Showing posts with label KevinMcMahon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KevinMcMahon. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Festival Programming for TRAF Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Shaunda Miles – Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-471-1578 / Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth – Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-471-1578 / Roth@TrustArts.org
Jessica Warchall – Visual Arts Publicist, 847-477-8714 (cell) / Warchall@TrustArts.org
Images available at: http://TrustArts.org/press
Search name: 2014 TRAF
For More Information: TrustArts.org/TRAF


PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST ANNOUNCES
FULL COMPLEMENT OF FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING FOR
55TH ANNUAL DOLLAR BANK THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL
POINT STATE PARK | CULTURAL DISTRICT | GATEWAY CENTER
10 DAYS OF FREE music + art | JUNE 6 – 15, 2014

Pittsburgh, PA—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the full complement of programming scheduled to be presented at the 55th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The 10-day celebration of the arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is unlike any other in the nation. The world-class, multi-disciplinary festival is free to attend and is open to the public. Attracting over 400,000 visitors annually, 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.

“Just over $165 million dollars in household income is generated by the arts and culture throughout the Allegheny and neighboring counties,” shared J. Kevin McMahon, President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  “This is just one of many economic indicators that evidence the power of art has to transform our communities.  The Trust’s free festivals will welcome a half million people between May and December of this year alone.  Art truly does make a difference in the holistic development of our city and is vital to its sustainability.”

Joseph B. Smith, Senior Vice President Marketing for Dollar Bank added, “Our desire to provide the people of this region with a free day of music began twenty years ago when we had our first Dollar Bank Jamboree. Today, this vision continues providing free music and programming for 10 days on the Dollar Bank Stage and throughout the Cultural District and Gateway Center.  It is our hope that our sponsorship provides the means to keep programming broad, spanning across sectors and disciplines, thereby reflecting and encouraging diversity within our city and region.”

This year’s major theme, the intersection of the festival’s core values, is aesthetic creativity and environmental sustainability.  From Diversion, supported by the Colcom Foundation, and the interactive tents in the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone, to the portal bridge and art galleries, these installations and exhibitions are aimed to evoke a sense of wonder, responsibility and renewed awareness of how our actions and choices affect our world and the people around us.

The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is made possible by the generous support of Peoples Natural Gas, Giant Eagle, ChoosePAWind, Bessie F. Anathan Charitable Trust of the Pittsburgh Foundation, Buhl Foundation, Calgon Carbon Corporation, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Colcom Foundation, The Fine Foundation, The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Henry Hillman Foundation, Lannan Foundation, Laurel Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

PERFORMING ARTS

Pittsburgh Premieres

Squonk | Pnuematica
Squonk’s new outdoor work, “Pneumatica,” is made of air, powered by air, and about air. The performances will awaken social connections into joyful wind-powered emergent air spectacles. It will push physics and civic interdependency into tangibility, with wind powered turbines, tentacles, and a whirl of inflatables.  Squonk has created seven new works over 18 years with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, which have toured to Europe, Asia, Broadway, and off-Broadway. This successful history includes the premiere of the truck-mounted Squonk Roadshow 2012 that has gone on to 14 cities in 10 states for 100 shows.  The group just returned from a busy winter playing Manhattan, where The New York Times called them a “multi-media troupe of infinite jest” from Pittsburgh with “images of strange and startling beauty...”

Bricolage | OJO presented by Pittsburgh Foundation
OJO is a world-premiere immersive theater experience produced by Pittsburgh's own Bricolage, whose mission is to immerse artists and audiences in adventurous theatrical experiences that foster connections and alter perceptions. The experience requires registering for a free voucher at TrustArts.org/OJO in advance of your attendance and while capacity remains, first-come first-served.

Complaints n’at Choir
Christiane D, a multimedia-artist with a long standing reputation in the Pittsburgh arts scene, is charged with leading the creation of Pittsburgh’s Inaugural Complaint Choir, as part of the international project, Complaint Choirs of the World.  For a limited time only, the complaints of our fair residents will be gathered and constructed into a song for the choir, for all to sing.

Dance
Dance performances will take place in the Peirce Studio, located at 805 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.  Each performance will have two show times, one at 2pm and one at 5pm.  Performance times vary between 45 minutes and 60 minutes.

Boomerang | June 7
Boomerang is a fearlessly physical, poetically nuanced dance and performance project comprised of Kora Radella, Matty Davis, and Adrian Galvin. Recognizing the body as an evolving repository for both physical and psychological life, Boomerang sifts through and siphons from its rich, eclectic histories. The foundation of both Davis and Galvin as movers, arise from aggressive rollerblading, soccer, snowboarding, tennis, hockey, ultimate Frisbee, and long-distance running.  They have been referred to as the “punk Mozarts of dance.”

