Tonight: Downtown Gallery Crawl, Tomorrow Wood Fired Words

A particularly packed full Gallery Crawl of exhibits and events occurs tonight.
For information go here
Then tomorrow, Wood Fired Words in Braddock at Unsmoke Systems.
Wood-Fired Words

A literary event curated by Sherrie Flick of the Gist Street Reading Series

Saturday, October 1st
7pm – 10pm. Reading at 8pm.
Admission is $5.
Wood-fired pizza & BYOB drinks.

The 3rd annual Wood-Fired Words will feature a fiction reading by Josh Barkan, Braddock’s first Into the Furnace Writer-in-Residence. The event will also include live music by The Emily Pinkerton Trio, The East End Book Exchange pop-up used bookstore, paintings from the “Meet the News Team” series by John Fleenor, and wood-fired pizza baked in Braddock’s community pizza oven.

Into the Furnace is a new writer-in-residence program in Braddock, PA. The selected writer is housed in a two-room suite in the former St. Michael’s parochial school convent, which is located beside UnSmoke Systems Artspace, across the street from the Edgar Thompson Works, and beside the community pizza oven. Into the Furnace offers an adventuresome creative person, whose work and work ethic can benefit from the energy Braddock has to offer, up to 9 months of creative work time at our urban residency.

Josh Barkan begins his Into the Furnace writing residency in September 2011. He was awarded a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has taught writing at Harvard, New York University, and Boston University and is the author of the short-story collection Before Hiroshima. His first novel, Blind Speed, was named a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Fiction Prize. He spent much of his childhood abroad, living in Kenya, Tanzania, France and India. After attending Yale University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, he spent a year teaching in Japan and received his MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His writing has appeared in Esquire and as a contributor to The Boston Book Review. He lives in New York City and Mexico City.

Sherrie Flick is author of a novel, Reconsidering Happiness (Bison Books), and the flash fiction chapbook I Call This Flirting (Flume). Select anthologies include Flash Fiction Forward (Norton), New Sudden Fiction (Norton), and The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction. She has received fellowships from Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Ucross Foundation, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She recently served as January-term writer-in-residence at Salem College. A recipient of a 2011 Work of Art Award for Artistic Vibrancy from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, she teaches at Chatham University and (for 10 years) served as Artistic Director for the Gist Street Reading Series. Sherrie was instrumental in the creation of the Into the Furnace writing residency program.

Born in the heart of the Midwest, songwriter Emily Pinkerton has crafted a style with roots that stretch from Appalachia to the Andes. High, haunting vocals soar over pulsating guitar and banjo riffs that draw from a decade of travel between her hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana and her second home in Valparaíso, Chile. Her bandmates include Jose Layo Puentes, Lucas Savage and Daniel Marcus.

The East End Book Exchange was founded in the summer of 2011 on two simple ideas: love of books and love of Pittsburgh. It is a pop-up used bookstore dedicated to connecting booklovers and books in the heart of Pittsburgh’s East End. Each weekend, The East End Book Exchange appears in a community space or local business in a different neighborhood.

John Fleenor is a painter living in Pittsburgh with his wife, Helen, and his daughter, Zephy. His “Meet the News Team” series features portraits of 25 news anchors from stations across the country. Fleenor created this series during a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2009.

Wood-Fired Words is supported by Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PA Partners), the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. State government funding comes through an annual appropriation by Pennsylvania’s General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PA Partners is administered in Allegheny County by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.
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So Much Art, So Little Time: Friday 9/02/2011 (and Sat.9/03/11)

Lots of great stuff tonight. No way to make it all! Also an interesting exhibit opening Saturday in Shadside at Galley 4. Take your pick:
Penn Ave. "Unblurred" As always, numerous openings here, including "Digital Salad" at Assemble.Most galleries open 7-9 or 7-10
"Confluence" at Unsmoke Systems From 7-11 in Braddock. A traveling exhibit with photographs of the Ohio and Monongahela River Valleys.
"Undressing the Body, Poetry Reading and Bhangra Dance Party" Warhol 6-9. Related to The Word of God(ess) exhibit. That exhibit ends Sunday.
On Saturday "Funhouse of Terror" Gallery 4, Shadyside, Paintings by Brian Holderman 7-11.

The Lost Pittsburgh School, Art Events in Braddock

If I am able to make it out Saturday, this will be the 4th weekend in a row that I've been to an art event or opening in Braddock PA aat Unsmkoke! They are certainly making up for the cold winter months when Unsmoke's gallery is closed.
This exhibit sounds really fascinating. The exhibit, which includes a series of tlks and events highlights "the first comprehensive study of the earthworks and conceptual outdoor art movement in 1970's Pittsburgh".

