Downtown Pittsburgh
July 11
5:30 – 10 p.m.
Summer nights are made for enjoying the streets of the city, and there’s no better place to take in Downtown’s cultural assets than at the Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust‘s signature quarterly showcase continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary year with a free night of cutting-edge performances, immersive art, live music and DJs, film screenings, comedy acts, hands-on activities, independent local shopping and dining, and more—and it’s all free and walkable starting at 5:30 p.m.
What’s new Downtown for you and 4,000 of your closest friends?
The Summer edition features extended hours at all spots until 10 p.m., with programming at 34 Cultural District venues, so be on the look out for the bright green Gallery Crawl sidewalk signs identifying participating locations.
Start your culture jamming at Wood Street Galleries to experience La Cour des Miracles (The Court of Miracles), where robots created by artists Bill Vorn and Louis-Philippe Demers will act like fake humans, displaying symptoms of abnormal psychological behaviors and uttering expressions of discomfort. Watch and listen as these compelling constructions even groan and moan in response to physical engagement and interactions triggered by gallery-goers.
Nearby at SPACE, explore Cataloguing Pattern, a new group exhibition featuring artwork by Ted Coffey, Salinda Deery, Aaron Henderson, Todd Keyser, Kristen Letts Kovak, Maria Mangano, Natalie Settles, Brooke Sturtevant-Sealover and Rebecca Zilinski. Organized by Kristen Letts Kovak, the show explores visual, biological, cognitive and physical patterning, and the many ways that patterns appeal to the fundamental human desire for predictability. The opening reception will also include music by DJ Edgar Um.
Stop by Shaw Galleries to take in the city’s dramatic vistas and topography at FROM_PITTSBURGH_WITH_LOVE, an exhibition featuring photographs of stunning sunrises over Downtown Pittsburgh. The display features images taken by Mt. Washington resident and Shaw Galleries owner, Kurt Shaw, who has been documenting dramatic Burgh sunrises for three years and sharing them via social media. This “People’s Choice” exhibition showcases a selection of Shaw’s most “liked” photo posts.
The Trust Arts Education Center will host a variety of multimedia arts programming within its three floors. Enjoy belly dance performances, see personal and commercial work from the American Society of Media Photographers and experience a live experimental performance called Mars Is Underwater by sound collage artist Ricardo Iamuuri, who was the 2013 RAW Pittsburgh Musician of the Year. Visit African Beats and World Cup History to take a journey through the rich history of Africa’s contributions to the FIFA World Cup, see an exhibition curated by the Cameroon Football Development Program, enjoy friendly soccer juggling competitions, sample Mama Sylvia’s famous West African cuisine and dance to African pop music spun by DJ Aiken.
At 937 Liberty Avenue, don’t miss The Takeaway: Made With Love, an artist-curator project organized by Robert Raczka that features 100 amateur artworks handpicked from thrift store collections across several states. If you like what you see, enter the exhibition’s free lottery for a chance to take home your favorite piece of art from the show! Also at 937 Liberty, enjoy the New Hazlett Theater’s CSA Performance Series Preview featuring folkloric theatre with Anya Martin, contemporary circus dance with Jil Stifel and Ben Sota, spatial investigations with Jennifer Myers and intimate dance with Roberta Guido.
Pop into Future Tenant to check out Niche Inheritance, a window installation by Dakotah Konicek, that combines the technology of air filtration used by NASA with the mobile dependency of a wheelchair. While there, enjoy performances by Triptych Piano Trio, an emerging Pittsburgh-based chamber group featuring music education majors from Duquesne University.
Extend your Downtown staycation at CrawlAfterDark, hosting special late-night programming at six select venues. Launched in January 2014, CrawlAfterDark highlights the ongoing transformation of the Cultural District by promoting options for after-hours entertainment, comedy, music, theater, clubs and dining.
Stay late to shop in the open air at the Summer Night Market. Featuring local independent vendors selling food, music, art, jewelry, clothing, crafts and games, the outdoor marketplace is open until 11 p.m. at the corner of Penn Avenue and 8th Street.
All Gallery Crawl events are free and open to the public. View a complete Gallery Crawl schedule, map and brochure.
