“Common Threads: Faith, Activism, and the Art of Healing”, is a Pittsburgh-based art exhibition that examines the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic priorities of women of varying faith traditions. In an effort to reorient conversations around race, spirituality, social injustice and womanhood the exhibit highlights the experiences of underrepresented communities. This exhibit is designed to engage Pittsburgh community members, by providing an intimate multi-media visual conversation between literary and visual artists, featuring an array of poetry, sculpture, story quilts and community workshops.

The exhibition will take place October 7 through October 28, 2018 at the Carnegie Library’s Community Engagement Gallery, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (Main Library). The Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, October 7 from 2:00 to 5:00PM. All events are free, open to the public, and will include two poetry workshops and two discussion groups.

This exhibition showcases the creativity of fourteen amazing women visual artists including, Malika Ayubbi, Tina Brewer, Fatima Castor, Fran Flaherty, Gerry Florida, Amiyah Gibbs, Dimples Gibbs, Leslie Golomb, Christiane Leach, Bonita Lee Penn, Deborah Liberman, Mary Martin, Ngozi Mendes and Dominique Scaife. Featured among the amazing art is work created by internationally renowned fiber artist Tina Williams-Brewer, recently named Pennsylvania’s Artist of the Year. As with most of her work, Brewer known for her artistic exploration of African American history, uses symbolism and textiles to create story quilts that reflect spiritual, lived experience and culture.

“Poetry and stories told through art are agents for social change, vehicles for individual expression, and tools for honest dialogue through which we can promote deeper understanding and allyship in service towards a more just, equitable and compassionate society.” Says Common Threads co-curator and Creative Director, Rashida James-Saadiya.

The twelve Poets included in this exhibition are Vernonica Corpuz, Jaki Shelton Green, Michele Ellison, Sue Elkind, Aja Endrezze, Tikvah Feinstein, Rachel Goldstein, Rashida James-Saadiya, Maisha Peasante, Kia Rahman, Jennifer N. Shannon and Victoria Yamada

The Exhibition gathers a diverse collective of artists, who represent African-American, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, Asian American, and Native American communities. Artists who live and create work based upon Audre Lorde’s belief that language can be used as both a remedy for trauma and guide towards possibility, while calling attention to historical and current misrepresentations of women of color and their respective faith traditions.

Since Crossing Limits believes that the arts are agents for social change, this nonprofit brings something different to the table, interfaith and cultural understanding through poetry of witness and the arts. Crossing Limits’ vision that through our discussions stimulated by the arts Crossing Limits can begin to stimulate a deeper understanding working towards a more equitable and compassionate society. Crossing Limits needs to create a safe space to explore the relationships between the Muslim and Jewish Pittsburgh communities.

This community engagement exhibition is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information about this exhibition or Crossing Limits, please visit their Website at www.crossinglimits.org.