The Lost Pittsburgh School
lostpittsburghschool.org

August 6 – 27, 2011
Lectures/performances each Saturday @7pm
or by appointment

Saturday, August 6th
Stewart O’Nan, novelist
James Weiss, performance artist and art historian

Saturday, August 13th
Charlie Humphrey, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh City Council Member
Doug Shields, Pittsburgh City Council Member

Saturday, August 20th
Charlee Brodsky, documentary photographer and professor at Carnegie Mellon University
Jim Daniels, poet and professor at Carnegie Mellon University

Saturday, August 27th
Alexi Morrissey, artist
The Halftime String Band

The first comprehensive study of the earthworks and conceptual outdoor art movement in 1970's Pittsburgh opens August 6th at Braddock's UnSmoke Systems Artspace.

Dubbed "The Lost Pittsburgh School" by now-retired CMU professor Bruce Breland, these 11 artists (and two "collectives"), widened the boundaries of public art in America. Resolutely political, they maintained a rigor of form and an aesthetic of craft endemic to the region - making a laborite art that didn't labor under doctrine. They stepped beyond Post-Industrial clichés before "Industrial" was post. And then, in step with Betty Rockwell, G.David Thompson, and Jacob Lawrence, they left Pittsburgh, ignored and neglected by the community they'd done so much to exalt.

Working together with Canadian curator Eddy Saad, Pittsburgh-based Bessemer Press brings this remarkable group back to life again. And it happens in Braddock, the birthplace of both the industrial might and the attendant misery that lit their imaginations.

Featured Artists:

Joseph Barkoczi
Ryan Avedissian
Ereni Bariekis
Brad Demmler
Gil Dugita
Pamela Luwderowski
Harry Macrady
Danilova Navratilova Malloy
Steve Nied
Wilem Smithammer
The 1877 Strike Collective
Allison Von Westerberg
The Skid Crews

I Am Immortal Opens Tomorrow Night 6-10 @ Unsmoke Systems

OK, by now you likely know there is a big downtown Pittsburgh Gallery Crawl. If you get the chance this group show involving, "video, performance, sculpture, prints and clay" in Braddock looks worth the trip.

This seems to be by a group of very young artist's in college who have formed an art collective, non of whom have an obvious connection to Pittsburgh called, The Brokendayton Machine.

I Am Immortal

"Ohio-based artists Nicholaus Arnold, Ian Briedenbach, Ren Cummings, Phillip Evans, Ashley Jonas, and Frank Travers will present work in different mediums exploring the resurgence of art and culture in Braddock, PA.

A highlight of the show will be a time capsule available for public participation. Guests are invited to bring items from their lives for inclusion in the piece, which will be buried on site during the closing reception on July 22nd"

One obvious thing off the bat is that Braddock doesn't seem to have a lot of trouble attracting artists from all over who want to show there. Sadly, Pittsburgh itself has few spaces where both local and non local artists can show and interact.

I Am Immortal
July 15-22nd
UnSmoke Art Space
1137 Braddock Ave
Braddock, PA 15104

Upcoming Exhibits at Unsmoke Systems

Personally, I'm going to mark these on my calender. Sometimes there is buzz ahead of time. Sometimes I hear nothing til the opening has passed. Often it is easiest to see the Unsmoke exhibits by going to the openings, as gallery hours are usually limited.

I Am Immortal July 2011
SUBSTRATES July 2011
Lost School August 2011
Confluence September 2011
Pyrotopia October 7-8, 2011
Aaron Meyers May 2012
Ashley Andrykovich June 2012

"Make Yourself at Home" First Exhibit of Unsmoke's New Season

The first exhibihit of Unsmoke Systems season (which goes from now til the cold weather starts)opened Saturday. It did indeed feel like a house warming party....maybe in a house with some unusual objects, but homey...and with lots of interesting visual riffs on the topic of home. This included a board in which people were asked to rate the most important things they do at home, and how enjoyable they were (or not). Going to the small upstairs area was quite a surprise (this area is usually not used for exhibits)and finding a very well-appointed kitchen and exhibit attenders at a dining table in a dining room. They looked like they had been invited weeks ago, Thought provoking and playful.
The exhibit is open by appointment only. Contact Laura Marsico at laura.marsico21@gmail.com Also note that John did a post before the exhibit, see below.

