The future of Three Rivers Arts Festival

Last year, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservatism and Natural Resources began work on renovating Point Park, which is at the tip of downtown's Golden Triangle, sitting at the confluence of the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. Three Rivers Arts Festival, as well as the Regatta and several other annual events, were negatively impacted by the renovation. Three Rivers Arts Festival had a much smaller footprint and various parts of the festival, like the Best of Pittsburgh show, were spread over downtown. But since this was only temporary, the coordinators found the spaces and worked around the renovation. But now, there appears to be some glitches in the renovation plan. From the Post Gazette -

New guidelines are being developed for the use of the state-owned park and unless those guidelines are revised, the festival "will most likely not be able to operate in Point State Park," said Elizabeth Reiss, the arts festival's executive director. Read the article

The article goes on to explain that the regulations have not yet been finalized and that a meeting is scheduled with the organizers of these several events to discuss their concerns. Hopefully, the meeting will bring a greater understanding of the needs of event organizers and the concerns of PA -DCNR.

There is very little diversity in the visual arts in downtown Pittsburgh, with most venues operating as non-profits or as co-op galleries. Although the festival emphasizes the performance components more so than the visual arts, at least it does present a wider range of visual arts than what is usually found in downtown. The artist market houses fine crafts and arts and most of the vendors are marketing their work to individual purchases. It brings a more diverse mix of art appreciators to downtown and that is a good thing. Frankly, I am tired of ugly, shock and derivative art that appeals to a very small group of the public. Downtown really needs this festival.

Rise Nagin @ Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery : images

Here are some shots from the Rise Nagin show at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, downtown. The show was a pure gift to anyone lucky enough to see it.

Rise Nagin @ Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery

Don't miss this show either.

Dates: November 10, 2006 - January 13, 2007Opening Reception: November 10, 5:30-7:30pm

Risë Nagin blurs the distinction between fabric, drawing and painting, creating an elegant environment and mixed media pieces in her new solo exhibition. Using Nagin’s personal vocabulary of images, the new work evokes a stillness and lets us contemplate a serenity that is fleeting in our current cultural consciousness of fear and anxiety. Nagin generates abstract images that create an environment or atmosphere that reminds the viewer that beauty is always present, even if we fail to see it.

Downtown Gallery Crawl - part 3

There's a really fine show at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery

IN OUR HOUSE
Curated by Marica Jackson

Dates: September 8, 2006 - October 21, 2006
Opening Reception: September 8, 5:30-7:30pm

IN OUR HOUSE promises to uphold the high standard set by Women of Visions’ summer exhibition at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Migrations of the African Diaspora. While Migrations focused on the nature of the journey, this exhibition will delve into aspects of the African American experience that reflect “settling in” to establish a distinctive presence.

I stopped by during my gallery walkabout and snapped a couple pictures of my favorite pieces. Pictured above left is Emory Biko's MOM (More dependable than Maytag) and above right is
Monique Luck's Fabulous Friday Hair. I need to take better pictures. You really lose any sense of how special Monique's work is in this image. Follow the link for much better images.