Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
June 3 - 12 | Cultural District
About: The 63rd annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, brings one of the most diverse lineups of performing and visual arts attractions in its history to a new-look location in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The iconic community celebration welcomes hundreds of artists from throughout the region and around the globe for 10 days of live music, dance, theater, gallery exhibitions, public art, creative activities, and the Artist Market—free and open to everyone. The full lineup of events can be found at TrustArts.org/TRAF.
For opportunities contact Saul Markowitz.
Backyard at 8th & Penn
All summer long
About: The Backyard at 8th & Penn is a brand-new summer-long destination in the Cultural District that showcases local musicians, artists, and performers in a laid-back, family-friendly environment. The location will be activated with additional programming after the end of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival up into the early fall. The line-up of events will be announced in mid-June at trustarts.org/backyard.
Liberty Magic
Mr. Messado in RINGISTRY
until June 19
Joshua Messado started Messado Magic over 20 years ago at the Houdini’s magic theater in Atlantic City, NJ. There he found his passion for performing and discovered the linking rings, which is now his signature effect. Messado Rings are now a staple in the magic community known as "Ringistry". In this deeply personal, hilarious and engaging premier performance you’ll get to know the mister behind the magic, the rabble-rousing raconteur behind the rings, you’ll get to know the magic of Mr. Messado.
Mr. Messado's SCHOOL OF MAGIC FOR THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART
until September 25
Join superstar magician Mr. Messado for his new astonishing play designed exclusively for Liberty Magic. Time tested through thousands of performances at appearances around the world, schools, company events, private parties and more, Mr. Messado’s Magic School for the Young and Young at Heart will have both teens AND adults amazed from start to finish!
Paul Gertner in STEEL CITY MIRACLES
June 22 - July 3
Paul Gertner is widely recognized as one of the finest sleight-of-hand magicians in the world today. Paul holds multiple first place awards in international competitions, including a First Place at FISM (the Olympics of Magic) in Madrid, Spain. Steel City Miracles is Paul’s newest 75-minute program of innovative theatrical sleight-of-hand magic based on his sell-out residency at the historic Omni Park House in Boston. A love letter to growing up in Pittsburgh, every magical effect is original material, created and performed in the unique Paul Gertner style.
Paige Thompson in PAGES OF TIME
July 6 - 31
Paige Thompson’s newest close-up presentation, THE PAGES OF TIME. This non-stop journey from Paige’s start in Southern California all the way to the bright lights of Chicago where her skill in close-up magic was honed at the famed Chicago Magic Lounge will make you laugh, fill you with wonder, and leave you astonished. This sophisticated and modern take on traditional magic compresses a 20 year passion for the art of illusion into a 70 minute tour-de-force created specifically for the Liberty Magic stage. While Paige has mastered the performance of large scale illusions and death defying escapes, her passion for close-up performance beckons her to our intimate theater where audience participation and interaction make this production fun, exciting, and completely perplexing. Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments- of pages turned. Don’t miss your chance to join Paige as she shares her life lessons, memorable moments and striking stories in THE PAGES OF TIME.
Opportunities (contact Saul Markowitz for more information):
Press tickets.
Interviews with magicians, host Zoe Ruth, and producer Scott Shiller.
Liberty Magic venue tours.
BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive at the new Backyard location!
Throughout June and July
About: BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive series returns every Tuesday to its new summer location the Backyard at 8th & Penn! The summer line-up:
Tony DePaolis Sextet June 7, 2022
Paul Cosentino's Boilermaker Jazz Band June 14, 2022
Chris Coles’ Gleam June 21, 2022
Noel Quintana & The Latin Crew June 28, 2022
Max Leake and Weather or Not July 5, 2022
David Throckmorton Quartet July 12, 2022
Roger Humphries + RH Factor July 19, 2022
Theron Brown Trio July 26, 2022
For opportunities contact Diana Roth.
Welcome to Nightvale
June 23 | Byham Theater
About: Welcome to Night Vale will return to stages across North America and Europe in 2022 with The Haunting of Night Vale, starring Cecil Baldwin, Symphony Sanders, Kate Jones and featuring original music by Disparition. Cecil and Carlos are building a new house for themselves, but strange occurrences and ghostly encounters are plaguing the construction process. It's probably nothing. After all, how could a house be haunted before it's even done being built? These live shows are full nights of theater and music, bringing the audience into the story in surprising and thrilling ways. The Haunting of Night Vale is a standalone story, requiring no previous knowledge of the podcast, so bring a friend and introduce them to the town of Night Vale, too.
Opportunities (contact Diana Roth for more information):
Press tickets.
Interviews with cast and crew.
