GATHERINGS Exhibition Opens Today at Pittsburgh's 707 Penn Gallery

Pittsburgh, PA -- The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the opening of gatherings, an exhibition created by artist Becky Slemmons, which questions religious conflict and explores the relationship between the ritual of attending worship services and the ritual of making art. The exhibition is on view today, November 21 - December 31, 2014, at 707 Penn Gallery. An opening reception takes place tonight, November 21, 2014, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

gatherings is a socially-based art project -- an assignment Slemmons gave to herself. She attended one or more different places of worship in Pittsburgh each week for 13 months to reach her goal of 100. Slemmons chose temples, churches, synagogues and mosques in various neighborhoods. Wearing a white dress to every worship place she visited, she would add a piece of fabric and/or embroidery to her dress, representing an accumulation of experiences. In addition, Slemmons created a drawing during or after each visit, and documented gatherings with photographs, off-site video and a blog. For more information, visit www.gatheringspittsburgh.blogspot.com.

Through her embroidery, video and drawings, Slemmons explores what happens when an artist enters the religious realm, pursuing a rather performative project, in an environment where conformity often dominates. Her art searches for the form common ground takes between spiritual ritual and the ritual of art-making.

"The ritual of attending worship service, and the ritual of making art; in the end, I see these as two very different ways of pursuing truth," shared Becky Slemmons the creator and artist of gatherings. "Too different in today's world, I suspect, for most to simultaneously take both paths. One comes with a preexisting structured philosophy; the other asks you to sort that out on your own, along with everything else. So, with exceptions, of course, artists often choose one way, and the pious another, in our pursuit of making sense of life and the world around us."

Becky Slemmons works in the disciplines of drawing, painting, video, performance, fibers, glass and sound. In her work, she searches for truths that are common throughout multiple cultures. Slemmons will perform as part of a group of participating artists in Obsessions, a multi-media exhibition curated by Tom Sarver, opening on November 28 at SPACE gallery, 812 Liberty Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh. Slemmons lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.

707 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The gallery is located at 707 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. For more information about all gallery exhibitions featured in the Cultural District, 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 Cultural Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts. For more information, visit TrustArts.org. Follow us on Twitter @CulturalTrust, and like us on Facebook.