Make Yourself At Home" - An installati​on by Laura Marsico : Opens Saturday @ Braddock's Unsmoke Systems

Image from LauraMarisco.com

Looks like the drought of exhibits at Unsmoke Systems in Braddock might be over with what looks what could be a very exciting instalation/happening. The artist went to school in Pittsburgh and seems to have spent the following years as herbalist and artist in the mountains of North Carolina. Here she intends to clean out her accumulated stuff, both physical and mental and reform it into a new and likely beautiful experience. As you can see from the artists web site, she has great visceral sense for materials.

"The happening will be dotted with (primarily) repurposed throwaways. As I attempt to lessen the load of “stuff” in my surroundings, certain things continue to hang around with mysterious value dangling over them. They speak of fantasy, memory and functional use in ways that are unique and arbitrary. What happens with these objects and thoughts are curious and inspiring, like the windowsill decorations and garbage in the alley ways of Pittsburgh. Through observation and activity in the space that “Make yourself at home” encompasses, you are encouraged to examine what is it that allows you to feel connected and be at home."

“Make Yourself At Home” by Laura Marsico
Unsmoke Systems, 1137 Braddock Ave, Braddock PA 15104

Opening: Saturday, June 4, 6-9 pm
Exhibition continues through June 18 by appointment only

More info here.

Balanced, Realistic View of Life In Braddock: Mayor of Rust

I stopped talking about or linking to the stream of Braddock stories a while ago, as they became more and more shallow, dreamy and unrealistic.

A new, long in depth story in the latest NY Times Magazine gives a better idea of the issues and personal/political dynamics that might be going on.

Still reading and rereading with hopes of doing a longer post.Don't hold your breath.

Gold in Braddock and St. Nicholas Croatian Church

Tonight was opening night of Gold in Braddock at UnSmoke Systems. Definitely check out this playful and thought-provoking exploration of gold, gold, gold, and Braddock, Pa. The show will stay up through June 5th. Above is Abby Manock's mixed media piece, "PreLaunch," listed as a work in progress.

  
Tomorrow (Sunday May 2, 1:30pm-4:00pm) St Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale will be open again to show the Maxo Vanka murals. We got an eyeful today, and were they gorgeous. Above is a closeup of the mural depicting the dangers of the New World: After one miner died in an explosion in a Johnstown-area mine, his 3 brothers went down into the mine and met the same fate. That was the 1930s; sad to know that 70 years have passed and we're hearing similar stories still. Thankfully, a painter as talented as Vanka was acting as witness.

Gold In Braddock Opens May 1st.

A cut and paste post.

Show dates: May 1 – June 5, 2010
Gallery open weekends 12:00 to 5:00pm and by appointment.

Opening Night Party: May 1, 5:00 – 10:00pm
UnSmoke Systems, 1137 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, PA 15104

See the artist and curator bios here.

"Gold in Braddock is an exhibition featuring artists working in all media from Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The artists have been invited to explore the theme of gold, including its physical, visual, monetary, social, historic, symbolic, decorative and sacred properties, in the town of Braddock, PA.

Braddock is a historic cradle of the steel industry in Western Pennsylvania. The population plummeted during the 1970s and 1980s with the closing of steel mills in the area. The community now has lost 90% of its population, buildings and businesses. It has gone from thriving boomtown to picture of post-industrial decay and vacancy. Braddock is trying to survive, but life there is not easy. Retail amenities hardly exist in Braddock, no prepared foods, no ATM, no coffee shop. There isn't a grocery store, or a video store. But there is an arts space. With the economic recession, and financial hardship across the country, Braddock’s survival provides a model of hope.

Over the last few years, the town of Braddock has begun to attract artists, artisans, and others looking for a place to live and work creatively. As a part of Braddock’s renewal program, the Mayor of Braddock, John Fetterman, has invited the "urban pioneer, artist, or misfit to be a part of a new experimental effort." Artists are a group of people who create value and their economic impact on neighborhoods has been well documented. For this show, seventeen accomplished artists have responded to the call issued by Mayor Fetterman “to leverage Braddock’s remaining assets with new ideas, energy, and individuals to spark a cultural and economic revitalization.” Artists are investing their ideas and energy in Gold in Braddock. All of the artists in the exhibition are making new work created specifically for this show. After visiting Braddock, artists from across the country will return to their own communities having collaborated on, and witnessed, the Braddock experiment.

Gold in Braddock exploits the polarity between the exterior context (the steel town) and the interior space (the art gallery) to raise questions and cause reflection. In the spirit of Braddock’s experimental environment, this show is also an experiment. It asks, what can art do in this context?

