Editor’s note: The photos here were taken for two Pittsburgh’s Public Source neighborhood zines. Look for our printed zines now in Brookline, Carrick, Overbrook and Oakland. 

A ball python on a table with sunglasses, a Coca-Cola bottle, a card, and a tray holding a slice of pepperoni pizza.David Conrad’s pet snake, Abel, slithers between Conrad’s homemade pizza and one of his flyers for the Garbage Olympics, during a Friday night hang at Emma Lazarus art and music venue on Sept. 5. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Saturday night at HAVEN is sweaty. The walls of the former church in Central Oakland vibrate with the low tones of a high-energy DJ set.

Across town, in Carrick, Abel the snake slithers through a tabletop of homemade pizzas at the Emma Lazarus art and music venue. Eight neighbors form a circle, discussing art and community to the rhythmic pluck of an electric bass.

In both locales, connection through music and independent venues is the name of the game.

David Conrad picks up Abel and the snake winds around his neck as he reflects on the Carrick neighborhood in which he grew up, and to which he returned to raise a child. “I’m trying to cultivate a Carrick-specific art community. I wanted to try to encourage that defragmentation of our society,” he says. 

Conrad’s paintings, built from some of the 9,000 gallons of trash he’s collected with help from the neighborhood, hang on the wall behind him at Emma Lazarus, a community gathering space that features a book lending library and a variety of instruments that provide a lilting soundtrack to the evening’s excited conversations. “Paintings are opportunities to just hold up a mirror and think and process and meditate,” says Conrad.

Conrad is chairman of the Carrick Community Council’s beautification committee, where he leads Clean Carrick Fridays, when groups of so-called “Carrickters” come together to pick up trash across the Pittsburgh neighborhood. The effort is one of many across Carrick, Brookline and Overbrook, where neighbors are taking pride in the hills they call home. 

A group of women in colorful traditional clothing stand side by side with hands pressed together in prayer at an indoor gathering.A ceremony at Shree Krishna Temple of Pittsburgh, in Carrick, on Aug. 14. Since 2020, Shree Krishna Temple has provided Hindu worship and community to Pittsburgh’s Nepali refugee population from Bhutan. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Two men spar intensely in a boxing ring, both wearing boxing gloves and sweating, as one lands a punch to the other's head.Abe Kouyate, left, spars with coach Gary Coleman, as they practice punches and footwork at Gold Medal Boxing in Overbrook on Sept. 13. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Two women sit on a blue motorcycle at night on a city street, one in a colorful dress and sunglasses, the other in a black jacket and patterned boots.A storefront window displays several porcelain dolls in white dresses beneath a red neon sign that reads "Rina's." Lace curtains hang in the background.

Left: Best friends Briana L. White, left, of Brookline, and Candace Lofton, of East McKeesport, pose for a portrait on Lofton’s Spyder motorcycle on their way to go out at Proof in Brookline, Sept. 13. White bought a house in Brookline eight years ago after living in Carrick, Beechview and Beltzhoover. Right: Neon lights glow over bridal dolls in the window of Alterations by Rina along Brookline Boulevard, Sept. 13. Behind the dolls sits a framed love poem of sorts to the store’s seamstress by “Pittsburgh’s Poetess” Rachel Ann Bovier. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A server pulls breakfast dishes, including pancakes and eggs, on a serving shelf at a diner, with plates stacked to the side. She wears a shirt with bacon and eggs on it.Lorie Hanechak-Clark, of Bon Air, pulls a breakfast order from the kitchen at Frank and Shirley’s, Sept. 3, in Overbrook. Hanechak-Clark has been a waitress for 31 years at the location, which was the site of the first Eat’n Park drive-in restaurant in 1949. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Across town, Oaklanders of all stripes are working together to carve out better spaces of their own, from HAVEN’s volunteer-run indie music nights; to DIY Oakland, a skatepark being built halfpipe by halfpipe by skaters; and The Corner, a community gathering space that hosts food distributions, community photo workshops and Steelers watch parties in West Oakland’s steep hills.

During the summer, Pittsburgh’s Public Source photographers made their way throughout the four neighborhoods that make up Oakland and the southern city neighborhoods of Brookline, Carrick and Overbrook. The photos live now in two print zines that have been distributed throughout the communities. Find them in the local libraries (Carnegie branches and little libraries alike), coffee shops and community organizations that pull together the neighborhoods’ greatest resources: the people who call them home. 

