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Sites of Passage Official Press Release for May 25 Opening @ The Mattress Factory Museum!

2/16/2018

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The following was copied from the original (PDF) press release provided by the Mattress Factory Museum:

​Mattress Factory Announces “Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs” Exhibition Featuring Artists from Pittsburgh and South Africa

PITTSBURGH, PA (February 5, 2018) – Seven artists have been chosen to create new work in Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs: South Africa and US, an exhibition opening at the Mattress Factory on May 25, 2018. Dr. Tavia La Follette is returning to collaborate with the museum on this exhibition, the latest in a series that brings American artists and artists from countries facing human rights crises together in a virtual – and actual – dialogue. Previous projects involved artists from Egypt in 2011, and from Israel and Palestine in 2013.

In Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs, four artists from South Africa work with three artists from Pittsburgh. Each artist confronts racial politics using different mediums, explains La Follette: “We have a sound artist who archives the world around him, a filmmaker who addresses gentrification, and a multimedia artist who brings together myth and futurism. We have a choreographer who considers himself a community developer, an outsider architect who engineers castles from forgotten debris, a painter and printmaker who captures uprisings in mining towns, and a formerly incarcerated drug dealer turned art teacher who is a role model to the children around him.”

The Mattress Factory welcomes four artists from South Africa.


  • Henry Albertus recycles rubbish from junkyards to create many-leveled sculptural castles echoing architecture from all over the world in Capricorn Township, a shantytown in the Cape Town region.
  • Asanda Kupa’s works in painting and printmaking speak directly to South Africa’s dramatic socio-economic inequalities, troubled political landscape and the atrocities of the mining industry.
  • Charlie Jansen is trained as a Community Art Facilitator and muralist and works at the Butterfly Project in Cape Town, serving low income families from pre-school to adulthood.
  • Mbovu Malinga is a performing artist, specializing in theater and dance, as well as a community activist who works with children in Cape Town and the surrounding rural areas.

Three Pittsburgh-based artists will show new work in the exhibition, which runs through July
29, 2018.


  • Alisha Wormsley uses photography, video, and sculpture to examine collective memories, the synchronicity of time, and racial identity and history.
  • Chris Ivey is a documentary filmmaker whose work challenges audiences to think more broadly and inclusively on issues like race, class, and gentrification.
  • Ricardo Iamuuri Robinson is a composer, field recordist, and audio-visual artist, whose work explores the relationship between sound, image, object, and place.

An opening reception will be held Friday, May 25 from 6 – 8pm at the museum’s 1414 Monterey Street gallery.

Admission for the event is free for all ages. 

500 Sampsonia Way • Pittsburgh, PA 15212 • T: 412.231.3169 • mattress.org

Generous support for Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs:
​

South Africa and US is provided by Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Regional Asset District, an Anonymous Donor, the Benter Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Heinz Small Arts Initiative, National Endowment for the Arts, Opportunity Fund, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pittsburgh Foundation, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. 


With special thanks to the Mattress Factory Board of Directors and museum members.


About the Mattress Factory: Hailed as the best museum for installation art in the United States, the Mattress Factory invites visitors to experience “art you can get into.” Over the past 40 years, the Mattress Factory has presented and commissioned new installation and performance works by over 750 artists, both established and emerging, who have challenged themselves and their audiences through the support of the museum’s exceptional residency program. The Mattress Factory’s outreach programs serve more than 20,000 students, teachers, adults, and families annually, and its activities as a visitor attraction, educator and employer continue to invigorate Pittsburgh’s North Side. For more information, call 412.231.3169 or visit mattress.org.
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The Egyptians Are Here! The Egyptians Are Here!

4/27/2012

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After much red tape and support from both the local and international community, ArtUp gathered enough letters of support to get approval from Homeland Security to bring the Egyptians to Pittsburgh for the exhibit's closing events. Because of the superfluous paper work for special petition visas and to help finance artist Amado Al Fadni’s ticket, the organization reached out to their audience/supporters. Unlike in the U.S., if you are born in Egypt, that does not mean you are an Egyptian citizen. Al Fadni carries a Sudanese passport and by international law, could not have a layover in Europe without a time absorbing & expensive transit visa. Without the generous donations from ArtUp followers, Amado would not have been able to participate in the final closing events. Thank you ArtUp and SITES OF PASSAGE supporters for making this possible!!

ArtUp would also like to extend a special thanks to The Mattress Factory Museum, Jaren Love and Senator Casey’s office, the World Affairs Council, the Center of Arts in Society at CMU, the University of Pittsburgh Theatre Department, the U.E., AFTRA, Gateway to the Arts, the Ellis School, and Ambassador Cynthia Schneider for all their hard work in making this trip for the Egyptians possible.