The show will also investigate possibilities for transformation. Like the alchemists, who tried to turn lead into gold, perhaps there is a way to transmute present circumstances into (metaphorical) gold. Gold is a metal that looks like an ordinary rock until humans extract, polish, manipulate and socially establish its beauty.

For more information please contact:
Elise Adibi, Organizing Artist, eliseadibi@gmail.com
Jeanine Hall, Director, UnSmoke Systems, hall.jeanine@gmail.com

Organized by artist Elise Adibi, in Partnership with Pittsburgh Filmmakers/ Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and UnSmoke Systems Artspace.

Participating artists: Elise Adibi, Keil Borrman, Pilar Conde, Jenelle Covino, Mark Dilks, Tracey Goodman, Violet Hopkins, Jon Lewis, Abby Manock, David Muenzer, Kate Nesin, Julian Pozzi, Jon Rajkovich, Annie Shaw, Sara Stracey, Josh Tonsfeldt and Dan Torop.

This show is made possible with generous support from the foundation community in Pittsburgh.

If you have thoughts or insight you want to share about art, music, film, urban design, architecture, transit or history in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Youngstown, Erie, Morgantown, Akron, Canton region--Cleveburgh, email me diggingpitt@gmail.com

This is not Hyper Local media, but regional media seeking local viewpoints.

Affordable Hotels, City-building, and the Value of Creative Tourism

I've been thinking a lot about hotels lately. I recently discovered that there are numerous affordable hotels to be found in New York City, which makes the prospect of visiting my former city both very attractive and doable. I'm not even talking about crazy-awful fleabag hotels, or motels in Weehawken. I'm talking well-designed, safe, hip, not-chain, in-town Manhattan (sometimes Brooklyn) accommodations. That a working girl like me can afford. Especially if she takes one person with her.

I recently availed myself of one of these hotels, and when I told one of my New York friends about it, she said, "Great! What's the equivalent if I want to visit you in Pittsburgh?" Oh, this question made my head spin. And spin and spin. Not only do I want my friend to come visit me affordably (sure, she'll probably end up staying on my couch, but that's not the point)--I want starving artists and students and working people who DON'T have best friends here to be able to visit Pittsburgh. I want there to be the kind of hotels that allow--and entice--visitors to our fair city to step out the front door of their hotel and explore our streets, our neighborhoods, our architecture, our hilly views; our art galleries, our reading series, our film festivals; our bookshops, our cafes, our wide variety of restaurants. And I want all of this to be available to people who CAN'T afford to stay at a pricey bed & breakfast or a downtown highrise.

What's the current scene of affordable hotels in Pittsburgh? Mainly, chain motels in Monroeville or near the airport. Nevermind that the kind of city-dwelling visitor I'm talking about won't want to shell out to rent a car--even if they had a car, is that how you want to show off our city? Sending someone to a chain accommodation that feels like any other city (a wasted opportunity to show off Pittsburgh's uniqueness at best, a depressing first view of the city at worst) and then asking them to get in their car and drive to Destination A, B, and C? Thus again potentially depriving them of discovering the unique incidentals of our city.

What I'm getting at, in part, is that I want people to start moving to Pittsburgh--for reasons other than the most obvious--job transfer, family members, college or grad school. I want people to move here just because it's an awesome and affordable city in which to live, work, and make art. And I want a steady stream of visitors, creative tourists, and urbanites who 1.) may decide to move here themselves based on gaining a FEEL for the city, or 2.) will become ambassadors of Pittsburgh's revitalization, carrying the word to others who may want to move here.

Pittsburgh, with its "every neighborhood revitalizing at once" plan needs a more dense, in-city-limits population to sustain its visions of growth. (To my mind, the idea that people are going to drive in from the suburbs to destination-eat, -shop, etc., at all of these new venues is not "it," or at least not all of it.) Meanwhile, the recession has people in harder-hit, pricier-housing cities rethinking their own plans. It may be the perfect moment in history for Pittsburgh to gain some residents, fallout from this major upset in US economics. But not if those folks can't visit here (and really discover Pittsburgh) first.

