability through art and her artistic talent, Kristine is equipped with the goal to evangelize the gospel among groups and individuals. Her inclination to do charity work and community delegation via programs and projects that she visualized and mobilized herself is ever in motion, leading her to Artists on a Mission.

“It’s a portable case that can also hold the materials of the artist. It also serves as an easel stand. It’s like bringing an art studio anywhere,” Kristine introduces. The advocacy, which intends to conduct workshops and create community art centers that seek to spread the religious message, is making its rounds in local communities and churches. She says, “We are here, so we can leave a legacy for generations beyond our own through artists who make art that’s able to do something beyond art; beyond their canvas, themselves, and the exhibit halls.”

Apart from spearheading Artists on a Mission, Kristine is also serving as Director of Culture and Arts for Sustainable PH, a non-profit organization that promotes social sustainability in the country and is committed to raising its roster of sustainability players.

She pioneered and set up Christian+Collective as well together with full-fledged Christian artists who channel the word of God through workshops and art activities. Named by the art community as an advocate “ahead of her contemporaries,” the artist continues to provide support for small community churches from the proceeds that she earns from her exhibits and sold-out shows.

“We were all given talents and skills for a purpose. Time will come when we will be called to fulfill that purpose. It may be for our friends, family, or communities or even strangers. When that moment arrives, the question isn’t about us being ready. It’s also not about us being equipped for it. It’s about our willingness and preparedness for something that has already been set before us,” Kristine shares.

Currently, Artists on a Mission is conducting seminars on trauma debriefing for typhoon-struck sectors and those who are suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. It fosters children and families who have confronted major catastrophes in life.

As a sustainability leader, Kristine muses, “Majority of the soldiers who fought wars in history were not soldiers by profession. They were farmers, carpenters, bakers, artists, [and] simple men. Most, if not all, never fought a single war in their entire lives before facing their battle; and yet, there were those who experienced victory. They were victorious not because of their skills. Clearly, they were not equipped or ready, but their willingness and preparedness are what God needed to bring them to triumph.”

Kristine Lim’s masterpieces are mounted on national agencies namely Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Her artworks are also part of the National Archives of the Philippines and the palace’s Presidential Museum and Library.

To extend help and any form of support to help them mobilize, you may support any of Kristine Lim’s solo and group art shows and exhibits. You may also extend assistance through the NGO’s mobilizing Artists on a Mission Workshops or through Teacher Celine Tojos / Lita Teodosio at +63 917 530 8847 / +63 925 546 4637 / +63 935 031 9931.