Gallery Crawl

Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District

January 23
5:30 – 10 p.m.

Ready for a new year of new art?

Now that the January temps are more agreeable, Friday is a terrific night to start your weekend Downtown with the winter edition of the Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District. Continuing its 10th anniversary season, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s signature quarterly showcase features a free night of immersive art, music, performances, film screenings, comedy, hands-on activities and more. The inaugural 2015 installment features programming at 25 arts venues (23 of them are indoors!) peppered throughout the District between 5:30 and 10 p.m.

Attend art openings for new exhibitions at Wood Street Galleries, SPACE, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Catholic Charities and 707 Penn to experience the latest in contemporary art, with shows featuring local, national and international artists.

Search for public art during the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s twist on the age-old scavenger hunt contest. Pick up a scavenger hunt card at 810 Penn Avenue, explore downtown artworks located in public spaces and then claim your prize after you complete the urban art expedition.

Peruse pieces for your own walls at Shaw Galleries 5th annual Bad Art Sale, pop into Arcade Comedy Theater for some laughs provided by Pittsburgh’s top sketch, improv and alternative comedy figures and practice your down(town) dog with free mini-classes at Bend Yoga.

Warm up in Katz Plaza as you witness dazzling dancing and intricate moves on burning poi, snakes and swords—all performed with finesse by Pittsburgh’s premier fire arts troupe, Steel Town Fire.

Groove to live music, including jazz and R&B by Velvet Beast at Backstage Bar, neo-soul and funk by Aaron Abernathy and DJ Nate da Phat Barber at the Trust Education Center, steel pan sounds at Urban Pathways and DJ Strawberry Christmas at SPACE.

Extend your stay downtown to shop at the eclectic Winter Night Market and enjoy select happenings at Crawl After Dark locations. Moved indoors for the winter season, the Winter Night Market will be located at 925 Liberty Avenue from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Warm up with a hot cocktail from Seviche as you peruse the latest wares made by local independent vendors selling food, art, jewelry, apparel, crafts and more.

All Gallery Crawl events are free and open to the public. Just look for the bright green Gallery Crawl sidewalk signs identifying participating locations to start your culture jamming.

View a complete schedule.

Jennifer has worked at the Mattress Factory, Brooklyn Museum of Art and Dahesh Museum of Art and is co-author of Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania. She also is co-coordinator of Handmade Arcade. Musically, she is in a band called The Garment District and is a founding member of Brooklyn's The Ladybug Transistor.