My pondering about hotels in Pittsburgh has emerged from a longer-term set of observations that Pittsburgh has--for so much of its history--been a scorned or misunderstood city ("Hell with the lid off"), and that has resulted in a behavior which can be the opposite of inviting to outsiders. Think of the Pittsburgh reputation for giving idiosyncratic directions: "Take a left where the Giant Eagle used to be, go straight, then take a right where Isaly's used to be." This, my friends, is not the way to help an out-of-towner learn their way around the city. I often hear the caveat to this apocryphal story as, "But more often than not, that same person giving the baffling directions will offer, 'Follow me, I'm going that way.' " Is the kindness of Pittsburghers enough to make up for the confusing navigability? In some realm, yes. But I'm greedy, I want it all. I want not only good neighbors and kind strangers, but good signage, well-designed pedestrian walkways (and bike paths) that connect between every neighborhood and bike trail, obvious bus protocol and safe bus stops, and hotels that bring outsiders smoothly into this web of easily-navigable intra-city connectivity.

So, Pittsburgh's hotels. The Eden House Short Stay in Lawrenceville is one of the few hotels in town that meets the standards of what I'm talking about here. Its lowest-priced rooms are affordable, and get more and more affordable if one stays for more than one night, or if two are traveling together. Eden House is within walking distance to a great stretch of restaurants, shops, and the Design Zone on Butler Street; or the other direction to Pittsburgh's Little Italy with bars, cafes, and restaurants; or to the Penn Avenue Arts District; or to Polish Hill's music venues. The Priory on the North Side may be the next thing that comes close; singles can stay in a $100 room with a single bed, within decent walking distance to AIR, the Warhol Museum, the New Hazlett Theater,  the Mattress Factory, and City of Asylum  houses and events, although I would advise visitors to take a cab to and from the Priory area at night. And good luck getting a cab in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, The Pittsburgh Hostel, formerly located in the dangerous neighborhood of Allentown (but defunct for 6 or 7 years), is seeking a new home. My highest hopes would be that the visionaries of Pittsburgh city planning (be they grass roots types or the powers that be) would see the need to help get Real Funding for this, and to think seriously about a great location for it. My hope (as echoed on the Hostel Project's website) would be that people could see the opportunity this presents for Pittsburgh: While everyone's lamenting the brain-drain and "the young people who leave Pittsburgh," why not recognize that creative, city-hopping young travelers could be some of our very best ambassadors? If you make a hostel in a location forced only by pricing (such as Allentown), I predict it will be a success for no one. Rather, make a great hostel in a location that can showcase the city's liveliest creative efforts, and you will create a veritable factory of young people who will bring stories, writings, and photographs to other cities, spreading the word far and wide that Pittsburgh is a great place to be. In other words, don't underestimate the power of the young and the cash-strapped to help remake a city. Wasn't it these folks who brought fame and fortune to such now-meccas as Seattle, Austin, Portland (OR), and Minneapolis? A city's true desirability comes from the ground up, not the top down. Make it easy for people to visit Pittsburgh, and the city will reap the rewards. Conversely, the harder it is for people to visit, the more we'll have this closed-loop, echo-chamber thinking among residents that vacillates between "Pittsburgh is the greatest city ever!!!!!!!!" and "No one would want to move here; we'll always be inferior."

Finally, I want to applaud artist and curator Elise Adibi, who has organized the Gold in Braddock show that opens May 1, 2010 at UnSmoke in Braddock. When planning the show, Adibi made a deliberate decision to invite artists from New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia (in addition to a few Pittsburgh-affiliated folks); the show was designed to explore the theme of GOLD. A number of the out-of-town artists pondered the theme in relation to Braddock, visiting that borough in advance of the show as they created their final piece. Even more of the artists are expected to travel here for the show's opening. In this way, Adibi consciously contributed to a very active form of art tourism--bringing outsiders in to witness Pittsburgh, to enter the region's conversation, to support the Pittsburgh economy, and to leave as ambassadors of an emerging Pittsburgh. One that is not reliant only on the famous universities, hospitals, or sports franchises for its visitor traffic.

So, dear reader, what do you propose as a great location for Pittsburgh's next affordable hotel, or the new Pittsburgh Hostel?

New Show @ New Space In Braddock: The Garage Opens April 17th

Finally, some more offbeat and exiting venues opening up in Braddock as more people take the initiative and fill the many spaces Braddock offers.

This one should be easy to spot--really a small garage just a block or so past Unsmoke Systems. Follow the flames and smoke baby! Does Gagosian have a view like this?

"The Garage is a new contemporary art space located in the community of Braddock, Pennsylvania. An abandoned double garage was restored for use as an exhibition space renovation being completed in July of 2009. The intent of the space is to provide a setting for contemporary artwork away from the institution and art market."

