Between the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Light Up Night and First Night, there were ample opportunities to crawl around the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in 2021, but an official Gallery Crawl has not happened since the start of the pandemic.
The Crawl returns on Friday, from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., with more than 20 free events at 14 Crawl Stops throughout the galleries and various outdoor and indoor locations.
Here are the highlights:
“The Border is a Weapon”: This exhibition of sculpture, printmaking, video and performance, opening at the 937 Gallery, consists of new artwork from the U.S./Mexican border region, curated by Laredo, Texas, artist and educator Gil Rocha and presented by Other Border Wall Project. It features Maritza Bautista, Angel Cabrales, Juan de Dios Mora, Daniela Madrigal and Jose Villalobos. San Antonio-based performance artist Villalobos, who examines gender roles within family structures and culture, will perform at 8 p.m. Then, at 8:30 p.m., the theater and dance performance LENGUA highlights the silencing of brown queer voices.
BLKNVMBR: A Renaissance Showcase: The Greer Cabaret Theater (655 Penn Ave.) is the setting for this night of soul from BLKNVMBR (Black November), a marketing and promotional house (created by INEZ and Clara Kent), that highlights R&B and soul. It will feature music by funk and alt-R&B band Mani Bahia & The Mob, plus Jrouz3 and Arie Cole, from 5:30 and 9 p.m.
“FRILLS: Glories, Excess, and Getting Weird”: This show, opening at SPACE Gallery (812 Liberty Ave.) and co-curated by Hannah Turpin and Dave Zak, is described as “a contemporary art exhibition featuring work that subverts common notions of extravagance by playing with the boundaries between frill and the plainness of everyday life. Each artist sources materials from their personal experiences and domestic surroundings both mundane and intimate. The banality of these objects is transformed through embellishment and decoration, revealing how frills are a necessary form of human processing that allows for greater appreciation and rediscovery of the forms, memories and objects that surround us.”
NFT Cocktail Bar: This pop-up event, presented in the lobby of the Trust Arts Education Center (805 Liberty Ave.), showcases the new wave of NFT (non-fungible token) art collecting, trading and creation. Creatives Drink provides the cocktails. On the fourth foor, there will be a Pop-up Artist Market featuring Nafasi on Centre & The Ohringer Artists in Residence: Amun Ray, The Urban Explorer, Ruby Dawn Surgest, Glo B, CB Perry, Natiq Jalil and Marlon Fullenwider. At 6 p.m. in the Pierce Studio, WPTS Radio (University of Pittsburgh’s radio station) presents guitarist Byron Nash, followed at 7 p.m. by neosoul singer SpeciàlK.
Crawl After Dark: When the Crawl is wrapping up, the music will keep going with a pair of Pittsburgh favorites in two spots Downtown. Pittsburgh rapper/singer Benji., who, during the pandemic became part of the Atlanta-based collective Spillage Village, performs at Greer Cabaret Theater from 10 to 11:30 p.m. ($10; 18+). The Reggie Watkins Quartet, led by the dynamic trombonist who tours with Jason Mraz, performs at Con Alma (613 Penn Ave.) from 9 p.m. until midnight ($10; 21+).
Here is the rest of the schedule:
Public Art in the Cultural District: Art installations and beautification projects throughout the District.
Downtown Drag (Heinz Hall Courtyard): An outdoor drag show and dance party.
“For Tonight It's Everything by Wren” (707 Gallery, 707 Penn Ave.): Visual arts exhibition.
“Derrick Adams: Sanctuary” (August Wilson African American Cultural Center, 980 Liberty Ave.): Exhibition on reimagining safe destinations for the Black American traveler.
“Matthew Schreiber: New Work” (Wood Street Galleries, 601 Wood St.): Three works including a major new laser sculpture, video installation, and a dark space
Local Artists (love, Pittsburgh, 805 Liberty Ave.): Gift shop featuring all local artists
“A Sign of the Times” (Greer Cabaret Theater): An exhibit by Deeper Than Grits Studios blending abstraction, Black nationalism, symbolism, and sacred geometry
“How Did This Happen?” (810 Penn Ave.): Public art created by Aaron Henderson consists of site-specific projections based on the artist’s interviews and interactions with community members in the region, sharing their stories and experiences.
“Intrude” (Trust Oasis and the 8th Street parking lot): Final day for this public art piece by Amanda Parer.
“Jessica Gaynelle Moss: the Black box test (August Wilson Center): Visual Art exhibit examining Black space in a broad cultural context.
“Danny Simmons: Selected Works” (August Wilson Center): Visual Art show featuring highlights from the artist’s collection alongside pieces from two introspective exhibitions.
Improv Shows at the Arcade (Arcade Comedy Theater, 943 Liberty Ave.): Family friendly pop-up improv shows
Urban Pathways 6-12 Charter School (914 Penn Ave. # 300): Student Steel Pan performance & artwork
“InVisible” (820 Liberty Ave.): Exhibit by The Coloured Section Black Artists' Collective centered on mental health from the Black perspective.
Street Magic (Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Ave.): Moments of magic and awe in front of the storefront speakeasy
The Collective (August Wilson Center): New Pittsburgh-based band spanning gospel, jazz, R&B, rock and neosoul at 7 and 9 p.m.
LIT Fridays with Ashley Ford (August Wilson Center): Event with bestselling author of “Somebody’s Daughter” at 8 p.m.
In accordance with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s health and safety policies, in the galleries and venues, guests are required to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination before entering as well as wear a mask for the duration of their visit indoors.
Guests under the age of 12 are not required to be vaccinated but must present a negative COVID-19 test (specifications at TrustArts.org/Welcome), wear a mask, and be accompanied by an adult who meets the venue's health and safety requirements. More at TrustArts.org/Welcome.
To view the full lineup for the Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District and to purchase tickets to the Crawl After Dark, go to TrustArts.org/Crawl or call 412-456-6666.
First Published: January 27, 2022, 12:00 p.m.
