Day: September 19, 2015

Raising Hopes and Prayers, Meg Saligman Lights Up Basilica Dome for Papal Visitrn

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rnPHILADELPHIA, PA (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 18, 2015rnrnOn Monday night, September 21, 2015, the dome of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul will come alive with moving images. The projection on the dome is the work of internationally renowned artist Meg Saligman and part of the Knotted Grotto installation that's attracting thousands since it opened on September 3rd. Every night during the week of Pope Francis’s visit, the projection will light the dome of the Basilica with images to raise the hopes and prayers contributed to the glowing grotto below.rnThe artwork, Knotted Grotto, is intended to delight and inspire, while making issues of homelessness, poverty and hunger visible during a time of immense national attention.rnrnThe central feature is a grotto – a place of pilgrimage, reflection, mystery, and wonder. Integrated into its wooden structure are thousands of strips of knotted and woven cloth inscribed with struggles collected from the community of Philadelphia and beyond. Visitors are invited to add their own knots and, if able, to untie and weave the knots of others into the grotto. The Knotted Grotto is constantly changing and growing. It opened with over 30,000 inscribed cloth and has quickly grown to over 50,000. Many have come from people around the world sent through the mercyandjustice.org website.rnrn“The public response has been overwhelming, and we want to give people of all walks of life a chance to participate,” said artist Meg Saligman.rnThroughout time and across all cultures, a knot has symbolized the struggles of everyday life. In the tradition of Mary Undoer of Knots, a favorite painting of Pope Francis, Project HOME through the generosity of Leigh and John Middleton and Janet and John Haas commissioned artist Meg Saligman to create a work of public art at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, as part of the Mercy and Justice Campaign in honor of the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia in September 2015. The Mercy and Justice Campaign has four aspects: The Campaign for Justice, The Francis Fund, Knotted rnGrotto and Knotted Stole.rnrnProject HOME is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that develops solutions to homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. Meg Saligman is an internationally renowned artist who resides in Philadelphia.rnrnFor more information about Knotted Grotto and all the elements of the Mercy and Justice Campaign, visit http://www.mercyandjustice.org/knots or contact Meg Saligman or Sue Spolan at 215-789-9009. Check out the Knotted Grotto on social media using the hashtag #knottedgrotto. The rnInstagram is https://instagram.com/megamural.rnrnAward winning artist Meg Saligman’s combines the classical with the contemporary. Her iconic work is conceived and executed with a master’s skill that consistently breaks new ground and elevates the field of public art. She’s created some of the largest art installations in the world, with works in Mexico City; Tanzania, Africa; Shreveport, Louisiana; Omaha, Nebraska, and her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) has petitioned for preliminary injunctions against three Philadelphia funeral directors and their funeral establishments.rnrnThe petitions, filed in Commonwealth Court, seek to bar the funeral directors from operating after recent discoveries of alleged violations in their professional practice. The court has scheduled a hearing on the injunctions request for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Philadelphia.rnrnIn addition, BPOA filed formal disciplinary action proceedings Thursday against the funeral directors, a process that could result in civil penalties and suspension or revocation of their licenses.rnrn"These injunctions are our best option to immediately stop the licensees from operating while our disciplinary proceedings are in progress," Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs Peter Speaks said. "Police are still investigating as well, and we hope the court will agree there is sufficient reason to bar the funeral directors from doing business in the meantime."rnrnBPOA prosecutors are asking Commonwealth Court to grant preliminary injunctions against Janet M. Dailey and her business, Powell Mortuary Services Corp.; Blair Anthony Hawkins and Hawkins Funeral Services Inc., and John M. Price and Price Funeral Home Inc. Each of the funeral directors is licensed through the State Board of Funeral Directors, administered by BPOA. The Powell and Price establishments have facility licenses that have lapsed. Hawkins Funeral Services is unlicensed.rnrnThe licensees have 30 days to file a response to the BPOA disciplinary action filing.rnrnDailey has been implicated in the case of three decomposed bodies discovered Aug. 25 in a garage near her shuttered funeral home on North 27th Street. She reportedly has been operating out of the Price Funeral Home, 613 N. 43rd St. Under the state funeral director law, a licensed funeral director must be affiliated with a properly licensed facility. If the affiliation changes, the licensee is required to immediately notify the licensing bureau. Dailey did not file such a notification.rnrnHawkins has been charged by Philadelphia police with three counts of abuse of a corpse after investigators allegedly discovered three decomposed bodies and a bag of human organs on Aug. 31 at his establishment on Vine Street. Hawkins Funeral Services has never held a facility license.rnrnMEDIA CONTACT: Wanda Murren (717) 783-1621rnrn rnrnSOURCE Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational AffairsrnrnrnrnRELATED LINKSrnhttp://www.state.pa.us