ST MORTYS RIDE DIED
FUNERAL COMMEMORATION
BRING CANDLES OR DEVOTIONAL OBJECTS TO ADD TO THE SHRINE

SATURDAY APRIL 17 2010 6pm - 9pm
THE GARAGE ART SPACE
1216 MAPLE WAY
BRADDOCK, PA 15104

Featuring work by Jennifer Myers and Daniel Luchman

As near as I can tell, these will be one night event shows put together by students and artists related to CMU.

More info can on this space can be found @ maplewaybraddock.com

Found out about this on The Pittsburgh Art Blog.

If you have thoughts or insight you want to share about the arts in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Youngstown, Erie, Morgantown, Akron, Canton region--Cleveburgh, email me diggingpitt@gmail.com

This is not Hyper Local media, but regional media seeking local viewpoints. The forest and the trees.

Links About Braddock

This is a follow up post the one about the Obscurae fundraiser. It's also put together for the out of town press and other "tourists" brought here by the G20 and stories about the "Mayor of Hell".

All of these links relate in one way or another to happenings and life in Braddock.
But, you say the Transformazium is in North Braddock? Well,then you are more likely to part of the problem.

15104.cc Braddock: Create Amidst Destruction
Unsmoke Systems
Community Wood-Fired Oven
Fossil Free Fuel
New Guild Studio
Points of Interest by Braddock Active Arts
Transformazium
Braddock Journey blog
Bill Daniel, Hobo Filmmaker
Braddock Farms
Braddock Youth Project
Delicious Donations

I found this info on Obscurae, which is also a good source of info.

Obscurae Art Exhibit & Fundraiser @ Unsmoke Systems In Braddock, Sept 19TH

Untitled by Jean McClung

"Change is underway in Braddock as groups working within and with the community bring renewed energy to a town that many wrote off. Artists, social entrepreneurs, community organizers, urban homesteaders and others with a pioneering spirit are inspired by the town’s potential for grassroots urban renewal and are using the inherent energy in Braddock to fuel their creativity. It is with this spirit that Obscuræ views the maligned town – turning a photographic eye towards the borough’s oft-overlooked beauty amidst the former grandeur and “urban blight” that Braddock has come to represent for many in the Pittsburgh area."

But you know there's a punchline--- they are awesome, talented and doing what they can with what they have-- but they are poor and need help. It's yet another fundraiser this time for arts and other programs in Braddock, PA.

But trust me there's a lot in this for you. Once again, area creatives have donated works to raise money.

Check out some images.

"That’s right, not only is Obscurae’s photography exhibition FREE and open to the public, it’s also lots of fun thanks to so many great collaborators! Jake Liefer of the Pittsburgh Area Coffee Association will be setting up a coffee bar at the event. John Ryan Brubaker will be installing a traveling version of his Portrait Booth Project where you can travel back in time with your very own quirky portrait shot with a 1968 Polaroid on instant black and white film. And don’t forget the fresh wood-fired treats from the community oven.

Obscurae will be housed once again in Braddock at UnSmoke Systems Artspace. Everything kicks off Saturday, September 19 at 7pm. The Art Lottery is set to begin at 8:30pm. If you have a ticket to participate in the lottery, make sure to get there with enough time to make a list of your favorite pieces before the lottery starts. (Details on how the Art Lottery works.) The photography exhibition and watching the craziness of the Art Lottery are free and open to everyone. Participating in the Art Lottery will require you to dig into your wallet. (Or your paypal account.)

Secure your ticket now for the 2009 Obscurae Art Lottery: $45 in advance. $55 at the door. A ticket guarantees you go home with a piece of artwork from the exhibition."

I attended this event last year and picked up a great photo work in a totally unique found object frame for the mere price of the ticket.

Check out some images here.

Please remember---THE EVENT ITSELF IS FREE AND OPEN TO ALL,
YOU ONLY NEED TO PAY TO ENTER THE ART LOTTERY

More info here

Night Out In Braddock To Celebrate Unsmoke Systems First Year

In July of 2008, UnSmoke Systems Artspace was launched with their inaugural event, Out of this Furnace, in conjunction with the 55th Carnegie International. Since the studio’s debut, UnSmoke Systems has become integral to promoting the arts in Braddock.

On August 15, from 7:30 – 10:30pm, UnSmoke Systems will be hosting Night Out: Braddock - a party to celebrate our first year of events. Featuring the artwork of resident and guest artists, Humanaut DJ’s Aaron Clark and Paul Alexander (resident DJ’s at Hijack, New Amsterdam) and refreshments. Delicious Donations will be present and raising money for the regional artists, with a cash award (typically between $100 - $250) to be given away at the end of the night. Join us for an evening of art, music, and socializing to kick off one more year.