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-Egyptian artists meet with World Affairs Staff
The project would never have come to fruition if it were not for the generous founding support of The Heinz Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Artist Residency Egypt, and the Fayoum International Art Center.
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- Amado Al Fadni enjoys learning about a Pittsburgh classic!
There was such an outpouring of interest to see the Egyptians that ArtUp had to unfortunately turn down offers to visit many local artists, organizations and institutions. There simply were not enough hours in the day. However, the Egyptians saw snow for the first time in their lives and were able to tour select schools, art studios, museums, and organizations in the Pittsburgh area.
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- Egyptians participate in fruitful discussions in an Ellis Art History class!
A few Pittsburgh artists were able to lead private tours for the Egyptians around town. Stops included Pamela’s in the Strip District for a great American breakfast and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, where the Egyptians got to ride in an electric car and play with the Gigapan camera!
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- Seeing an electric car for the first time!
Tours of the Mattress Factory Museum, the Carnegie Museum and the Warhol were a huge hit- while studio visits were also essential to the cultural emersion, meeting sound artists like tENTATIVELY a convenience and fellow Egyptian artist Kamal Youssef and his family in Amish country.
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- Meeting with local Egyptian, Kamal Youssef at his home residence.
Charlie Humphrey was very generous with his time and gave the delegation a tour of Pittsburgh Filmmakers, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, as well as the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The Egyptians also got a chance to talk and interact will Ellis students where Director and co-Curator La Follette runs workshops. The artists addressed the upper school, made visits to the Art History class and met with a room full of 5th graders studying ancient Egypt. These 5th graders had some of the most honest and interesting questions!
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- Egyptians field questions from Ellis' 5th grade class
The Egyptian’s also got a taste of good ol' U.S. consumerism. Apparently Pillow Pets are no longer just a U.S. phenomena!
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- Loading up on Pillow Pets!
Sites of Passage officially closed on Saturday, February 11th, 2012. Stay tuned for more information on our next Tunnel - rumor has it that it will likely be digging with Israel / Palestine!
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"Sites of Passage" to Open September 9th, 2011 at Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh

9/5/2011

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PictureEgyptian protest in downtown Cairo, Tahrir Square
This summer, ArtUp Director/Founder Tavia La Follette has been busier than a family of beavers preparing for the annual dam convention. The only difference is that her Project, Firefly Tunnels, is far from backed up.

Breathing life into the meaning of coordination, Tavia chewed away tirelessly at the forest of possibility to build a diverse program schedule with the wonderful staff at The Mattress Factory Museum.

Early in June, Tavia began presenting her idea to the Hillel Center of Pittsburgh to initiate an effort for young Jewish artists to work professionally with Egyptians. While ideas spread like wildfire, an agreement was made to wait until students were back in order to give them the chance to be part of the planning process.

"Something like this could be huge for our students to launch a career in the arts," Director David Katz said excitedly, with his group of graduate students majoring in everything from business to fine arts in mind.

Meanwhile, Islamic Center of Pittsburgh's imam Atef Mahgoub welcomed ArtUp in with open arms, promising Tavia a place for Egyptians to pray. During an iftar she was invited to during Ramadan, Tavia was also able to set up a loose discussion panel for the visiting artists to explore a variety of topics with American Muslims.

Continuing her quest to conjure a most meaningful experience for the surrounding community, Pittsburgh's Hope Academy was brought into the picture to help reach out to inner-city youth. The Academy's Executive Director Linda Addlespurger agreed on the benefit to setting up a series of workshops that will end with a theatre performance by the Academy's Hat Co.

If all of this was not exciting enough, early this August, ArtUp received a grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide additional support to continue developing the exhibit's programming!

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"The driving force for our work (this summer) has been to expose people to new cultures," Tavia explained. "We want to open a wider lense on global society than what is usually portrayed in popular media."

"One of my collegues said it best at the end of one of her presentations: 'When you get to know people, you tend to want to kill them less.'," she chuckled.

The Exhibition Sites of Passage will feature installations by a core of 11 American and 7 Egyptian artists. Highlights include the migration of a few pieces shown at in Cairo during a one-night-only show in August 2010, some work from the website's Online Gallery, a rotation of personallly lead tours, a community Bike Ride, as well as an unjulation of performances & events lead by visiting American Art Groups/individuals.

For instance, UC Davis theatre professor Larry Bogad will visit Pittsburgh to give a dynamic performance exploring the Mattress Factory's garden during sunset. Later on in October, a puppet show by Mark Staley will explore Mandy Fessenden Brauer's poem "Celebration in the City: Cairo". As the months progress, local groups & artists will work virtually with Egyptian artists to help build a room on the Annex's Third floor Tharir Square, into a conversation about the Egytian Revolution.

"Our biggest challenge has been coordinating Visas for the Egyptian artists," Tavia relented, describing how they now wait on the Status of a Petition P process to hopefully have the artists arrive in early December.

If you are curious to know more about Firefly Tunnels, we invite you to attend a special presentation that will take place this Thursday, Sept. 22nd at 4:30 PM. Tavia will be explaining the depth of her current work and the challenges in cultural divsion between America and the Middle East.

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Opening night takes place this Friday, September 9th at 7:00 PM in the Mattress Factory Annex (Map location here) and will include live music by the local band Toys du Jour, some Egytian food, Henna tatoos, and a small Islamic-style market.

For a full list of accompanying shows, activities, and workshops in Pittsburgh throughout the next 5 months, keep an eye on our front page.

All artwork & programming was made possible by our Sponsors.

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