Art crawlers to binge on Downtown gallery buffet

Gallery Crawl

Cultural District

(412) 471-6071

Friday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

It is… Gallery Crawl

Cultural District

(412) 471-6071

Friday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

It is becoming a popular trend on campus for fraternities and sororities to go on “bar crawls,” in which a group pays to hop between several of Pittsburgh’s bars for the night. Imagine the same concept in the art world.

Four times a year, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust hosts “The Gallery Crawl,” where several of the galleries in Downtown’s Cultural District offer free admission, live music and other interactive programs. The Cultural Trust’s fall crawl takes place this Friday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The main galleries involved are Wood Street Galleries, SPACE, Future Tenant and Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery. There is also a kids’ corner at 7th Street and Penn Parklet with arts and crafts for children. Many of the galleries, such as Wood Street Galleries, SPACE and Future Tenant, are using the event to open new exhibits.

The Wood Street Galleries (601 Wood St.) are opening “360: Art in the Round.” The exhibit is a multimedia showcase featuring artists Simon Lee, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Claire Lesteven and Jonathan Schipper. All of the works focus on the concept of recurring time and space. For example, the McCoys’ “Our Second Date” is a film about miniature-doll versions of the artists watching Jean-Luc Godard’s “Weekend” on a rotating set in real time. The local rock band Comrad will also be playing at the gallery.

SPACE (812 Liberty Ave.) and Future Tenant (801 Liberty Ave.) will both be opening “Static Free,” an exploration of artists whose works are reflective of urban culture. SPACE is housing theinternational and national artists, including Calma, Maya Hayuk, Tim Kaulen and others, while Future Tenant is showcasing local talents like Sean Barton, Cameron Clayton, Labrona and Ollie Staughter. Both galleries are also featuring local DJs.

Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery (937 Liberty Ave.) is currently showcasing “Hidden in Plain Sight/The Forest in the City,” an ensemble of artists who explore the importance of the natural world in urban areas. There will be an acoustic jazz performance by Kevin Barefoot and John Check at the gallery.

One of the more unusual attractions of the Gallery Crawl is the Bus Obscura. Departing from Katz Plaza about every 15 minutes, Bus Obscura features a camera that projects images from inside the bus, making its passengers an audience. The images are taken from several directions and melded into one 360-degree visual panorama.

Other galleries in the Cultural District participating in the crawl are 707 Penn Gallery with sculptures and photographs by Pittsburgh native Aaronel Gruber, Watercolors Gallery (901 Penn Ave.) and Fragile Paradise (813 Liberty Ave.), which features floral designs.

The Gallery Crawl keeps a loose format that allows people to go leisurely from gallery to gallery, instead of having a guided tour or certain events at certain times. Most all of the galleries will be open for the duration of the event, in which people can explore the Cultural District in whichever manner they choose.