Participating artists: Barb Antel, Stephanie Armbruster, Emilia Edwards, Jeanine Hall, Eric Haberle, Marc Nieson, Tara Powley, Fitzhugh Shaw, Josh Tonies, and Paulina Wilkowska

Stephanie Armbruster has been with UnSmoke from the beginning. Her work is an exploration of urban spaces, populations and visual textures. Often a reflection on the postindustrial landscape, her works suggest whimsical environments that are familiar, unique, and a little absurd. Informed by a fascination with printed matter, street art, and design, Stephanie works primarily in 2D media. Her work is currently on view at the Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art.

Marc Nieson’s background includes filmmaking, children’s theatre, building construction and a season with a one-ring circus. Excerpts from his forthcoming memoir Schoolhouse: A Memoir in 13 Lessons have appeared in the Literary Review and Iowa Review, and his fiction recently was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won the 2008 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. His feature-length screenplays include Bottomland, The Dream Catcher, and The Speed of Life (Special Jury Prize 2007 Venice Film Festival).

Josh Tonies has been with the organization from the start. He also lives and works in Braddock, PA. His current work explores transient structures. Mining systematic imagery such as technical illustration, security patterns from envelopes and architectural diagrams, he reconfigures these depictions of space into slippery windows. He has exhibited his work nationally at Mass MoCa, Light Industry in Brooklyn and internationally at Meinblau e.V in Berlin.

Support for Night Out: Braddock is generously provided through a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) – Project Stream Grant

Sorry, for the crude cut and paste job. It's the best I can do. I'm also very sad I will not be able to catch this event.Very, Very exiting weekend in The Burgh.

By the way -- I think the address on Unsmoke's website is wrong.

I think it's 1183 Braddock Ave which is what Google's street view shows.


View Larger Map

Wear and Tear @ Unsmoke Systems

It's too late to see this show. I was lucky enough to be in Braddock the night that Wear and Tear closed at UnSmoke Systems. I was there to see Braddock's bread oven in operation, which was really cool. Iwish I could get out there more often. It was a great space with a very active arts community.

But, back to Wear and Tear. Gavin Kenyon and Heather Powell were setting up an iron pour for the closing. There was a group behind the building breaking up old radiators behind the school, in preparation for the pour. Watching this was interesting. I don't think learned anything. I just really enjoyed the spectacle. Check it out; near the end there's a great sparkly flare.



Powell's work ranged across a lot of mediums and themes. I love that, yanno? It shows a mind that is always questing. The work below, Snow Angel; Compose Energy, Refine Matter, presented more mysteries than resolutions. I very easily lost myself in its contours.



Leap the Boundless, Complete the Space, also by Powell. For as massive as this piece is, there was something sort of whimsical about it.



This two-panel piece by Kenyon was just so very violent. Titled Slash, the work oozed entrails all over red velvet. One of the people attending the exhibit mentioned that the work seemed vaginal. Yep, I thought. But still, Gavin Kenyon's work is generally violent, with a plethora of sharp objects. It was very disturbing.



Sorry about the glare in this image. Also by Kenyon.



Powell and Kenyon are very active artists, there will be other opportunities to see their work. So, if you missed Wear and Tear, keep your ears to the ground.

Obscurae Fundraiser For Braddock Arts Projects

I know I told everyone to stop shopping, but if you have any reasonable amount of money at all, I suggest going to this fundraiser in at Unsmoke Systems to support arts projects in Braddock.

Change is underway in Braddock as groups working with and within the community bring renewed energy to a town that many wrote off. Artists, social entrepreneurs, community organizers, urban homesteaders and others with a pioneering spirit are inspired by the town's potential for grassroots urban renewal and are using the inherent energy in Braddock to fuel their creativity. It is with this spirit that OBSCURAE views the maligned town – turning a photographic eye towards the borough's oft-overlooked beauty amidst the former grandeur and "urban blight" that Braddock has come to represent for many.

Curated by Braddock residents Jenny Fremlin and Jodi Morrison, with special guest curator John Ryan Brubaker, OBSCURAE pays homage to Braddock's unique post-industrial urban beauty. From the borough's Victorian and industrial-era construction to particulars of its natural surroundings, each photograph captures a unique perspective of the town. Works are mounted and framed with found-materials from the community. In creating OBSCURAE, curators Fremlin and Morrison hope to encourage others to look deeper and appreciate the small wonders that drew them to Braddock. "The energy in Braddock is amazing, from the support of our neighbors who are long-time Braddock residents to curious people dropping in there is always something happening in this town. All of that activity and more is captured in the photographs that have been submitted by these brilliant photographers who have explored here and chosen to help the town that inspired their art by participating in this event" said Fremlin.