Shana Simmons Dance and The Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra | June 8
We Sing the Body Eclectic is a new work by collaborators Shana Simmons Dance and The Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra –their fourth collaboration in the past two years. Featuring four dancers and fourteen musicians, the piece takes the form of a long transition from sparseness to density, calm to agitation. Using orchestral and electronic instruments, words, and movement, the audience will question its own perception of time.

Alba Flamenca | June 14
Alba Flamenca is an example of a mix of cultures that have come together to celebrate and perform Flamenco.  The performers are devoted to the art that is Flamenco and have intention to stay as traditional as possible, in addition to keeping true to artistic beliefs and telling personal stories using their bodies and minds.

Reed Dance | June 15
Take a journey with Reed Dance as the ensemble celebrates the music of the great Stevie Wonder. Reed Dance will collaborate with local and national dance, music, spoken word artists and students to present Suite Stevie. These young artists will showcase the genius and timeless music of the man himself.

PUBLIC ART HIGHLIGHTS

Before I Die | Artist: Candy Chang
“One of the most creative community projects ever.”—The Atlantic
Artist, designer, and urban planner Candy Chang creates art that prompts people to think about their secrets, wishes and hopes and then share them. Before I Die is a global art project that invites people to reflect on their lives and share their personal aspirations in public space.

No Limits | Artist: Alexandre Arrechea
Cuban-born artist Alexandre Arrechea’s No Limits, a series of ten sculptures creatively representing iconic New York City buildings and architecture, was installed on New York City's Park Avenue in the spring of 2013, presented by Magnan Metz Gallery in conjunction with NYC Parks and the Fund for Park Avenue Sculpture Committee.  Four of the ten sculptures, nearly 20 feet in height each, are now located throughout Gateway Center as a public art feature of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.

People's Clothing Archive and Library Initiative No 1: o:ne:ka' | Artist: Edith Abeyta
Supported by Colcom Foundation
What if we recognized clothing as a renewable resource? People’s Clothing Archive and Library Initiative No 1: o:ne:ka' is a large-scale sculpture fabricated from donated t-shirts attached to a wooden framework that formst he word, o:ne:ka'— the Seneca word for water. The sculpture takes into consideration the physical and historical properties of the site as well as the themes of the Festival.

VISUAL ART HIGHLIGHTS

Juried Visual Art Exhibition (JVAE)
The annual Juried Visual Art Exhibition, held at 805-807 Liberty Avenue in the Trust Arts Education Center (James E. Rohr Building) features Pittsburgh’s best new visual art.  Showcasing a selection of new work by some of the most talented members of Pittsburgh’s vibrant creative community, the exhibition is one of the most-anticipated visual arts attractions at the Festival.  This year’s show features 59 works by 53 artists. Exhibition attendees can join the panel of jurors in awarding the best work in the JVAE. After experiencing the show, attendees can vote on-site on mobile devices or with the JVAE staff at the 4th floor entrance lobby.  Selected works may be offered for sale at artists’ discretion.  Rewards include Best in Show, Juror’s Choice and the People’s Choice Award.  This year’s distinguished jurors include John Carson, Regina and Marlin Miller Professor and Head of the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University;  Rachel Delphia, The Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at Carnegie Museum of Art; and Nicholas Chambers, The Milton Fine Curator of Art at the warhol.

The China Express | Artist: Carlan Tapp
Presented by Lannan Foundation
Photojournalist Carlan Tapp showcases The China Express, a black and white photography exhibition that documents the people and places affected by coal shipping.  The exhibition includes 40 digital images Tapp took while traveling the 1,200 mile train route, including everything from the open-pit coal mines in Wyoming to Pacific Northwest towns and Indian reservations. In some areas, coal mining has depleted wells and caused streams and natural waterways to dry up. The China Express is informative and is presented unobtrusively in the form of brief captions that serve as titles for each image.

Portraits of Air | Artist: Susan Goethel Campbell
Detroit-based artist Susan Goethel Campbell crowd-sourced this installation of more than 100 air filters distributed throughout the Pittsburgh region. Incorporating photography and mixed media, she creates a visual document of the invisible element of air.

Other visual art exhibitions will be on display at galleries and open spaces throughout the Cultural District, including Wood Street Galleries, 707Penn Gallery, 709 Penn Gallery, Tito Way, Backstage Bar at Theater Square and the Trust Arts Education Center.

