Sacred Origins - Opening Reception May 31st

Sacred Origins - An Interfaith Art Project for West Philadelphia
Opening Reception: Sunday May 31st 2009, 5-7 pm
With an artist's talk at 6 pm

at The Philadelphia Cathedral
38th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia

As the culmination of my year-long 2008-09 studio residency at The Philadelphia Cathedral, I will present a permanently installed artwork for the Cathedral. For Sacred Origins, I conducted a series of drawing workshops for people of all faith backgrounds in West Philadelphia.

These workshops were held at The Philadelphia Cathedral, Kol Tzedek- the West Philadelphia Synagogue, and the A-Space, a community organizing space. Participants were invited to make a small drawing symbolic of some aspect of their faith practice or background, with an emphasis on origins – the origins of their faith practice in their own life, or imagery from origin stories from their religion.

I collected over 40 drawings from community members of all faith backgrounds, and created a large-scale ( 5 feet x 5 feet) mixed-media artwork on paper mounted on panel. The artwork incorporates the collected drawings with my own personal imagery and religious images based on myvisual research process. The resulting artwork is dynamic, colorful, and quilt-like, reflecting the diverse and interconnected faith practices of the West Philadelphia community.

The piece will be permanently installed in the Cathedral as part of its permanent art collection, and will be unveiled as part of the annual Philadelphia Cathedral Festival on Sunday May 31^st, 2009.

The artwork may be viewed all day on May 31^st from 11 am to 7 pm, with a special reception from 5-7 pm. I will give a brief artist’s talk on the project at 6 pm. The opening reception event is free and open to the public, and will include refreshments.

This artwork and the Cathedral’s other permanent art installations may also be viewed during the Cathedral’s open hours: Monday-Friday 10am - 2 pm, after Sunday Services, and by appointment.
The Philadelphia Cathedral is located at the corner of 38^th and Chestnut streets in University City in Philadelphia.