Fragments Fractals At 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jessica Warchall, Visual Arts Publicist, 412-471-8712/Warchall@TrustArts.org
Shaunda Miles, Director of Public Relations, 412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org        
Diana Roth, Communications Manager, 412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org
Images available: TrustArts.org/press
Search: Quilt 2014

PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST PRESENTS
FRAGMENTS, FRACTALS: WRITE IT, PRINT IT, SEW IT

September 12 – November 16, 2014 | 709 Penn Gallery | 709 Penn Avenue
Exhibition Opening & Reception | September 12, 5:30 – 9 p.m.

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents Fragments, Fractals: Write It, Print It, Sew It, an exhibition of story quilts by artist Tina Williams Brewer. The exhibition is on view September 12–November 16, 2014, at the Trust’s 709 Penn Gallery. An opening reception and artist talk take place September 12, 2014, from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Brewer’s ten quilts—with titles such as Natural Migration, Cosmic Endeavors, and Rosetta Stone—tell stories of the natural movement of migration, from a simple view of water migration to a more complicated visual approach to forced migration. The layered, overlapping, and decorative imagery is achieved through quilting fabrics that have been printed with Brewer’s designs.

“Everything gets lost in the movement of migration,” Brewer says. “In order to simplify so that we may understand, there is a need to peel back the layers and explore the beginnings of the original water currents.”

As an artistic inspiration, Brewer used fragments of novelist John Edgar Wideman’s “Cry In” from Briefs: Stories for the Palm of the Mind and Rachel Goldstein’s poetry to inform her work. The inspiration from both artists are in integral part of the exhibition.

Tina Williams Brewer is known for her artistic exploration of African-American history and the personal experiences associated with it. She uses symbolism, textile, and fabrics to create story quilts that are motivated by issues focusing on family, women and children, and the spirituality of the culture. Her work has been displayed internationally at the United States Embassy in Ghana, and in more than 50 major venues across the United States, including Tampa Museum of Art and Science, Tampa, FL; Heinz Regional History Center, Pittsburgh, PA; African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA; African American Museum, Dallas, TX; Reginald Lewis Museum of African American Art in Baltimore, MD; and Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV. Brewer is a member of the Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh, Women of Visions, Inc., and an emeritus board member of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and she earned a bachelor of arts from Columbus College of Art and Design.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Portraits of Air

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jessica Warchall, Visual Arts Publicist, 847-477-8714/Warchall@TrustArts.org
Shaunda Miles, Director of Public Relations, 412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org        
Diana Roth, Communications Manager, 412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org
Images available: TrustArts.org/press
Search: Portraits 2014

PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST PRESENTS
PORTRAITS OF AIR: PITTSBURGH
A CROWD-SOURCED EXHIBITION
June 6 – July 13, 2014 | 709 Penn Gallery
Exhibition Opening & Reception | June 6 | 5 – 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents the visual art exhibition Portraits of Air: Pittsburgh by Detroit-based artist Susan Goethel Campbell. Crowd-sourced during the 2013 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, this installation is the culmination of the yearlong project, on view at the Trust’s 709 Penn Gallery from June 6–July 13, 2014. The exhibition, made possible through the generous support of the Heinz Endowments in partnership with the Breathe Project, opens in conjunction with the 2014 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.

The installation shows the results of nearly 100 8 × 10 in., framed spun-glass air filters placed throughout the Pittsburgh region in ordinary locations, such as the home or workspace. Incorporating photography, sound and the air filters—some of which have remained completely white while others have visible particulates—Campbell creates a visual document of the invisible element of air and invites people to think about the quality of the air they breathe.

“The main goal of this project is to bring awareness to the concept of air. It moves from the local to the global and is necessary to sustain life,” says artist Susan Goethel Campbell. “My hope is that people will see themselves in this project and not necessarily that air is dirty or polluted. What I am most interested in are the [filters’] placements and how these individual sites helped to create a broad portrait of air.”

The installation includes many air filters returned to Campbell after several months of collecting particulates, photographs of filter locations and a sound work titled “Air Moves,” which is a poetic, narrative documentation of the Pittsburgh filter locations as well as sites around the world where Campbell asked people place air filters. A series of woodblock prints based on aerial views of Pittsburgh and other cities in the United States is also on view.

Portraits of Air is an ongoing, unscientific project that focuses on the movement and quality of air around the world. Campbell began the project in 2009 with the distribution of 24 8 × 10 in., air filters to people in seven countries, including 14 locations within the U.S. Each participant in the project was asked to place the filter in a location of their choosing so it could pick up particulates in the atmosphere.

