The Shadyside Arts Festival

August 12-14

Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside

It is… The Shadyside Arts Festival

August 12-14

Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside

It is all too common to find nothing hanging on a college student’s walls but posters of women, beer and bands. It may be that everyone loves their sex, drugs and rock and roll, but there is little else that can so quickly make someone look like an uncultured rube. Don’t fear. The situation can be rectified this August at the Shadyside Arts Festival.

During the festival, artists of every kind set up booths to display their work, itching to show, sell and discuss it with curious young people who are free to indulge wantonly their budding cultural appetites. Don’t expect this art show to be a museum on wheels; Walnut Street, Ellsworth Avenue and the other commercial centers of Shadyside continue their trendy and exciting life throughout the lively “festival” of art.

There is something for everyone at the Shadyside Arts Festival. The big spender might pick up an original work that tickles him just so, and the college student of more reasonable means might purchase a print — not a cliched classic that everyone has seen a thousand times before, but a beautiful and different artwork by a lesser-known artist.

Of course, art fans with no money are welcome to come as well; admission is free. Nothing beats a stroll up and down Shadyside’s main cultural drag while sipping a cup of coffee from a local shop and looking at the work of some fine, up-and-coming artists whether you are interested in buying or not.

Often times it may turn out that someone who isn’t a devotee of art has simply not found what he likes. Browsing through might teach this apparently uncivilized savage that he simply dislikes the classics, not the whole field. The festival features most every kind of visual art from painting to sculpture to photography in a variety of styles.

The Shadyside Arts Festival is an enjoyable experience no matter what your goal for the evening may be. Anyone can find something to appreciate among the wide variety of art that can be found there. In addition, chatting about art with an artist is an interesting experience for the complete novice as well as the art veteran.

Never forget that one of the best ways to instantly learn about someone upon entering his home for the first time is looking at what is hanging on the walls. What do your walls say about you? If you’re not happy with the answer, August is the perfect time to change it.