709 Penn Gallery to Open Holiday Artist Market 11/15

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Education and Community Engagement department presents the 2013 Craftsman's Guild of Pittsburgh Holiday Artist Market November 15, 2013-January 5, 2014, at 709 Penn Gallery in the Cultural District. An opening reception will be held at the gallery November 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This juried holiday show and artist market features locally made original works of art in a diverse range of media, including jewelry, clay, glass, wood, sculpture, textiles, paper, among others. All pieces, from simple and whimsical items to works of fine art, are unique and exclusively handcrafted by members of the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh.

"We are pleased to highlight the beautiful work being made locally by the talented membership of the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh," says Sonja Sweterlitsch, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's 709 Penn Gallery curator. "The work on display has been juried so that visitors will discover beautiful pieces in a variety of media, at a variety of price points for the holidays. This will be a fabulous opportunity for consumers to give a unique gift of locally made original fine craft."

Nearly thirty artists are represented in the holiday market. Among the group is husband and wife duo Nancy and David Gates, each presenting works in the show, Nancy a fiber artist and David working in wood.

"It is a major part of our ongoing mission at the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh to foster and enable opportunities for our very talented membership to display and sell their work, while at the same time maintaining the highest possible standards of quality and integrity," says Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh President Lisa Platt. "The Guild's cooperative and amicable relationship with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, through the Trust's generous invitation to Guild members to exhibit at their distinctive downtown gallery, admirably serves this mission in all respects. We pledge to put our best foot forward, and we are eager to share the outstanding work of our members with the greater Pittsburgh community."

Participating artists: Ada Bosonetto, Janet Brum, Barbara Campbell, Kathryn Carr, Robert Clegg, Christy Culp, Holly Dobkin, Lyn Ferlo, Edric Florence, Sandi Garris, David Gates, Nancy Gates, Mary Hamilton, Allison Jones, Don Jones, LaVerne Kemp, Sandy Kephart, Dorothy Lampl, Celest Michelotti, Jeffrey Moyer, Jamie Murphy, Lisa Platt, Jessica Rutherford, David Schwartzmiller, Nancy Smeltzer, George Wazenegger, Diane Wilson, Amanda Wolf, and Edward Zembrzuski.

The Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh, founded in 1944, is one of the city's most venerable and respected artists' organizations, with a long-standing reputation for quality, excellence, and the individual creativity of its rigorously vetted members. The Guild is best known for its signature annual event, A Fair in the Park. The Fair, one of the region's premier arts and fine crafts festivals, recently celebrated its 44th year of continuous operation in Mellon Park, Shadyside. The Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh has been a resident guild of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts for more than 50 years.

A portion of the show's proceeds will benefit both the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

About 709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue, in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.-5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. For more information about all gallery exhibits featured in the Cultural District, please visit www.TrustArts.org.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh's most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country's largest land masses "curated" by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh's quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.