Susan Goethel Campbell is a Detroit-based artist who creates multidisciplinary work that explores the intersection of nature, culture, and engineered environments. She has exhibited in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally, including at The International Print Center, NY; and Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany. Campbell has been awarded residencies at the Flemish Center for Graphic Arts, Kasterlee, Belgium; the Beisinghoff Printmaking Residency, Rhoden, Germany; as well as fellowships at the Jentel Foundtation, Banner, WY; and the Kresge Artist Fellowship, Detroit, MI. She received an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, and taught studio art for 15 years at the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Campbell’s work is held in public and private collections across the country, including at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI; The New York Public Library, New York, NY; the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; and The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH.
The Heinz Endowments supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion.

About 709 Penn Gallery

709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. For more information about all gallery exhibitions featured in the Cultural District, please visit TrustArts.org.

About the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is a celebration of the arts in downtown Pittsburgh unlike any other in the nation. Each of its world-class, multi-disciplinary performing and visual arts attractions is free to attend and open to the public. The Festival begins on the first Friday in June and takes place at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s famed three rivers in Point State Park, throughout picturesque Gateway Center, and in the city’s world-renowned Cultural District. For more information, visit TrustArts.org/TRAF.

About the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
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 landmasses 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.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Video Installation Dream Body on View at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Jessica Warchall, Visual Arts Publicist, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
847-477-8714/Warchall@TrustArts.org
Shaunda Miles, Director of Public Relations, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth, Communications Manger, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org

Images available: http://TrustArts.org/press
Search: Dream Body 2014

PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST PRESENTS
DREAM BODY
A NARRATIVE VIDEO INSTALLATION
March 7 – April 13, 2014 | 709 Penn Gallery
Exhibition Opening & Reception | March 7 | 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the opening of DREAM BODY, a video installation by local artist Blaine Siegel. The exhibition is on view at the Trust’s 709 Penn Gallery in the Cultural District March 7–April 13, 2014. An opening reception will be held Friday, March 7, 2014, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at 709 Penn Gallery.

The exhibition consists of two video projections with sculptural components. The first video is influenced by the infamous “The Hanged Man” tarot card. Hanging upside down from a tree, the man on the card has been abused and left alone. It is at this point of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that the hanged man gains a fresh perspective and is able to see the world and his place in it. The first video—depicting a man’s face slowly transitioning from sadness to awe—hangs from an apparatus referencing the hanging crook from the hangman children’s game and is projected upside-down upon the wall.

“I am a story teller, an artist working within a narrative. The narrative for DREAM BODY is man’s search for meaning through the experiences of the physical body,” says artist Blaine Siegel. “I liken the videos in this exhibition to poetry. Like poetry, the interaction between the video and the sculptures evoke an emotional response, offering a glimpse into an upside-down quest for clarity.”

The second video is a split image projected from a boulder set on the floor.  The first image depicts a domestic still life, and the second image is the same still life, yet slightly altered. The objects in the second still life are subtly shifted and a new one appears, raising questions for the viewer.

Blaine Siegel earned a bachelor of fine arts in art photography from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, and a master of fine arts in sculpture from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. He has exhibited in both solo and group shows in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Florida, New York, and Arles, France, as well as is the recipient of numerous awards and residencies.

About 709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. For more information about all gallery exhibitions featured in the Cultural District, please visit www.TrustArts.org.

About The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
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.

Images Courtesy of the Artist
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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Neverlands at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jessica Warchall, Visual Arts Publicist, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
847-477-8714/Warchall@TrustArts.org
Shaunda Miles, Director of Public Relations, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth, Communications Manager, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org

LOCAL MIXED MEDIA ARTIST EXPLORES DEATH

THROUGH NARRATIVE OF PETER PAN

PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST PRESENTS

 THE VISUAL ART EXHIBITION

 NEVERLANDS

January 17 – February 23, 2014 | 709 Penn Gallery
 Exhibition Opening & Reception | January 17 | 5:30 – 8 p.m.

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the opening of Neverlands by local artist Terry Boyd. The exhibition is on view at 709 Penn Gallery in the Cultural District January 17–February 23, 2014. An opening reception is held January 17 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Boyd’s present work embodies an individualistic view of life and death. Through a series of mixed media drawings—ink, Mylar, and thread on paper—Boyd examines the imagery in the familiar yet playful skies, seas, grounds, and characters originally described in author J.M. Barrie’s stories, such as Peter Pan. His images, characterized by sharp vertical lines, often include silhouettes of familiar objects, like a coffin and a ship in the work and the echoes seemed to cry savagely, titled after a line from Peter Pan.

