Pittsburgh, PA

I declare 2008 the year of creativity, as a personal goal for myself and hopefully for the city as a whole. There have been so many attempts in the past year to publicize and push forward the local arts scene and I really think excellent progress is going to be made this year.

Last year we had Jesse Hambley’s Creative Treehouse kick off, which is a shared creative space, as well as a common meeting place for like-minded individuals and a really nice place to have events, like art shows and art tutorials. Last year there were numerous shows, including two Creative Marathons where participants had twenty-four hours to create a work of art and present it in the show the following day, as well as two Doughnuts and Arts and some other art and photography shows. The Treehouse is located only 5 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh in Bellevue, so it’s a convenient place to commute to as well.

Then there was the launch of the Pittsburgh Galleries website, which is a comprehensive listing of art shows, as well as local artists and photographers.

This year I was alerted to the presence of a new project/collective called the Factory Artists and Factory Photographers, which is gathering local talent in an effort to promote them nationally and to get Pittsburgh on more than a local arts scene. They will be debuting their work and progress in an art show in April of this year at the Rex Theater, which is definitely going to be exciting.

Also, Fun a Day has started in the month of January for Pittsburgh, which in case you’re not aware of, is an attempt to beat the winter blahs by creating something every day in January and then showing everyone’s efforts in an art show in February. The idea originated in Philadelphia and projects have included everything from a photo a day to a poem a day and everything in between. I will definitely post more details about the show when it gets closer. In the meantime, despite it being seven days into the project, you can hurry and catch up and join if you’re interested. A link will be posted below.

And lastly, Zombo Gallery is opening up its gallery to anyone interested in hanging up their own work for a special show that will debut January 12th between 5:30-11pm. Each artist is allowed to bring two pieces of art and must arrive between 5-7:30pm to hang it up, obviously space permitting. For more details, it’s best to call this number 330-806-7813.

Creative Treehouse: http://www.creativetreehousepgh.com/
Doughnuts and Art: http://doughnutsandart.com/
Pittsburgh Galleries: http://www.pghgalleries.com/
Factory Artists: www.myspace.com/factoryartists
Factory Photographers: www.myspace.com/burkephotography
Fun a Day: http://funadaypgh.blogspot.com/
Zombo Gallery: www.myspace.com/rockabilly_circus

Even if you don’t have enough time to do the Fun a Day, I think it would be a really neat idea if everyone tried to incorporate art into their lives a little bit more…whether it’s creating your own or just visiting an art show and supporting the local arts scene. Pittsburgh really needs it and it’s not like we don’t have the talent to back it up!

I would love to see more local talent in my literary/art magazine, Debris…if you’re interested please contact me! Visit my previous post for further details or visit the website here.

Pittsburgh, art, scene, local, Creative Treehouse, Bellevue, Jesse Hambley, Pittsburgh Galleries, Rick Byerly, Factory Artists, Factory Photographers, Fun a Day, Zombo Gallery, Lawrenceville