Mattress Factory museum welcomes nine new exhibits
By Hayley Lesh, For the Pitt News
September 30, 2019
The opening party for the new Factory Installed 2019 exhibitions at the Mattress Factory in North Side on Friday featured food, drinks and contemporary artwork. The event displayed nine new exhibitions in the Mattress Factory’s main building and in the museum’s annex located on Monterey Street.
Three Rivers Arts Festival celebrates 60 years
By Sarah Connor, Senior Staff Writer
July 5, 2019
Three multicolored giraffe statues stand at the center of the Wyndham Lawn in Gateway Center Plaza downtown, covered in sporadically placed patches of pink, turquoise, yellow, purple and green. These giraffes are pieces of an art project called Ocean Sole Africa — one of the many major attractions for the 2019 Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Annual Three Rivers Arts Festival kicks off downtown
By Zachary Donovan | Staff Writer
June 5, 2018
The City of Pittsburgh’s North Side was filled with the sound of country music and the sight of about 25 tons of trash this past weekend as the Kenny Chesney concert took over Heinz Field and the surrounding parking lots for tailgates. But across the river from the hard-partying country fans, a different crowd...
Lawrenceville Art Crawl leaves visitors in awe
By Jon Kunitsky | For The Pitt News
May 30, 2018
Betsy Lewis, Emmy Brown and Emily Richards walked down Butler Street amid sun-showers and humidity Saturday afternoon. As rising juniors at Pitt majoring in microbiology, neuroscience and physics, respectively, they ventured out of Oakland to admire local art displayed along the sidewalks of Lawrence...
Don’t Call Her Honey: Ciara Gray artist spotlight
By Siddhi Shockey | Staff Writer
May 16, 2018
When she was a young artist in first grade, Ciara Gray brought an assignment to the front of the class to show the teacher her work — how she’d ripped a portrait from a magazine in half and pasted it to paper, sketching in the missing half of the model’s face. Now, marks of Gray’s creativity are etched...
Women hone craft at Art House in Homewood
By Shahum Ajmal | Staff Writer
April 4, 2018
As Vanessa German and a group of artists were about to settle in for a night of writing and discussion in her house, a car crash outside derailed the March evening. The group witnessed an altercation between the victim of the crash and police officers who responded to the scene, and feeling that...
Max “Gems” Gonzales: Artist most wanted
By Elise Lavallee & Elise Lavallee
March 31, 2018
Before Gems and Apathy could watch the paint dry on another one of their masterpieces in Homestead, the pair started sprinting up the hill behind them — they realized a cop had become witness to their work. “We would run 30 yards, take a break and catch our breaths before running more until we...
Students petition for reproductive rights at “My Body is My Own” exhibit
By Marissa Perino | Senior Staff Writer
March 1, 2018
Bright pink flags dot the lawn outside the William Pitt Union on one of the first warm days of spring semester as students kneel to read the stories written on each individual marker — sometimes pausing to add their own to the display. Emphasizing the importance and intersection of topics such as bi...
Homeless identities on display at “Walk On By” exhibit
By Shahum Ajmal | Staff Writer
February 22, 2018
Renee Rosensteel passed the same homeless man in downtown Pittsburgh multiple times before she could no longer avoid his attention-seeking gestures and decided to stop and introduce herself. “I knew he was part of the scene down there,” Rosensteel said. “I was tired. I’d just had enough, ...
Rhodessa Jones brings art and activism to Pitt
By Joanna Li | Staff Writer
February 8, 2018
Since she found theater, San Francisco-based artist Rhodessa Jones said she has always had a place in the world — whether it be to share her ups and downs or to offer other women a chance to speak out. “Theater has been the one lover that has never let me down — it demands a lot of me, but t...