“Terry is an emerging talent in Pittsburgh. In Neverlands, Terry starts with the narrative of Peter Pan, and finds themes in the landscape of the novel—innocence and war, life and death—and infuses his drawings with those themes,” says Sonja Sweterlitsch, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Manager of Community Art.

In his recent work, Boyd examines the phenomenon of “Peter Pans” as a metaphorical interpretation of individual distractions of death that parallel nostalgic characters and landscapes. Beginning as a personal exploration of growing up and sympathy for his late father, Boyd’s investigation translated into images and objects of muted cross-sections of rock and earth. Boyd hopes these images resonate with members of an emerging adult audience, causing them to question their own permanence and place.

Terry Boyd earned a bachelor of fine arts in electronic time-based media, painting, and contextual practice from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a master of arts management from the same institution. An award-winning artist, Boyd has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout Pittsburgh, PA, in addition to a group show in both Buffalo, NY, and Chicago, IL.

About 709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. For more information about all gallery exhibitions featured in the Cultural District, please visit www.TrustArts.org.

About The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
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.

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Images courtesy of the artist

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Proud to Be an American? Exhibit at 709 Penn Gallery

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Shaunda Miles, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org
Images available: http://TrustArts.org/press
Search: Proud to be an American 2013

PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT EXPLORES
CULTURAL INFLUENCES AND PATRIOTISM, PAST AND PRESENT

Proud to be an American?
by Bea Chiappelli

September 13-November 3, 2013
709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District

Opening Reception: Friday, September 13, 6:00 to 8:00pm

Pittsburgh, PA:  "Patriotism has always been the most abstract of American virtues, which may be why we fight so ferociously over the symbols that help us define it.  Too often those symbols: flags, anthems, and slogans, which are meant to unite us, end up dividing us." - Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME Magazine

Photo Credit:  Bea Chiappelli

In her new exhibit at 709 Penn Gallery, Proud to be an American?, Pittsburgh photographer Rebecca Chiappelli explores the meaning of patriotism from diverse perspectives.  "If a universal form of patriotism ever existed, it is not present in today's culture," says Chiappelli.  Proud to be an American? is a simple question with a complex answer.  Over the past century, many key events such as world wars, technological advancements, and shifts in the economy have influenced our definition of patriotism.  Even today, our definition is expanding due to challenges from external sources like the media and globalization.

"I began this project with a close-minded view of what it meant to be patriotic," says Chiappelli.  "Interviews and personal testimonies challenged me on the various ways people express their passions about living in America.  As a nation, it is important to understand that there isn't a universal definition; we might all be patriotic and love our country, but just show it in different ways.  We need to understand those differences in order to still be unified.  After all, United We Stand, Divided We Fall."

Bea Chiappelli (b.1981) was born and raised in small town America and currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA. Chiapelli earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Mercyhurst College, with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising and Associate’s Degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. After working in the retail industry for several years, Chiappelli decided to leave that field and purse her passion for photography.  She earned her MFA in 2012 from the Academy of Art University, with a concentration in Photography.

ABOUT 709 PENN GALLERY
709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue, in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.  Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.  The gallery is free and open to the public.  For more information about all gallery exhibits featured in the Cultural District, please visit: www.TrustArts.org

ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST
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 Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

The Productive Machine Multimedia Exhibit at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Shaunda Miles, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org

MULTIMEDIA EXHIBIT ANNOUNCED  
709 PENN GALLERY
Chris McGinnis: The Productive Machine
July 12 – September 1, 2013

Pittsburgh, PA: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced multimedia exhibit opening at 709 Penn Gallery, Chris McGinnis: The Productive Machine.  The exhibit will be open to the public from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, September 1, 2013.  McGinnis’ multimedia exhibit will feature oil paintings and video installations that explore American optimism and utopianism through the lens of industrial culture, past and present.  Artworks from this series draw inspiration from Marx's theory of reification, scientific management and examples of collective optimism including Busby Berkely's dance routines and the 1939 New York World’ s Fair.  McGinnis’ exhibit references 20th century entertainment including films and musical productions and the extent to which mechanical thought infiltrated the minds of both the country's most creative thinkers and their audiences.  “20th century American modernity came to embody the characteristics of industrial democracy, which centralized the role of the worker and his family within an endless chain of mass-production and consumption, ”  says McGinnis.  “These characteristics have since become a recognizable part of national identity.  I am interested in the reciprocal influences that created this phenomenon and the unlikely relationships that provide evidence of an entirely mechanical culture. ”