Trust Arts Education: Saturday Workshops and Summer Camps
All Summer Long | Trust Arts Education Center| Registration ends soon!
About: Budding artists and art enthusiasts of all ages, skill levels, and interests can learn something new or explore their favorite art forms during Trust Arts Education Camps for Creatives and Saturday workshops at the Trust Arts Education Center. With a camp designed for each age group, Trust Arts Education Camps for Creatives in July offer four intensive summer camps in STEAM, Theater Production, Dance, and Sewing! Parents can get in on the fun too with monthly Saturday workshops at the Trust Arts Education Center for all ages. Past workshops have included photography, threading, african dance, and much more! To view all upcoming Education events and register for summer camps visit trustarts.org/education.
Opportunities (contact Becca Hansborough for more information)
Inclusion in family friendly features and event round-ups.
Interviews with teaching artists.
Opportunities to shadow Saturday workshops.
Harris Theater
About: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Harris Theater is one of the most active arts facilities in the region showing art films nearly every day of the year. Formerly known as the Art Cinema, the Harris Theater represents a milestone in the redevelopment of Liberty Avenue. The theater is one of the few that has retained 35mm film projectors that are utilized regularly. The Harris was named through a gift from the Buhl Foundation after John P. Harris, co-founder of the Nickelodeon—the first theater solely dedicated to the showing of motion pictures—and a Pennsylvania State Senator. The Harris Theater features contemporary, foreign, and classic films. To view all current and upcoming films visit trustarts.org/film.
Opportunities (contact Becca Hansborough for more information):
All media personnel are free to attend any film screening of their choice with no reservation required. Please show your proof of ID and the name of the syndicate you are with to guest services at the Harris Theater.
*Purchase of concessions and BYOB cover charge still apply.
Opportunity to view the 35mm film projector up close and in person and interviews with programming manager Joseph Morrison.
Visual Arts
Simply Devine: A Retrospective of Danny Devine
until June 12 | 820 Liberty Ave
This exhibit showcases thought-provoking, uplifting, joyful, and playful works created by the late Pittsburgh native. Danny was a respected graffiti writer, muralist, photographer, printmaker, painter, mentor, and friend to many. The immersive exhibition embodies Danny’s dedication to creativity and his prolific artistic output - taking viewers on a visual journey exploring his complexity as an artist.
Cinzia Campolese
until June 26 | Wood Street Galleries
This exhibition represents a collection of new creations developed in recent years by Cinzia Campolese that revolve around the concepts of presence and perception of space in both digital and physical environments. Cinzia Campolese is an Italian-born, Montreal-based artist. Her practice includes installations, sculptures, videos, and prints. Her recent work received awards internationally and she has participated in exhibitions and cultural events in Canada, Europe and Asia. This exhibition at Wood Street Galleries is her first show in the United States. The exhibition features six different compositions, interactions and perceptual experiments that use light, video, perspective illusions and tracking.
Juried Visual Arts Exhibition
June 3 - July 31 | SPACE Gallery
The Juried Visual Art Exhibition showcases exceptional new art by regional artists and is one of the pillars for the Festival’s high-quality visual arts offerings. The exhibition will take place in SPACE Gallery (812 Liberty Avenue) in the Cultural District during the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and will extend through July. The theme for the 2022 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Visual Art Exhibition is “___alachian [ah-LATCH-en].” The selected pieces explore the many cultures, communities, identities and topographies of the Appalachian region. All too often Appalachian is flattened into one idea of who is part of the region, what is essentially Appalachian. We are curious to celebrate and expand the definition that represents the rich multicultural heritage in Appalachia.
Little Girl Urn
June 3 - August 7 | 707 Gallery
Shori Sims is an American interdisciplinary artist born in Baltimore, Maryland and now lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her work is concerned with the construction of a feminist utopia as part of Black people's vision for the future. Little Girl Urn, by Shori Sims, is the artist’s first solo exhibition of sculptural and 2d work. The exhibition covers early career retrospectives to the present, as well as a sculpted archive of Sims’ girlhood experience. The exhibition includes sculptures that were begun in 2018 and completed in 2021. One of the primary installation pieces, “Persistence of Memory (Furniture Replicas)” serves as a facsimile of Sims’ childhood bedroom. Shori comments, “With each piece of furniture bearing my mark, I am laying claim to my own past. In the presented works, I am recalling the experiences that formed my understanding of the world as a Black femme in this late-capitalist era.” This exhibition is presented with support from the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University.
Opportunities (contact Diana Roth for more information):
Interviews with artists and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust curatorial staff, gallery exhibit tour with artists, curators (locally based) and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust curatorial staff.