GIANT EAGLE CREATIVITY ZONE
Artist demonstrations and hands-on activities are available annually at the Festival. Educational shows for all ages are available, ranging from culturally-diverse music performances to story-telling to collaborative painting projects. This year’s Giant Eagle Creativity Zone is being enhanced by several special projects, including Diversion, an installation and activity exploring misplacement of compostables into residential waste streams by Rose Clancy and presented by Colcom Foundation; Chutz-Pow! Superheroes of the Holocaust presented by the Holocaust Center and Toonseum and Reuse-a-Palooza! a hands-on, open-ended art activities using reclaimed materials presented by Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

The Miniature Marina by the Laurel Foundation will return to the Artist Market providing the popular children’s model sailboat activity. Other organizations participating in the expanded Giant Eagle Creativity Zone include Union Project, The Sprout Fund, Calligraphy Guild of Pittsburgh, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Gateway to the Arts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, ZooBeats, Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Society of Artists, Turners Anonymous, MGR Youth Empowerment, Sweetwater Center for the Arts, iNCLUDE: Pittsburgh, and WQED.

The Creativity Stage in the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone will host WYEP’s Reimagination Showcase, Yemaya Pittsburgh, Hope Academy Teen Theater Company, WQED’s Musical Kids, Alastair Moock, Pittsburgh Puppet Works, iQ Kids Radio’s Sand and Surf Dance Party and Pittsburgh Musical Theater Extreme Teen Broadway featuring selections from popular musicals such as SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL and ALICE IN WONDERLAND.  Pittsburgh Filmmakers will host eight (8) art-focused films in the Harris Theaterincluding Cutie and the Boxer, a series of Pride Week short films, Open City of Amereida and Indie Game: the Movie–a Sundance award-winner looking at indie video game developers.

ARTIST MARKET PRESENTED BY PEOPLES NATURAL GAS
The 2014 Artist Market will feature a record 338 artists over 18 different mediums. Artists will be traveling to Pittsburgh from 30 states.  In addition to the professional Artists in the Artist Market, Peoples Natural Gas will provide scholarship opportunities to eight Emerging Artists who will be presenting at a professional show for the first time.

Ranked among the Top 40 shows in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine, the Artist Market at Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival takes place throughout Point State Park and Gateway Center daily, as well as Penn Avenue Extension on weekends. The Artist Market is a cornerstone of the Festival and provides the public with an opportunity to purchase work directly from artists specializing in an array of media including ceramics, computer graphics and digital art, jewelry, fiber, glass, leather, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture, woodworking and more.  New artists appear in the Artists Market throughout the 10 days, making for a new and unique experience each day.

For information regarding the 2014 Music Headliners, visit TrustArts.org/Press.

For up to date information and a full schedule (including locations, dates and times) for the festival, visit www.TrustArts.org/TRAF.

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.

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.
Follow us on Twitter @CulturalTrust, and like us on Facebook.
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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

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Giant Rubber Duck Makes US Debut

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Shaunda Miles – Pittsburgh Cultural Trust,
412-471-1578 / Miles@TrustArts.org
Diana Roth – Pittsburgh Cultural Trust,
412-471-1578 / Roth@TrustArts.org
Saul Markowitz – Markowitz Communications, 412.577.5140 /412-977-8517 (cell)



Giant Rubber Duck Makes U.S. Debut For Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts 2013

FESTIVAL FEATURES COMPANIES AND ARTISTS PREMIERING WORKS NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN THE UNITED STATES

 Pittsburgh Cultural District
September 27 – October 26, 2013

PITTSBURGH, PA:  Studio Florentijn Hofman’s The Rubber Duck has ignited crazes in Hong Kong, Sydney and other international locales and will make its U.S. debut in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s International Festival of Firsts. Starting September 27, The Rubber Duck will launch on the Allegheny River setting in motion four weeks of diverse programming featuring acclaimed international companies and artists premiering works never before seen in the United States.  Presentations of theater, dance, music, performance and visual arts will grace several Cultural District venues, in spaces both traditional and highly unexpected.

“Pittsburgh has a confluence of international activities taking place during the fall of 2013,” said Kevin McMahon, president & CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  “The city has been re-imagined and remade and is now hosting major international events-from the Carnegie International to the Remaking Cities Conference- that provide for an intriguing cultural climate.  The return of the Cultural Trust’s festival could not have taken place during a more fitting year, and we are glad to be part of the economic, cultural and quality-of-life transformation that is part of the region’s 30-year investment in the arts.”