Chris McGinnis earned a Master of Fine Arts from University of Arizona and published his thesis “Progress and the Great Productive Machine.”  McGinnis participates nationally and internationally with artist-in-residence programs, such as LOMEA Arts Symposium in Rousse, Bulgaria. His work has been published in National Studio Visit Magazine, European Art Magazine, The MFA Now, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  McGinnis’ works have been on exhibit in museums, galleries and universities throughout the United States and abroad.   As both artist and educator, McGinnis has taught at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Arizona, as well as other institutions in the U.S.   McGinnis is currently Assistant Professor of Art and Director of the Kipp Gallery at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  For more information about the artist, visitwww.chrismcginnisart.com

ABOUT 709 PENN GALLERY

709 Penn Gallery is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  The gallery is located at 709 Penn Avenue, in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.  Gallery Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.  The gallery is free and open to the public.  For more information about all gallery exhibits featured in the Cultural District, please visit:www.TrustArts.org.

ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST

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 Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

Photos Courtesy of Chris McGinnis
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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Cast of Characters at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   REVISION #2
Today's date: March 26, 2013
Contact:  Sonja Sweterlitsch / Sweterlitsch@trustarts.org
                  Manager of Community Art, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Cast of Characters
curated by Vicky Clark and Cindy Lisica
709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District
April 5-May 17, 2013


Pittsburgh, PA:  In Cast of Characters, curators Vicky Clark and Cindy Lisica bring together six diverse artists with character-driven work to question the nature of our everyday existence and our relationship to larger-than-life heroes and gods.  Characters’ stories combine through humor, insight, passion and intellect, causing us to contemplate our world and question our place within it.

The artists featured in this exhibition move from recognizable characters to ones they have created themselves.  While the narratives are, at times, very serious, the approach is fun, colorful, and imaginative as the artists communicate both personal and shared concerns.  The heads and figures of FriendsWithYou, Mr. Glaubitz, and Jeff Schwarz literally and metaphorically speak to issues of identity and the human experience.  Janet Towbin and Rei Sato use small scales to approach big issues, and power and identity are brought to the forefront with the graphic characters and costumes of Mr. Glaubitz and Mark Newport.

Bird Mouth Sculpture by Jeff Schwarz

Using the visual language of comics, punk, youth or street culture, the artists explore and present the familiar within their own situations. The resulting connectivity and commonalities invite the audience to view and experience a range of sensations by entering an active dialogue.

Participating artists include:  Mr. Glaubitz (Tijuana), Mark Newport (Detroit), Rei Sato (Tokyo and Taipei), Jeff Schwarz (Brooklyn), and Janet Towbin (Phoenix) and FriendsWithYou (Los Angeles).

A full color illustrated catalog with essays by Cindy Lisica and forward by Vicky A Clark has been published on the occasion of the exhibition.


ABOUT THE CURATORS

Dr. Vicky A. Clark is a Pittsburgh-based independent curator and Director of the Art Gallery at Clarion University, where she also teaches art history.  Her extensive curatorial background includes stints at the Carnegie Museum of Art and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and she was awarded “Curator of the Year” in 2001.  In addition to co-curating Cast of Characters, Clark has recently organized two traveling group exhibitions, “The White Show: Subtlety in the Age of Spectacle” at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Donald Judd Remix at Fe Gallery.

Dr. Cindy Lisica is an independent curator, Assistant Archivist of The Andy Warhol Museum, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at University of Pittsburgh.  She has previously curated exhibitions from L.A. to Paris and has held archives and research positions at MOCA Los Angeles and TATE London.  She has recently presented on contemporary and Japanese art at Brooklyn Museum of Art, University of Helsinki, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) in Berlin.


GALLERY DETAILS
709 Penn Gallery is located on 709 Penn Ave. / Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District
Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.
709 Penn Gallery is a project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Education & Community Engagement department.

EXHIBIT DETAILS
Dates:  April 5 – May 17, 2013
Opening Reception:  April 5, 2013   (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
www.TrustArts.org

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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Feminine Aesthetics at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: February 12, 2013
Contact:Sonja Sweterlitsch, Sweterlitsch@trustarts.org

Feminine Aesthetics
Women of Visions, Inc.

709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh, Cultural District
February 22 - March 31, 2013

PITTSBURGH, PA:  In Feminine Aesthetics, the artists of Women of Visions, Inc. address the question, “What is Beauty?” in this special exhibit for Women’s History Month.

