PITT ARTS holds its tenth annual Arts Fest

Zoey Yost, a senior data science major, attended the annual PITT ARTS festival for the first time on September 8. Over the sound of the Steeltown Horns in the background, she said she was enthusiastic about the activities while standing in line to screen print a tote bag.

“I’ve walked past the festival before and it’s always been so busy, which is a good thing. I feel like this year the biggest hits are the printmaking and plants, but just by looking around I can tell there are a lot of organizations here,” Yost said. “I’m really excited for the printmaking and just getting to hang out with my friends. I’m also very excited to do the photo booth.”

PITT ARTS held its tenth annual Arts Fest on the lawn of the William Pitt Union. Hundreds of students gathered to screen t-shirts, personalize their own succulents and learn more about the art scene on campus and around the city. It was also an opportunity for students to network with local organizations including the Carnegie Museum of Art and listen to the Steeltown Horns as they created art. 

The festival gave students a way to learn more about other mediums of art, including film. Cathryn Calhoun, the director of education and community engagement at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, attended the festival. She said the center has a significant presence at the Arts Fest and at Pitt. 

“We have a strong relationship with the University of Pittsburgh and we always invite our Pitt students to come to the festival,” Calhoun said. “We’ve also partnered with a few of the film and media professors at Pitt to help us select different films as well as be there for discussions around them, so we have ties to Pitt from the students, to the professors, to the staff.”

Jayona Benson-Strickland, a senior double major in psychology and Africana studies who serves on the PITT ARTS board, was excited to be a part of the event and see the students gathering around WPU. She said PITT ARTS helped her to get back into the art scene.

“In high school I liked to draw, so I would sketch and paint. Then I got to college and I stopped drawing, until I kind of got connected with PITT ARTS and started doing the events,” Strickland said. 

Another booth at the festival was the Center For Creativity, led by programming and communications manager Erik Shuckers. He said he views the festival as a way of bringing people together from all backgrounds and fields.

“Some of our folks have visual arts, some have film, others have audio and music experience, so we’re kind of an eclectic group. But that’s kind of reflected in what we do, right?” Shuckers said. “We want to find ways of bringing together people that make things on campus regardless of what it is that they make.”

Shuckers said the Arts Fest represented the convergence of Pittsburgh’s artistic diversity.

“It’s kind of inspiring for all of us to be able to see the range of things that are available throughout the city,” Shuckers said. “Bringing us all together in one place just feels like a really cool, creative day out for us.”

Senior accounting major Victoria Sojo was excited for the opportunity to see the museums’ booths. With her minor in museum studies, she said she got to learn more about taxidermied animals behind the scenes. 

“The printmaking is definitely a big hit, but I really enjoyed just getting to talk to the museums and seeing all the taxidermied animals, that was really great,” Sojo said.

Students gathered in long lines to get their caricatures drawn, use the photo booth with friends and take part in various other activities. 

Elizabeth Zwikl, a senior history major, attended the festival for the first time this year with her friends. She had worked and attended some art events through the Center for Creativity and other organizations before and saw the festival as an extension of it. 

“I really enjoy using the resources and I really like the variety of artistic activities and organizations here,” Zwickl said. 

Annabelle Clippinger, the program director of PITT ARTS, said students should attend the festival in the coming years. 

“They never know what will be there to see, do, and create,” she said.