Artists and Communities wanted for the Sprout Fund 2007 community mural program. Deadline is March 23rd. The application can be found online at http://www.sproutfund.org/publicart/apply/

There will be information sessions held every Thursday at noon and 5:30 from February 1st through March 22nd at the Sprout offices.

They are looking for artists and communities.

Artist eligibility: Any artist residing in the 14-county Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania region of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties that has met all criteria and delivered a complete application to the Sprout office no later than 5 pm on Friday, March 23, 2007 is eligible to be considered to participate in the Sprout Public Art program. Artists with at least a minimum level of experience in working in large scale are strongly preferred.

Community site eligibility: The proposed mural site must be within Allegheny County. The surface of the proposed mural site should be as smooth as possible and devoid of any peeling paint, cracks or leaks. Please contact Sprout if you have any questions regarding wall condition.

Addtional information from http://www.sproutfund.org/publicart/

Sprout Public Art improves the image of the region and enhances the visual landscape of neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities of Allegheny County by creating high quality public art. The program encourages dialogue on public art between the community and the artist, contributes to community and neighborhood development and raises awareness about the important role that local artists can have in shaping communities. Sprout Public Art addresses three key issues: disconnect between visual culture and day-to-day life, level of leadership and personal investment in the region’s neighborhoods and need to support the ideas and creativity of people living in the Pittsburgh region.

During the first four seasons of Sprout Public Art, communities collaborated with artists to develop 31 enduring works of public art (see map)that enhance the urban landscape and consider the people of the community, their history and their hopes for the future. In the summer of 2007, Sprout Public Art will again create murals in diverse neighborhoods within Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities throughout the region.

On Saturday, April 28th, South Point Breeze residents are asked (and encouraged) to participate in the Redd Up Coalition’s Neighborhood Clean Up Weekend. The clean up will take place from 10am - 1:30pm. Please let us know if you can attend, as we need to request a sufficient number of trash bags, gloves, and other supplies for the volunteers.

There will be a picnic on the afternoon of the 29th to thank those who volunteered. Details to come.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Hope at hoperealestate@yahoo.com

Tsukioka Kôgyo (1869–1927), was a master of the Japanese wood block print at the turn of the twentieth century. Taught by his step-father, the highly regarded Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Kôgyo is now beginning to receive the serious attention of collectors, curators, and scholars. This exhibition showcases Kôgyo’s remarkably colorful images of Noh theater, a traditional form of Japanese performing arts. Kôgyo’s work on Noh covers several decades and illustrates virtually the entire range of Noh repertory since the Meiji period (1868–1912), creating an artistically elegant and beautiful record of this theatrical genre’s customs and performances.

“We were struck by the beauty of Kôgyo’s prints as artworks, not just as historical documents,” says Dick Smethurst, professor of Japanese history at the University of Pittsburgh. “They stand in their own light as works of art.” Mae Smethurst, professor of East Asian language and literature at the University of Pittsburgh, adds that with the opening of Japan to the West, Kôgyo himself was influenced by Western art, and incorporated these new perspectives into the tradition of the Japanese print. The more than 70 prints in the exhibition will also include a small selection of Kôgyo’s bird and nature prints and a few examples of his rarely shown paintings.

The Prints of Tsukioka Kôgyo is organized by the Frick Art & Historical Center and curated by Richard Smethurst, Mae J. Smethurst, Thomas Rimer, and Robert Schaap. The exhibition is made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Japan Foundation, the Townsend and Frances Burden Foundation, and members of the Frick Art & Historical Center.

A brochure for this exhibition has been made possible by the Asian Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh.

Education programs for this exhibition are co-sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh.

Frick Art & Historical Center
7227 Reynolds Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
phone: 412-371-0600 ext. 523
fax: 412-731-9415
pr@frickart.org

The prints of Tsukioka Kôgyo.pdf

PCA Exhitibitions - CALL FOR ENTRIES
Solo and Collaborative Exhibitions
Deadline: January 15, 2007
PCA is committed to showcasing the region’s best contemporary art,
and invites all artists living within a 150-mile radius of Pittsburgh
to apply for solo and two-person-collaborative exhibitions to take
place during the 2008 calendar year. Exhibitions are two to four months long.

PCA Biennial ‘08
Deadline: March 1, 2007
The 2008 Biennial will showcase Southwestern Pennsylvania artists
during the City of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary and will coincide
with the Carnegie International. The Biennial will be wide-ranging,
with the recent merger of PF/ PCA providing unique expanded resources.

Visit www.pittsburgharts.org for more information and to download applications.

In conjunction with the Interior/Exterior Show presented by the Pittsburgh
Print Group, member will educate the public about Printmaking on the last
two weekends of the show, Jan 14 and 21, from 2 - 4 pm.

On Sunday, January 21, Eileen Yeager will demonstrate how to print a
Monotype and will explain how it is different from a MonoPrint. She will
share her knowledge and pleasure in creating one of a kind original
prints. She will explain how prints are made, then ink and print them.
She will show the tools used; books on Monotype; examples of larger plates
and prints; as well as framed or matted examples of her work.

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
6300 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
412.361.0873
www.pittsburgharts.org
info@pittsburgharts.org

Homewood, Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze South, Point Breeze North

Meeting agenda
Thursday, January 18, 2007
10:00 a.m.
YMCA, Homewood

Aliya Durham and Boris Weinstein, co-chairs

Welcome and introductions ….. Aliya

Approve minutes ….. Lisa

Discussion, submissions and/or decisions ….. Aliya
- Picnic site
- Supplies needed by each neighborhood
- Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA)
- Pa. CleanWays
- Department of Public Works (DPW)

- Neighborhood Cleanup Target Areas for redd up ….. Aliya, Bicky, Hope, Cheryl

- School letter and list of schools to be contacted in each neighborhood ….. Dianne, Barbara

- Publicity report ….. Aliya
- E-mails sent to KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV community service shows
- Boris to contact Comcast Newsmakers in early February
- UJF or Lynette Lederman to prepare core news release
- Request to Council offices for Proclamation and presentation

- New business
- Possible interest of Park Place neighborhood participation ….. Lisa
- UJF comments on Our Coalition at National Conference ….. Jeffrey
- Participation of Jewish Community Center Teens for Redd Up ….. Taylor
- Name of Coalition and weekend event ….. Jeffrey

- Other business

- Next meeting
- Thursday, February 15, at the YMCA, Homewood

A new series of Hatha Yoga classes taught by Point Breeze resident Loretta Barone will begin on Tuesday, January 9 at 9:30AM and Thursday, January 11 at 6:30PM. Classes are held at the Friends Meeting House on Ellsworth Avenue. Loretta took her first Yoga class in 1966 and has been teaching since 1978. For more information, call her at 412-361-1681.