“The Feminine Aesthetic is integral to the universe, flowing from grace and aspiration,” says Elizabeth Asche Douglas, Curator of Feminine Aesthetics and President of Women of Visions, Inc. “It is the conflation of sublime opposites, from agonizing birth pains to the exultation of new life.  From the milk of human kindness to a steely determination to endure and overcome all adversity, it embodies the eternal SHE, the being we call Beauty,” says Douglas.  “It is my hope that viewers will find glimmers of the feminine aesthetic mystique in the works of this exhibition.”

Richena Brockinson Phoenix

In Feminine Aesthetics, women artists Annette Jackson, Denise “Mike” Johnson, Mary Martin, Cathleen Richardson Bailey, Tenanche Rose Golden, Vanessa German, JoAnne Bates, Ruth Richardson, Christine McCray Bethea, Richena Brockinson, LaVerne Kemp, Altha Pittrell, and Elizabeth Asche Douglas present their interpretations of what is beautiful, challenging cultural definitions of beauty and identity, celebrating the self, and honoring the beauty in others. Their diverse interpretations range from paintings to digital photography, assemblages, installation art, and fiber art.

 ABOUT WOMEN OF VISIONS GUILD
Women of Visions, Inc. was co-founded in 1981 by Emma Slaughter and the late Juanita Miller. They recognized a need for a visual arts organization of African American women. There were few venues for African American women artists to exhibit professionally in Pittsburgh One of the objectives of creating a group was to provide professional and mentoring support to such artists. Miller and Slaughter, along with a core group of other women artists founded Visions. In 1990, Visions was incorporated under the name Women of Visions and attained non-profit status in 1995.

The mission of Women of Visions, Inc. is to promote the art of African American women through self-promotion and education. To that end, the organization mounts collaborative exhibits with other arts groups and individuals artists, and builds relationships in the arts and lay community both in and outside of Pittsburgh. These experiences offer members resources and opportunities that allow them to grow personally and professionally.

The members of Women of Visions, Inc. represent a diverse sampling of artistic styles and media including ceramics, collage, digital arts, fiber arts, installation art, jewelry, mixed-media, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. A rich and varied expression of the personal, social and political experience of African American women is voiced. Today, with an ever-increasing membership, Women of Visions, Inc. continues to nurture and support professional and emerging women artist of color, and to bring to the African American community and the general public the richness of our culture and heritage.

GALLERY DETAILS
709 Penn Gallery is located on 709 Penn Ave. / Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District
Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.
709 Penn Gallery is a Project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Education & Community Engagement department.
www.TrustArts.org

EXHIBIT DETAILS
Dates:  February 22 – March 31, 2013
Opening Reception:  February 22, 2013   (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
Artists’ Talk: March 9, 2013  !1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Cultural District Gallery Crawl

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District
Downtown Pittsburgh
Friday, January 25, 2013

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the upcoming Gallery Crawl to take place Friday, January 25, 2013, from 5:30-9:00 p.m., in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The Gallery Crawl is an urban showcase featuring a wide variety of thought provoking art exhibitions, live bands, DJs, dance, theater, and more. Everything from the traditional to the avant garde is on display for art lovers of all ages.

The evening will kick off with Miguel Chevalier’s Power Pixels, two self-generative video installations located in Wood Street Galleries. Chevalier is an internationally known artist and an innovator of digital arts whose work is sure to excite the masses. The night will also mark the premiere of the Arcade Comedy Theater at 811 Liberty Avenue. The comedy club will feature improvisation jams and comedy performances within a newly renovated 60-seat performance space. In addition, the Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra (E.L.C.O.) will play music in the Trust Arts Education Center from Beck’s brand-new only-available-as-sheet-music album,Song Reader, along with their energetic and contemporary sound. This is the first time the E.L.C.O. will be performing at the Gallery Crawl.

“We are excited to present our interpretation of the music,” said Heidi Matthews, Co-founder and Operations Director of E.L.C.O. “The E.L.C.O. does a great job at presenting a fresh perspective to older songs and giving a new twist to pop pieces.”

Gallery Crawl events are free and open to the public. CONSOL Energy Inc. is the lead sponsor of the January 2013 Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District. Other sponsors include Pittsburgh City Paper, WYEP 91.3FM, Table Magazine and Kreider Printing. For more information and a map of the Gallery Crawl events, visitwww.TRUSTArts.org or call (412) 456-6666.

The following is a line-up of Gallery Crawl highlights and happenings on Friday, January 25, 2013:

Wood Street Galleries

Wood Street Galleries
601 Wood Street

Power Pixels 2013
Miguel Chevalier
Two new self-generative video installations including the world premiere of his latest work, "Digital-Archi" (Meta Cities).