Join us for a two-day photography exhibition/fundraiser, The event, OBSCURAE, will occur on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6, 2008. Benefiting Braddock Redux and their continuing revitalization efforts of this historic steel mill town, OBSCURAE features more than 125 donated and framed photographs of Braddock from over 25 photographers that ticket holders will win and take home at the OBSCURAE art photography lottery. Public viewing of the work, open to all and free of charge, begins Friday from 7 – 11pm and continues Saturday at 2pm; the art lottery commences at 4pm Saturday. Those attending OBSCURAE, held at UnSmoke Systems Gallery at 1137 Braddock Avenue, are invited to take part in the gallery's interactive photo booth designed by installation artist Merissa Lombardo and taste fresh-baked pizza by Josh Tonies made in Braddock's very own outdoor wood-fire community oven located next to UnSmoke Systems. There is no charge to attend OBSCURAE and view the exhibition; visitors wishing to take home a work of art can purchase lottery tickets for $45 through the website, www.obscuraegallery.org, or for $55 at the door. The lottery offers supporters the opportunity to contribute to Braddock art and community projects with a partially tax-deductible ticket purchase. At the same time, supporters will be able to enjoy the exhibit, local food and drinks, the photo booth installation, AND leave with a limited edition framed art photograph that will sell in OBSCURAE's online gallery for up to $125. Photographs included in the lottery range from 8x10 to 13x19 and are mounted and framed using a variety of reclaimed materials. All pieces are stunning to display or give as a gift this holiday season.

How does the Art Lottery work?

Donated pieces are exhibited throughout the gallery, and all pieces displayed will go home with a ticket holder that evening. Lottery participants are encouraged to browse the gallery before the lottery begins and compile a list of at least their first 25 favorites. The lottery begins with the first ticket being randomly chosen. When a ticket holder's number is called, he or she has up to 60 seconds to choose a piece. Once a piece is selected an art handler removes it from the wall and packages it for the winner. After approximately 35 pieces are selected there will be a break so that the remaining ticket holders can browse through the available artwork to select their next series of choices. The lottery continues, with appropriate breaks, until all the ticket holders have chosen a one-of-a-kind framed photograph and all the work is off the walls.In addition to the show, OBSCURAE's online gallery, launching Friday December 5, offers the chance to purchase limited edition prints and frames. During the weekend of the show, December 5-7, the online gallery will offer a gallery launch 10% discount. Proceeds from the gallery will support both the continued efforts in Braddock as well as the photographers who donated pieces for the exhibition. Some photographers participating in the show have also contributed additional pieces for purchase only available online. Visit www.obscuraegallery.org to view the work starting December 5th .

Fundraiser sponsored by Braddock Redux hosted at the UnSmoke Systems Gallery

1137 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, PA

Curated by: Jenny Fremlin & Jodi Morrison, with special guest curator John Ryan Brubaker

Friday, December 5, 2008: Public Viewing /

Preview Reception 7pm-11pmSaturday, December 6, 2008: Public Viewing: 2pm ;

Art Lottery: 4 – 7pmLottery Tickets: $45 through website; $55 at the Door

Unsmoke Systems in Braddock

Carly Parrish

Unknown Artist

Chris Kardimbikis



Ed Parrish





I got over to Unsmoke Systems the new art space in Braddock on Saturday. Unsmoke is a raw studio space in an old catholic School and the opening combined an exhibition of art and installations throughout the 3 floor building as well as a number of artist open studios.

A number of artists made great use of the unique history and vibe of the space. My favorite work was a site specific installation by Carly Parrish(It's the first image) in an old classroom cloakroom which involved a large old mirror at the end of the room who's wall's were covered by strange shadow cutouts of children and whirling black paper which implied a strange unknown narrative, at once playful and disturbing. Part of the works power comes from the weird way one views the room by looking down from a window perch above it sort of like a distant memory, you can't fully grasp. Yes, you do think of Kara Walker, but I think it transcends that.

I also liked Ed Parrish's equally strange dark room of mysterious crude designs that often involved materials like tape and debris.

Chris Kardimbikis's studio was another standout, filled with work that combined narrative and abstraction in unified by a great sense of linear beauty.I also liked the paintings of Stephanie Arbruster, but the paintings that most moved me are way too subtle for me to shoot.

There was also a lot of great work by artists, I can't properly identify.Another, not entirely unexpected treat was some nice work by Swoon right by the entrance.