Office of Public Art Announces Spring Programming

Pittsburgh, PA…The Office of Public Art (OPA) is pleased to announce their calendar of spring events. While in-person programming is still on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OPA continues to engage with its audience through online formats for their public programming. This spring, OPA will host a variety of programs for artists, as well as programs for the general public in place of OPA’s walking tours.

“This season of programming was planned to showcase OPA’s artist roster as much as possible,” said Rachel Klipa, Program Manager for OPA. “Since some of our projects like Artists Bridging Social Distance are happening primarily online, we want to show how artists have been working diligently and with much agility to make public art happen at an uncertain time. This programming provides different avenues for the public to learn about these artists, their work, and the issues OPA is addressing.”

OPA Live!

OPA Live! will resume on Saturday, February 27, 2021. This Instagram Live series will feature conversations with artists involved in OPA’s civically engaged public art program. Formerly titled After Dinner Conversations, the series launched in July of 2020. The series will take place on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons throughout March and April. Those interested in attending should follow @officeofpublicart on Instagram and watch for the live events to begin according to the scheduled times (see below).

Portfolio Reviews

An evening of Portfolio Reviews for artists will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, March 24th from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM. The reviewers will be Tara Fay Coleman, an independent curator, producer, and conceptual artist; Rachel Rearick, Arts and Culture Manager for the Allegheny County Airport and manager of the Art in the Airport program; Zena Ruiz, a mixed-media artist; and Hannah Turpin, Curatorial Assistant for Modern and Contemporary Art and Photography at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Registration is $10.00 per review, with a limit of two reviews per person. Registration is first come, first served and is open as of Friday, February 19, 2021. Registration closes Monday, March 15, 2021. For more information about the reviewers and to register, please visit: https://opapgh.org/event/artist-portfolio-reviews-spring-2021/

EHPA Panel

OPA will be holding an online panel discussion between the three artists of the Environment, Health, and Public Art (EHPA) Initiative. Artists Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Aaron Henderson, and Mary Tremonte will discuss the process of partnering and collaborating with their organizations. This event will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday, April 13, 2021 from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM. Registration is free, but required in advance. Register at: https://tinyurl.com/EHPAregistration

This pilot program partners three artists with three Pittsburgh-area organizations that have identified environment and health issues as topics of concern and advocacy.The goal of the initiative is for the partnering artists and organizations to collaborate on the development of temporary works of public art that catalyze change and build support and advocacy for environmental health issues in the Pittsburgh region. “Once the pandemic hit, each of the artists had to rethink their approaches and keep their projects on track, ” Klipa said. “Each of these artists were partnered with strong and effective organizations and while some of the final works are still in process, they will all be implemented by the summer of 2021.” To learn more about the EHPA initiative, please visit: https://opapgh.org/our-work/civic-engagement/environment-health-public-art-initiative/

OPA Live! Schedule

Saturday, February 27 at 12:00 PM – Lena Chen and Aino El Solh

Lena Chen and Aino El Solh are members of the Berlin-based artist collective, Maternal Fantasies. Both artists are interested in the intersections between care work, motherhood, and healing practices. While Lena joined the group as the youngest member (and the only one without a child), Aino had a pregnancy and a second child over the course of her involvement with the group. The artists will discuss what they’ve learned from their experiences working in a large collective that actively involves children in the production process. They’ll also discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the group’s working processes and personal lives as caregivers.

Tuesday, March 16 at 12:00 PM – Ann Tarantino and Jennie Lamensdorf

Ann Tarantino and Jennie Lamensdorf will discuss Lamensdorf’s work as an arts worker, activist, and curator throughout her career. The conversation will explore how the arts can catalyze community engagement, how major institutions can support artists and communities, and the intersection of creative placemaking with the visual arts.

Tuesday, April 6 at 7:00 PM – Sculpture Support System and Jim Walker

Sculpture Support System will talk with Jim Walker, Executive Director of Big Car in Indianapolis Indiana. Their conversation will engage issues of collaborative art making in the public realm. Big Car Collaborative utilizes tools of culture and creativity to build community and social cohesion by helping connect people as a way to boost quality of life. Formed in 2004 and based in Indianapolis, Big Car also works in other communities and collaborates with artists from around the world.

Tuesday, April 20 at 7:00 PM – Naomi Chambers and Dail Chambers

Pittsburgh artist Naomi Chambers will be talking with her sister-in-law, Dail Chambers, an artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. Naomi and Dail, who often work in collaboration with other artist family members, will discuss the common throughline of being raised in artistic families and how that influenced them to establish themselves as professional artists. 

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