SPACE
812 Liberty Avenue
Romper Room
Guest curated by Ladyboy
Jen Cooney, Jae Ruberto, Jacob Ciocci, Matt Barton, Thad Kellstadt, Jim Lingo, and Ladyboy

Romper Room - blanket forts, cubby holes, night lights, clubhouses, burnouts, hippies, hangouts in the woods, glow sticks, sweet jams, jam jigglers, schralping, cosmic cats, impossibles, glitches, munchies, diamonds, sasquatch, joy rides, cocoons, etc.

Music by DJ Dave Zak

Human Touch Project
The Human Touch Project is the newest body of sculptural work currently under development by artist Phoenix Savage. Human Touch is a participatory project translating the aesthetics of physical and ethereal human connectivity.

Tito and Exchange Way
Cell Phone Disco
A surface that visualizes the electromagnetic field of an active mobile phone. Several thousand lights illuminate when you make or receive a phone call in the vicinity of the installation.

Shaw Galleries
805 Liberty Avenue
2nd Annual Bad Art Sale!
Bad art, picture frames, mats, art books, gently used art supplies...All at rock bottom prices!

Trust Arts Education Center
805-807 Liberty Avenue
Peirce Studio (Lower Level):
CONSOL Energy Hot Spot: Re-energize with this Pittsburgh-based producer of coal and natural gas.

Continuum Dance Theater
Excerpts of THE MOVEMENT. Created by Sarah Parker, THE MOVEMENT exposes the duality between versions of ones’ self; revealing an autobiographical examination of the distinction between public lives and what lies beneath. 6pm, 7pm, 8pm
Third Floor:
Celebration
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
Showcasing AAP's members' work

Fourth Floor:
Pittsburgh Print Group
Exhibit examining the end of time
Carnegie Library
Button-making: We supply the materials, you supply the creativity!

Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra (E.L.C.O.)
Music from Beck's brand-new, only-available-as-sheet-music album, Song Reader, as well as high-energy, rhythmically charged interpretations from their contemporary alt-classical repertoire. 6:15pm, 7:15pm, 8:15pm

Harris Theater
809 Liberty Avenue
Harris Theater Short Films
Official selections from the 2012 Three Rivers Film Festival competitive shorts program.  All Filmmakers are regional artists.

Tiny Harris Gallery
Loren Kantor
Original prints from carved woodcuts & linocuts inspired by classic films.

811 Liberty Avenue
Arcade Comedy
Be among the first to visit the brand new Arcade Comedy Theater in the Cultural District, which will feature Pittsburgh’s best improvisational, sketch and alternative comedy year-round!  Pop-up games, performances and mini-workshops will be held throughout the evening.  Time to Play! www.arcadecomedytheater.com

Catholic Charities Susan Zubik Welcome Center
212 Ninth Street
Creative Reuse
During the fall of 2012, students at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild took part in a unique after-school art course, creating art from materials supplied by the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

Awesome Books
929 Liberty Avenue
Part of Project PopUp: Downtown

Moon Calling, an exhibition of paintings by Richard Rappaport
A gifted portraitist, Rappaport's images work their emotional force on the subjective sensibility of the viewer.

937 Liberty Avenue
2nd floor:
Six x Ate: Sound, Time, Space
SIX x ATE features the work of local artists who have participated in an ongoing dinner and lecture series of the same name.

3rd floor: Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Lobby:
Twinning Photography
The first of a series of exhibitions trying to twin one hundred Africans with their African American lookalikes.

Toonseum

Toonseum
947 Liberty Avenue
Visit the new StarKist Charlie's Hall of Legends. This new exhibition presents original pieces from the ToonSeum permanent collection, featuring some of the world's most iconic cartoon characters.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture
980 Liberty Avenue
Glamazonia by Mario Epanya
This glorious showcase of beauty features over 30 images of Black women from contemporary full color photography to vintage black-and-white images, celebrating the beauty and diversity of the Diaspora.

The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
This stirring exhibition, on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and presented in collaboration with the Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, explores the courage and triumph of athletes who boycotted, participated in, or were barred from the Games.

Pittsburgh: Reclaim, Renew, Remix
Our core exhibition dedicated to honoring and preserving Black culture in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This modular exhibit uses imagery, film and oral history narratives to explore communities, cultures, and innovations

Tonic
971 Liberty Avenue, 2nd floor Gallery.  NOT UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE
Work from artist Keith Schmiedline
Live music by Dylan Reynolds.