This year’s Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts companies and artists represent a vast array of countries from The Netherlands, Quebec, Belgium, Australia, Switzerland and Nova Scotia as well as the United States.

“The works included within this year’s Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts will provide a diversity of disciplines (theater, dance, music, puppetry and physical theatre) and, it is my hope that they provide a snapshot of some of the finest work being created in the international contemporary performing arts field and will elicit a wide range of emotion, reaction and excitement from our audiences,” shared Paul Organisak, vice president of programming at The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  “As I experienced each of them during various stages of their development, I am struck by how each artist is in some way redefining what we mean by “contemporary” in today’s culture.  This Festival is designed to ask that question and create an ongoing dialogue for Pittsburgh audiences and artists alike.”

“PIFOF offers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the career of Kurt Hentschlager, one of the leading artists in new media art over a period of twenty years”, said Murray Horne, curator-Wood Street Galleries.

Special Opening Night of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts

Adding to the immensity of this year’s Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts is the opening night appearance of Studio Florentijn Hofman’s The Rubber Duck of The Netherlands.  The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers; it doesn’t discriminate and doesn’t have a political connotation. The friendly, floating, four-story-high Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them. The duck has been on display in Amsterdam, Belgium, Osaka, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong and arrives in the US for the first time for the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts.

Studio Florentijn Hofman | THE RUBBER DUCK
Friday, September 27 – TBD
Allegheny Riverfront

http://tiny.cc/rubberduck


Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts Schedule

Marie Chouinard (Quebec), September 28, 8pm. Byham Theater
Kiss & Cry (Belgium), October 2, 3, 4, 8pm, New Hazlett Theater
It’s Dark Outside (Australia), October 9, 10, 12, 9pm, Pierce Studio-Trust Arts Ed. Center
The Pigeoning (USA), October 9, 10, 12, 7pm, Bricolage
Zimmermann& de Perrot (Switzerland), October 18, 19, 2pm, Byham Theater
Measure Back (USA),  October 22-26,  8pm, Baum Bldg., 5th Floor
The God That Comes (Nova Scotia), October 24-26, 10pm, Cabaret at Theater Square

Compagnie Marie Chouinard
Compagnie Marie Chouinard | *GYMNOPEDIES and HENRI MICHAUX: MOUVEMENTS
Saturday, September 28 at 8:00 p.m.
Byham Theater | 101 Sixth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Marie Chouinard creates dance conceived from primeval dreams — earthy and strong, yet shaped by irrepressible secrets and unseen dimensions in time. The performance includes the U.S. premiere of GYMNOPÉDIES, set to glorious solo piano works by Erik Satie, and HENRI MICHAUX: MOUVEMENTS, inspired by a book of poetry and drawings by Belgian artist Henri Michaux.   *Contains nudity.

NanoDanses , Michèle Anne De Mey & Jaco Van Dormael | KISS & CRY
October 2, 3 & 4 at 8:00 p.m.
New Hazlett Theater | 6 Allegheny Square East (Northside), Pittsburgh, PA 15212

A woman nearing the end of her life recounts her greatest loves in this sweeping, romantic work.  Hands visually portray characters with a beautifully engaging sensual presence, moving around a set of miniatures with absolute precision. A unique blend of film, dance, text and theatre, Kiss & Cryis an unforgettable experience.

Robin Frohardt, HARP (HERE Artist Residency Program) | THE PIGEONING
October 9, 10 & 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Bricolage | 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Meet Frank, an obsessive compulsive consumed with routines.  Enter a flock of pigeons and experience The Pigeoning, a darkly comedic work that combines bunraku puppetry, music and video to examine mankind’s obsession with cleanliness, safety and control.  Brimming with originality and humor, The Pigeoning is an entertaining exploration of the human condition.

Perth Theatre Company | It’s Dark Outside
October 9, 10 & 12 at 9:00 p.m.
Peirce Studio | Trust Education Center, 805-807 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

It's Dark Outside Pictured: Chris Isaacs & Arielle Gray (Credit: Richard Jefferson)
Inspired by experiences and research into Alzheimer’s and Sundowner’s Syndrome, Tim Watts’ newest production in collaboration with Arielle Gray and Chris Isaacs, is a heartfelt, fearless, and inventive adventure. Puppetry, mask, animation, live performance and an original music score by the award-winning composer Rachael Dease, are expertly intertwined to create a grand epic Western about redemption and dementia.

