In depth rundown of upcoming GA/GI Festival on Penn Ave

Occasional poster, Susan Constanse takes a look at this year's GA/GI festival.

No surprise--most likely because of the limitations set by funders, it's all about the local and the hyper local. Don't get me wrong, local can be great, it's just that most events here end up retreading very familiar ground, offering out of town visitors little reason to pay attention and local creatives little opportunity to develop wider networks. (Great that this year a big slice of the Pittsburgh innovation crowd booked flights to attend the SXSW festival)

Even so, one sees a lot of stuff from interactive kids projects, to technology demonstrations, animation, street performances and craft.

GA/GI Festival: From Dirt To Digital

Pittsburgh Holiday Shopping Tips In Pop City and CBS Local

The other day, CBS Local posted some Pittsburgh area unique shopping ideas, which alone didn't seem long or interesting enough to pass along.

Now Pop City also has a nice list of ideas. Check out all the suggestions.

Pop City: Your all-local guide to great holiday shopping

CBS Local: Guide To Buying Last-Minute Local Gifts

Pittsburgh, Superhero Block Party: Fantasy, Furries, Performances Downtown

Each year the Furry Fest gets better and more creative as the city embraces it.

From The Toonseum Website

Two of downtown’s most eclectic and innovative nonprofit arts organizations are teaming up to bring you a day of superhero-themed activities for the whole family!

Parents and kids aged 6-12 will enjoy a host of activities, including a Superman sound effects workshop, make-your-own superhero costumes, outdoor jazz, free comic books, and a special matinee performance of Midnight Radio: Superhero Edition!

All activities are located on the 900 block of Liberty Avenue downtown.

Activity Schedule

(Participants may attend any or all events.)

12-8pm ToonSeum : Superheroes: Icons & Origins Exhibit

12-1:30pm August Wilson Center: Family Reading Series: John Henry Storytelling & Folklore

12-1:30pm Bricolage: Make your own mask Activity

12-8pm Musicians Courtyard: Make your own cape Activity

12-8pm ToonSeum: Make your own logo Activity

2-3:30 Bricolage: Midnight Radio Superhero Edition! Live Theatre Performance

4pm Bricolage: Superman Sound Effects Interactive Workshop

Afternoon, August Wilson Center: Courtyard Jazz

Time TBD: Live Music

TBD, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership: Cookies & Comics Free stuff.

Free!

Art Clokey: Mandala

I was hoping to share some thoughts about the downtown shows I saw last night, but honestly the gallery crawl was too packed to really see things well. I will be back.

One highlight was my visit to the small, shoestring, start up museum called the Toonseum which screened a documentary about Gumby's creator and his pioneering first film called Gumbasia.

The documentary referred heavily to another equally experimental artistic project he made later, called Mandala, a trippy religious meditation on life and death.

Pittsburgh Art Events: 11/ 13-14/09.

There are plenty of art-related odds-and-ends around town this weekend. They are dispersed throughout the city, so you'll have to put a bit of thought into what you might be desirous of seeing.

Friday

I've never attended a faculty art show at CCAC, but I am aware that some of the most passionate educators can be found at our nations' community colleges. You can see the annual show over at 808 Ridge Road on the Northside campus between 5-7PM.

Last week, it was puzzling to discover that the new Fast>>forward Gallery (3700 Penn Ave) had apparently decided to distance itself a bit from the monthly Unblurred event. I noticed its conspicuous absence on the promotional literature. But I've recently discovered that the reason it wasn't open was because co-founder Craig Freeman had a solo down at Zombo Gallery. That explains this week's opening reception for Breath Deep: An Ecological Exhibition by Ross Hardy (6-10PM).

And while we are on the subject, there's another 2-day exhibition at the Zombo Gallery. This one is entitled Mod as a Hatter (that's cute... right?) and features work by someone named CZM. I've also caught wind of the news that Zombo and Co. will soon have regular hours, when they open up their doors (4900 Hatfield Street) for a fashion boutique. Sometimes I wonder where Michael and Julie find the energy and time to be involved with their various projects.

You can also catch the unveiling of Matt Marino's current preoccupations at the Crazy Mocha in Bloomfield (4525 Liberty Ave), and stop by the grand opening of Gallery Sim (1735 East Carson St.) in the South Side. Kathleen Zimbicki has curated the show at this location. It's been awhile since there has been a viable cultural presence on that side of town, but who knows? A few venues have been active down there lately. Might there be a third "First Friday" art walk soon?

Saturday

The ToonSeum opens its doors for the first time at 10AM. It is one of only three museums in the nation dedicated to the art of cartooning. From what I hear, it will focus heavily on the type of strips that have been delighting American newspaper readers for over a century. I've also been told that Bill from Copacetic Comics Co. has been asked to run the gift shop, AND that he'll be offering some pretty sweet specials for the occasion of the Grand Opening. The ToonSeum is located at 945 Liberty Avenue, downtown.

Luke & Eloy Gallery (5169 Butler St.) has a daytime reception (11AM-5PM) for Paper or Plastic, a group show featuring stuff by creators from across the country, and you can follow that up with a visit to the Christine Frechard Gallery (5871 Forbes Ave) in Squirrel Hill. Hisham and Kamal Youssef are the featured artists there, and the opening lasts from 5-8PM. If it's anything like their inaugural event, you should get there early if you want some of the divine refreshments they put out.

If you'd prefer to get out of town (but not that far), you can venture out to DV8 Espresso Bar & Gallery in Greensburg (208 South Pennsylvania Avenue) for a solo show of Gabe Felice's intricate and fantastical paintings. Felice regularly produces an output of wondrous images on wood that suggest medieval engravings and illuminated manuscripts. If you went to see the Visionary Arts Festival this past August at Schenley Plaza, you would have had a hard time missing Gabe, toiling in front of his tent, and working up a back stock of affordable inventory.

North : A Comic Artists Guide To The North Side

Artist: Tom Scioli

Rob Rogers and all the funny, warped and twisted cartoonists and comic artists behind the Toonseum are hard at work with all kinds of projects, like the Drawn To The Summit Show @ The Warhol and now a Comic artist's guide to The North Side.

"The Northside has a new visitors guide, it’s free to the public and drawn by some of Pittsburgh's best cartoonists! The guide, called North, features short comic vignettes of great Northside destinations such as The Warhol, PNC Park, and The National Aviary. North offers visitors and locals alike the opportunity to find new places to visit, or to be reminded of old favorites. The guide is available by request for personal use, or for mass distribution.

Funded by a grant from the Charm Bracelet Project, the ToonSeum partnered with 18 cartoonists (plus three writers) and 15 organizations to create a comprehensive visitors guide to the neighborhood.



Artist: Ed Piskor

Each artist covered a popular venue or historically rich area. After countless pen strokes and hours of researching, North is ready to launch. Distributed free of charge to Pittsburgh hotels, visitor’s centers, schools, and more, the guide will allow Pittsburghers new and old to enjoy the experience that is our Northside.Pittsburgh cartoonists gathered together to generously donate their talents to North. American Splendor contributor Ed Piskor, editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers, Paulette Poullet, and THE PLAIN JANES creator Jim Rugg are just a smattering of the talent involved in creating North."

To have North distributed at your place of business, or to learn about advertising space in future issues of North please e-mail Joe Wos at joe@toonseum.com.

"Our mission of the ToonSeum is to celebrate the art of cartooning. Our goal is to promote a deeper appreciation of the cartoonists and their work through hands-on workshops, community outreach, cartoon-oriented educational programming, and exhibitions or original cartoon art."

The Toonseum is coming soon to a spot downtown as a separate institution