Urban Pathways 6-12 Gallery
914 Penn Avenue
The Heart is Lonely…
Student artwork based on the works of Jacob Lawrence; plus Ceramics & Photography.
Poetry Slam at 6pm & 7:30pm, plus the Sounds of Steel steel pan band

CAPA
111 Ninth St.
Future Memories, Future Myths
Works by CAPA Visual Arts students, curated by Rafael Abreu-Canedo

Abby McGeehan, Assan Jackson, Brianne McKaine and Adam Linn, Elan Kandel, Libby Musacchio, Maddi Johnson, Miller Goughneour, Miller Schulman, Ron Turner, Sara Gaitens, Stacey Thomas, Todd Koger, Tyler Sing interpreting the world around them, navigating the past and the present, these young and talented minds are not satisfied with the one-size-fits-all culture that is being handed down to them.

Future Tenant
819 Penn Avenue
Best of Arbor Aid with Tree Pittsburgh
A best-of collection of works created from reclaimed and urban wood that focuses on the theme of Story/Legacy.

Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
810 Penn Avenue, Suite 200
Art on the Walls
Steel-Life II: photo assemblages
Fran Gialamas
Archival-flash-backs of men and women steel workers—their neighborhoods, homes and the mills. The work reflects the steel
industry in its heyday. Found images seduce the viewer’s eye and memory. The past is layered with the present in counterpoint to create a quiet industrial beauty.

Bend Yoga
808 Penn Avenue, 2nd floor
Join Bend Yoga for free yoga at 7:00pm.  Pre-registration is recommended by emailingmcallan@bendyoga.com.

709 Penn Gallery

709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Avenue
Fabrizio Gerbino
New works by the Italian-born artist, now well-known for his paintings, drawings, and installations inspired by the post-industrial landscape of Pittsburgh, where he has lived for nearly a decade.

707 Penn Gallery
707 Penn Avenue
Craig Freeman: Cartoon Nihilism
Explores themes of nihilism, depression, and suicide through the cartoon world.

131 Seventh Street
Symbiotic Collusion
Part of Project PopUp: Downtown
AC/VC: Appalachians in Charge of Visual Culture
Derek Reese

Project Pop Up: Night Market 3
Once again bringing together some of Pittsburgh’s most creative independent vendors, artists, and desserts to an indoor market.

Katz Plaza

             
Katz Plaza
7th St. and Penn Avenue
Steel Town Fire: Pittsburgh’s premier Fire Art performance wows the crowd with dancing and intricate moves on poi, snakes, swords and other burning props. 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30pm.

Backstage Bar
655 Penn Avenue
Symphony of Colours
Kim Freithaler, June Kielty, Nadya Lapets and Vickie Schilling

Live Music by Jason Kendall Duo

Dream Cream Ice Cream Parlor
539 Liberty Avenue
Part of Project PopUp: Downtown
More than just a great place for a scoop. A portion of designated flavor sales will be contributed to causes in exchange for community service of the recipient, aka “the dreamer.”

Robot Repairs
210 Sixth Street
Part of Project PopUp: Downtown
Is your robot experiencing technical difficulties? Consider visiting this place for a potential fix.

Boutique 208
208 Sixth Street
Part of Project PopUp: Downtown
A retail boutique featuring handmade wares from local artisans.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio**
136 Sixth Street (above Melange Bistro) NOT UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE

Free Dance Lessons and Demos:
Swing at 7:30pm. Bachata at 8pm. Salsa at 8:30pm.

 ALL INFORMATION AND LOCATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE!  Visit www.trustarts.org for updated and more detailed information
Lead sponsor: CONSOL Energy Inc.
Sponsors: City Paper, WYEP 91.3 FM, Kreider Printing, Table Magazine

All official Gallery Crawl locations will be marked with a Cultural District Stop sidewalk sign.

TEXT “CRAWL” TO SMASH (76274) to receive special exclusive offers and more!

**All locations are wheelchair accessible unless otherwise noted

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

The Painting as Object at 709 Penn Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: January 11, 2013
Contact: Sonja Sweterlitsch, sweterlitsch@trustarts.org
                                              gerbinofabrizio@yahoo.com, 412-771-0931

The Painting As Object

New Work by Fabrizio Gerbino

709 Penn Gallery
January 18-February 17, 2013


In The Painting as Object, Florentine-born artist Fabrizio Gerbino explores the nature of paintings as objects in themselves, by presenting a series of meta-paintings that use earlier works almost like objects in a still life, or as the launching point for abstractions.  Gerbino translates these subjects into minimalist shapes using colors mixed only from primaries.