Zimmermann & de Perrot | Hans was Heiri
Friday, October 18 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 19 at 2:00 p.m.
Byham Theater | 101 Sixth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

The inventive Swiss directors duo Zimmermann & de Perrot have crafted an original and mischievous marriage of theater, circus and dance. Poets as well as magicians, their choreography, music and set design overflows with cunning depth and humor. In Hans was Heiri, the stage design revolves on a horizontal axis, forcing the performers into the most unlikely positions.

Christopher McElroen and T. Ryder Smith | Measure Back
October 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 at 8:00 p.m.
Baum Building, Fifth Floor | 818 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

What does it mean to say we are at war?  Can we, as “non-combatants”, change the course of war? The visceral and thought-provoking work Measure Back seeks a path between the citizen-as-spectator and the citizen-as- participant.  Set in an immersive theatrical environment to examine scenes of conflict ranging from Homer’s The Iliad to today’s headlines, Measure Back uses audience participation to probe how war is constructed and performed – from conception through consensus to action.

2b theatre company | *The God That Comes
October 24, 25, 26 at 10:00 p.m.
Cabaret at Theater Square | 633 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA  1522

The God That Comes

Sex, wine and rock and roll!  Hawksley Workman’s intoxicating one-man cabaret, pop and glam rock hybrid recreates the story of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, following Euripides’ The Bacchae.  In a world ruled by an oppressive king, the lesser classes let loose in a hedonistic spiritual revolution fuelled by wine, ritual madness and ecstasy. *Contains strong language.

TICKETS:  Tickets for all performances are $25.  To purchase, visit TrustArts.org/First, call 412-456-6666 or visit the Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue (located at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Seventh Street in Downtown Pittsburgh).

Pittsburgh International Festival of First Visual Art Presentations

Kurt Hentschlager (USA) | Hive (Austria/USA, 2011)
September 27-December 31
Wood Street Galleries | Located above the T-Station at Wood Street and Sixth Avenue

Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 11a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hive
Hive is a 3D-animated audiovisual installation where gallery visitors confront a swirling mass of amorphous figures, appearing as a genderless collective of matter as opposed to individual beings. Choreographed motion, light and sound form an immersive and dynamic figurative landscape without a beginning or an end. Moment by moment, the computer-generated Hive takes on a life of its own, creating an artificial organism in eternal motion and interplay.

Kurt Hentschlager and Ulf Langheinrich (USA/Austria) |
Granular Synthesis: Model 5 and POL
September 27-October 20
SPACE | 812 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA  15222

Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 11a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Model 5
Model 5 (Austria/USA, 1994)
An unprecedented visual, acoustic and physical experience, Model 5 projects multiple portraits of Japanese performance artist Akemi Takeya. At once serene and kinetically beautiful, heightened mechanical rhythms manipulate the image to create a sense of schizophrenia, with the body being pulled apart and dissolving in electronic space.
POL

POL (Austria/USA, 1998)
The German word for “pole,” POL is a live, improvised panoramic performance that relies on high intensity light, video and audio projection, subjecting audiences to an astounding flow of stimuli to create a perceptional situation of disorientation and recollection. By emanating a feeling of what Granular Synthesis describes as “visual radiation,” POL engulfs the audience by erasing all sensual barriers.

Also Taking Place During The Festival

Kurt Hentschlager (USA) | Zee (Austria/USA, 2008)
September 26-October 27
943 Liberty Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA  15222
Hours: Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Chicago-based Austrian artist Kurt Hentschlager invites visitors to explore an enclosed space filled with a dense, odorless fog that completely obscures the gallery walls, floor and ceiling. A droning soundscape intensifies this full-immersion experience, which shifts dynamically according to changes in the color, frequency and intensity of the light. Exhilarating as well as meditative, the pulsing, stroboscopic audiovisual journey that is ZEE pushes the boundaries of human perception.

About Kurt Hentschlager
Chicago based Austrian artist Kurt Hentschläger creates audiovisual performances and installations. He began to exhibit his work in 1983, creating surreal machine-objects, and since has been working with time-based media, film, video, animation and sound. 

The immersive nature of his work reflects on the metaphor of the sublime and the human condition. His current work further researches human perception and the impact of new technologies on both individual and collective consciousness.

About Granular Synthesis
The Austrian audiovisual media artistic duo of Kurt Hentschlager and Ulf Langheinrich create large scale installations that fuse sight and sound into one medium. Through their manipulation of technology, the works of Granular Synthesis serve to challenge human perception, conditioning and consciousness.

ADMISSIONS: All visual arts exhibitions are free and open to the public

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
The Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts is supported by Anonymous donor, Hillman Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Buhl Foundation, Carol R. Brown Performance Fund, Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Trust, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Joan Humphrey and Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

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