Pittsburgh Communities

The way this project started almost sounds like a joke.  “What does a rabbi, a bluegrass musician, and a catholic priest have in common?”  As it turns out, quite a bit. Through my personal connections to the Pittsburgh Jewish Community I met a rabbi who is an amazing guitar player.  Through the rabbi’s connection to a bluegrass music group I met a catholic priest. Through another music connection I met an incredible luthier who makes custom archtop guitars.  As I discovered more of these connections between communities I began to create visual stories of not just the communities themselves, but also how these communities connect to and interact with each other.  Pittsburgh has one of the most eclectic and vibrant collection of communities I’ve ever encountered anywhere else in the world, and these communities are connected in the most amazing and unexpected ways. I think that stories of these communities and stories of the people who bridge disparate interests, different religious and ethnic backgrounds, and contrasting political views will help us realize that there are more things that connect us than we ever thought possible.