“Witnessing Gerbino’s paintings evolve has been amazing,” says Sonja Sweterlitsch, Curator of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 709 Penn Gallery.  “When he first moved to Pittsburgh, Gerbino impressed with his mastery of technical skills, with work ranging from realistic cityscapes to meticulously rendered miniature copies of masterworks from his native Italy.  In recent years, his work has ranged from installation art to video, and his painting has become more minimalist in style.  While his work continues to draw inspiration from urban spaces, industrial buildings, and abandoned industrial objects, this new series is very much about the nature of painting,” says Sweterlitsch.

In The Painting as Object, the works on display have been painted and repainted many times, the evolution of each work revealed through the still visible layers of paint.  “I covered each one,” says Gerbino. “I was not satisfied with them.  I covered these paintings without specific expectations, and I was open for a new transformation.

I put them down on the floor to dry and after days, I started to look at them not any more just as a painting experience, but as objects. Then I put them on the wall, the same way they had been on the floor.  I decided to use that work like an object, a subject for a new painting.”

Also on display is a very personal painting of Gerbino’s father’s hand, painted directly from a video of his father that was filmed days before his death.  On the canvas, paint drips from his father’s fingers.  Leaving the drip was a purposeful decision, a poetic expression using the paint itself.

ABOUT FABRIZIO GERBINO

Fabrizio Gerbino is an Italian artist who was born in Tripoli, Libya in 1962. He graduated from the Istituto Statale D’Arte and attended the Scuola Libera del Nudo at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. In October of 2003 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he currently lives and works. He exhibited his work extensively in Florence and other Italian cities as well as in Germany. For many years in Italy his work focused on painting, installations and iron sculpture.
Gerbino has found inspiration from urban spaces, industrial buildings and abandoned industrial objects. Gerbino’s works are held in the following collections:

Calgon Carbon Corporation
BNY Mellon
RJ Lee Group, Inc.
The Elmhurst Group (Rand Building)
Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, Casa Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno (Arezzo) Italy
Ateliers Hoherweg e. V. in Dusseldorf, Germany
The Kiski School
In 2006 he was a beneficiary of the Eben Demarest Grant and in 2010 The Will’s Gift award recipient from The Kiski School.
In 2011 Gerbino’s work was chosen for the Pittsburgh Biennial at the Carnegie Museum of Art.


GALLERY DETAILS
709 Penn Gallery is located on 709 Penn Ave. / Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District
Hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sun.11 a.m.–5 p.m.
709 Penn Gallery is a Project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Education & Community Engagement department.
 www.Trustarts.org

EXHIBIT DETAILS
Dates:  January 18 – February 17, 2013
Opening Reception:  January 18, 2013   (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)


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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Photographer Rob Larson Captures Pittsburgh's Roller Derby Scene

Rob Larson: Derby

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: August 6, 2012


Rob Larson: Derby
709 Penn Gallery
709 Penn Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District
August 31-October 7, 2012

Opening Reception: Friday, August 31, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Gallery hours: Wed. & Thurs. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. / Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m - 8 p.m. / Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Free and open to the public.

Pittsburgh, PA:  Hip whip. Taking a knee. Grand slam. Rink rash. This is the unique vernacular roller derby, which is alive and well in the City of Champions.  Photographer Rob Larson beautifully captures this bawdy, theatrical sporting subculture, as well as the physical ramifications (like rink rash) found in Pittsburgh’s robust Roller Derby scene with his most recent photo exhibit Derby at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 709 Penn Gallery.  This exhibit is free and open to the public.

They’re some of the toughest athletes you’ll ever meet. They don’t play on a field of unblemished grass or on a rink of glassy ice. They don’t sign million-dollar contracts. And they don’t have lucrative endorsement deals.
Roller derby is made up of tough, smart and fascinating women who work up a sweat, get bruised, and sometimes draw blood for no other reason than they love the sport. They are sisters, daughters, wives and mothers. They are teachers, designers, and small business owners. And they all skate to win.  Through the collection of portraits that make up Derby, Rob Larson captures the spirit and power of an attraction that has, much to the thrill of its fast-growing number of fans, gone from 70s Saturday afternoon camp to today’s serious adrenaline rush.

About Rob Larson
Pittsburgh-based photographer and mixed-media artist Rob Larson enjoys photographing urban landscapes, people and the suburban nights. This is followed by his interest in employing silk-screening, wheat-paste and spray paint to make art that he liberally covers in shellac. Schooled traditionally in photography, Rob focuses on more intense lighting and heavily geometric compositions to pull together images that tend to be more ambiguous with their stories and statements.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Rob Larson, email rob@roblarsonphoto.com or call 412-965-0579.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh