Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Media Contact:
Robin Elrod, Director of Communications
elrod@trustarts.org | 724-766-0564
Assets (*these collections will be updated in the coming month as more programming is announced):
Dollar Bank Main Stage at Point State Park (Artist Bios and Images)
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
ADJUSTED FOOTPRINT FOR THE
DOLLAR BANK THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL;
FEATURED MUSIC CONCERTS RETURN TO POINT STATE PARK
Given the lift of mass gathering restrictions, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will expand its footprint to include Point State Park on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (June 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13)
Pittsburgh’s Cultural District | Point State Park | Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park
TrustArts.org/TRAF | June 4-13, 2021
Pittsburgh, PA – This morning, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is proud to announce that it has amended plans for the 62nd Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival to include outdoor performances, food vendors, and Artist Market booths at Point State Park. Previously-announced Dollar Bank Main Stage music headliners (Celisse on June 4, Bassel and the Supernaturals on June 5, Rayland Baxter on June 6, Shemekia Copeland on June 11, Caroline Rose on June 12, and Son Little on June 13) will now perform at Point State Park.
“We could not be more grateful to our Governor, elected officials, and partners at the Park for making this transition to utilization of Point State Park possible,” says Sarah Aziz, Director of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and Director of Festival Management for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “It’s really a dream come true – we are able to return to Point State Park for components of the Festival while also featuring so much of the Cultural District through our planned gallery exhibitions, public art pieces, Artist Market sections, and performances on the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Riverside Stage at the Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park.”
This shift of Dollar Bank Main Stage performances to Point State Park replaces the performances originally taking place inside of the Byham Theater, eliminating the need for guests to reserve advance tickets or use the CLEAR Health Pass App. As is tradition, the Festival remains free and open to the public, and the move outdoors ensures that more guests can enjoy the music headliners live and in person. Also given the lift on capacity restrictions, advance free ticket reservations will no longer be required for the Riverside Stage at Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park and the Artist Market. Festival hours remain the same – 12 – 8 p.m. daily – with the Dollar Bank Main Stage performances beginning at 7 p.m. at the Park on their respective dates and ending by 10 p.m. each night.
Also new as of May 12, 2021 is work beginning on the mural along Fort Duquesne Boulevard. Janel Young, a Pittsburgh native, painter, muralist, and community leader on a mission to inspire through creativity and play, leads this mural project which is being created directly on the closed street area in the Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park. Ms. Young’s work has been recognized locally and internationally, from New York City to the coast of Sydney, Australia. Her bio and photos are included in the Public Art asset link.
The Cultural Trust will be maintaining its own enhanced health protocols to create the safest Festival environment. All staff, volunteers, and artists will utilize the CLEAR Health Pass app prior to checking into each day of the Festival. Masks will also be required for all visitors of the Festival, in all locations indoor and outdoor. The Cultural Trust encourages all guests to read the CDC's Large Gatherings Guidelines prior to attending the Festival to stay most up to date on the best practices in health and safety, like social distancing and mask-wearing.
PROGRAMS
The 2021 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival in its hybrid format can be divided into in-person and virtual attractions. Virtual offerings build upon the foundation built in 2020 and the in-person activities proceed with the utmost of caution, with health and safety at the forefront of all efforts.
Artist Market
In-person and virtual
The 2021 Artist Market features 150+ independent artists in an open-air setting, selling handmade fine art and fine crafts from 12-8 p.m. each day of the Festival. Each of this year’s four Artist Market locations features two distinct sessions, meaning that you can discover new artists in the same spot when you visit the Festival a second time. Guests may encounter wait times during peak hours as Festival volunteers monitor capacity-controlled areas.
A map and schedule will be available at TrustArts.org/TRAF.
Cultural District locations include the Benedum Lot (Penn Ave & 7th St), Trust Oasis (133 7th St), and Allegheny Overlook Pop-up Park (Ft. Duquesne Blvd between 6th & 7th St). Approximately 50 artists will appear across these three locations in the first session, June 4-8, with another 50 moving in for June 9-13. The fourth Artist Market location is in Point State Park, which is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Approximately 30 artists will appear during the first session, June 4-6, with another 30 moving in for June 11-13.
In addition to the 150+ artists on-site, 200+ more from around the country are participating simultaneously in our virtual Artist Market at TrustArts.org/TRAF starting on June 4.
Dollar Bank Main Stage at Point State Park
In-person
Each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the Festival – June 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m. – featured music concerts will take place on the Dollar Bank Main Stage at Point State Park. These performances are free and open to the public. Mask-wearing is required by all guests and social distancing is recommended on the lawn.
The lineup includes:
Celisse, June 4
Bassel and the Supernaturals, June 5
Rayland Baxter, June 6
Shemekia Copeland, June 11
Caroline Rose, June 12
Son Little, June 13
Artist bios included in collection linked at the top of this release, along with approved images.
Riverside Stage at Allegheny Overlook Pop-Up Park
In-person
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Riverside Stage at Allegheny Overlook Pop-up Park is positioned on a partially-closed Fort Duquesne Boulevard between Stanwix and 7th Streets. The region’s top music and dance talent will perform on this stage throughout each day of the Festival.
Seating and standing-room is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Schedule and performance information will be updated continually at TrustArts.org/TRAF.
Visual Art Gallery Exhibitions
In-person
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust reopens its galleries in tandem with the 2021 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. Venues include Wood Street Galleries, SPACE, 820 Liberty, 937 Liberty, and 707 Penn with open hours between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. Please see attachment for exhibition descriptions.
During peak periods, a socially-distanced waiting line may be utilized in order to safely control capacity inside of each venue.
Outdoor Public Art Installations and Activities
In-person
Cultural District long-term public art pieces such as Magnolias for Pittsburgh, Cell Phone Disco, and FLOW will be on view during the Festival, along with additional public art pieces brought to Pittsburgh especially for the 10-day celebration, like the street mural by Janel Young.
Other in-person activities include the return of the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone and Story Corners, neither of which requires advance registration or tickets.
Juried Visual Art Exhibition
In-person and virtual
Transverse, the Juried Visual Art Exhibition that was ready for installation in 2020 when the pandemic hit, takes place live and in-person in 2021 at 820 Liberty Avenue. Pieces will be on display throughout the duration of the Festival and the custom-built virtual exhibition from 2020 remains on display, replete with photos, videos, and even audio recordings from select artists. As always, this exhibition showcases exceptional new art by regional artists.
Anthropology of Motherhood: Culture of Care
Supported by Allegheny Health Network
In-person and virtual
Celebrating its sixth year as part of the Festival, the Anthropology of Motherhood features works of art and design that engage in the complex visual, material, emotional, corporeal, and lived experiences of motherhood, caregiving, parenting, nurturing, and maternal labor.
Installed in-person in the O’Reilly Theater’s lobby at 621 Penn Avenue as an art space, interactive amenity, and place of respite for nursing mothers and families with young children, this year’s exhibition has also been reimagined for virtual exploration at TrustArts.org/TRAF.
Harris @ Home
Virtual
Harris @ Home celebrates the diversity of cinematic artistry by providing the best of independent, international, and documentary films. The ongoing Pittsburgh Cultural Trust virtual series will offer multiple films especially for the Festival, still to be announced, available for screening at home.
24/7 Virtual Stage
Virtual
Available during all hours and days of the 10-day Festival, the 24/7 Virtual Stage features brand new music and dance performance videos. The full selection of videos will go live at TrustArts.org/TRAF when the Festival starts at 12 p.m. on June 4.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has implemented a number of layers of defense in is theaters and arts venues to protect guests, staff, volunteers, and artists from the spread of COVID-19.
TrustArts.org/Health and TrustArts.org/Safety will be updated regularly with “Know Before You Go” information pertinent to guests before they visit the Cultural District. Specifically for the 2021 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, guests should note:
- We require all guests to wear facial masks over their mouth and nose when visiting a Trust facility, including queues outside the venue, lobbies, hallways, restrooms, and lounges. (Please note: Facial masks should be designed specifically for medical and/or protective use. Costume-type masks that cover more than the nose and mouth are not allowed).
- We utilize the CLEAR Health Pass Mobile App for all staff, volunteers, and artists. Guests do not need to utilize this app prior to attending the Festival and can rest assured that everyone behind the scenes working on-site has earned a ‘Green Health Pass’ by answering survey questions pertaining to vaccination status, personal masking, exposure risk, and symptom analysis.
- We extensively disinfect restrooms prior to every event and will continue to sanitize throughout every performance, including door handles, toilets, handles, sinks, countertops, soap dispensers, faucets, and baby-changing stations. We have installed new, touchless fixtures in many of our facilities.
- We clean high-touch areas throughout our venues, including door handles, handrails, countertops, and elevator buttons prior to, during, and after all events.
- We provide an ample supply of hand sanitizer and seat wipes. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is proactively placing hand sanitizers at every front door and throughout each of our venues. Seat wipe dispensers have also been added at central locations in every venue.
- We have improved overall air quality, expanded the use of high-efficiency filters, and added new HVAC technologies. The Trust has reviewed and improved air quality in all our venues. We have also equipped all HVAC systems with upgraded, Merv-16 rated filters, which have been identified to be much more effective in trapping microscopic particles, including COVID-19.
- We mandate personal protective wear. All staff and volunteers are provided with facial masks and gloves to wear during their shifts. Frequent handwashing and changing of gloves are required.
- We implement wellness check-ins. Pittsburgh Cultural Trust staff and volunteers now have the heightened responsibility of completing a check-in prior to their shift, in which the supervisor asks about their wellness, and reminds them of any protocol updates. Any staff member or volunteer who has a fever or feels ill will not be permitted to work. All employees are eligible for sick pay, as well as other benefits.
- We have new, enhanced training for staff and volunteers. All venue staff members and volunteers are taking part in enhanced training on cleaning, sanitizing, and food handling. Additionally, staff members and volunteers are participating in mandatory meetings at the beginning of each shift to reiterate our cleaning and safety protocols.
- We encourage physical distancing. Staff, volunteers, and guests are asked to practice physical distancing by maintaining at least six feet of space from other guests, employees, and volunteers whenever possible. Physical distancing markers have been placed on floors as a reminder and we will continually monitor overall traffic flow and adjust procedures as needed to alleviate congestion.
- We have COVID-19 Compliance Officers. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has designated a Chief COVID Compliance Officer to oversee our safety and sanitization measures. Additionally, each of our venues has a member of the COVID Compliance Team on duty during all operating hours to ensure the highest standards of safety, physical distancing, cleanliness, and sanitizing.
Funded by a growing community of foundations, corporations, and Festival fans, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is for everyone who believes in the arts. It cannot happen without individual support. Gifts made at TrustArts.org/TRAFSupport will help make the entire festival possible, including this year’s highlights.
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The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.
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