The zines are part of a newsroom-wide effort to share our local journalism through short, tangible collections of stories, reflections and resources created with and for specific communities. The zines reflect Public Source’s “place-based approach that can help people see the relevance of journalism in their everyday lives, not just in times of crisis or election season,” writes Editor-In-Chief Halle Stockton. 

If you live in one of these neighborhoods or are just stopping by, we hope you find your way to a zine tucked inside one of the great spots in Pittsburgh’s south or Oakland. We’d love to hear from you: Where should we go next? What neighbors do we need to meet? What can’t-miss events are coming up? Email us at info@publicsource.org to let us know.

A group of young people sit on a picnic blanket outdoors, surrounded by snacks and drinks, talking and relaxing under trees.The Club Climbing Team at Pitt lounges outside of the Carnegie Library as other members teeter on slacklines on a warm Sunday evening, Sept. 21, in North Oakland. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Aerial view of a densely packed urban neighborhood with rows of brick houses, narrow streets, and some trees scattered throughout.The rooftops of South Oakland as seen from the Cathedral of Learning, Sept. 18. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A skateboarder performs a trick on a ledge in a skatepark surrounded by trees, while several people watch in the background.People gather to skateboard at sunset at Oakland DIY on Aug. 29. Pitt engineering student AJ Haddon worked nearby to fortify a halfpipe with concrete as skaters dropped in after work and school. He is volunteering his engineering know-how to continue to build on the park with funds and materials donated by the community. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Two elderly people sit on a porch playing cards at a small table; both are smiling and seem relaxed.Antonio and Giovanna Palmieri sat on their front porch on a breezy summer evening playing scopa — an Italian card game the couple plays every night, on July 21. Both in their 90s, the two moved to South Oakland from Calabria, Italy in 1961 and raised their kids here. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A mail carrier walks up a sidewalk delivering mail in a residential neighborhood with brick houses on a sloped street.A letter carrier makes their way up the incline of Concordia Street on Tuesday, Sept. 16, in Carrick. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A group of people sit in red chairs indoors, cheering and raising their arms, with a child in the foreground and a woman smiling in the back.People celebrate a touchdown during a Steelers game day watch party at The Corner, Sept. 21, in West Oakland. The community organization hosts food distributions, peer mentoring and tutoring, line dancing, arts workshops, and more to serve the West Oakland neighborhood. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A barber cuts a client's hair in a brightly lit barbershop. The client, covered with a patterned cape, looks at his reflection in the mirror.Barber Sekou Brown, left, does the hair of University of Pittsburgh student Albert Dada ahead of Labor Day weekend on Aug. 29, at The Natural Choice Barbershop & Natural Hair Salon. The barbershop is a gathering space for many who return for the conversation and music, and to catch the latest sports game on TV. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Two women hang a colorful string of square fabric flags with various designs outdoors near a metal pole and brick building.Members of Love Carrick, Noelle Roe, left, and Anna Ridgway, hang prayer flags hand painted by the community at Carrick’s National Night Out celebration, Aug. 5. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A large group of young adults sits at tables eating and talking in a crowded, brightly lit room decorated with a blue banner.Some 300 students gather for Chabad at Pitt’s Friday evening Shabbat dinner on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, Aug. 29. Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein leads students in song, prayer and stories as the shared five-course meal carries into the evening. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A red vintage convertible with two passengers drives past a group of pedestrians at an outdoor car show on a sunny day.Car enthusiasts arrive at the annual Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in Schenley Park, overlooking Oakland, on July 19. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

The Concord Presbyterian Church Cemetery rests between homes along Concordia Street and Brownsville Road in Carrick on July 17. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A man and woman stand together on grass in front of a brick building, with potted plants, a satellite dish, and a window visible in the background.A narrow concrete path with metal railing descends through dense green foliage, with a large tree and a house visible in the background.

Left: Tara and Debi Nepal pose for a portrait at home in Carrick beside their vegetable garden, July 17. The couple moved from Bhutan to Arizona in 2008, and in 2019, they made the move up north to Pittsburgh. Right: City steps wind down a Carrick hillside, July 17. (Photos by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

A large group of people dance closely together in a crowded indoor venue, with individuals raising their hands and interacting.DJ Disco Nap plays to a crowd of dancers at HAVEN in Central Oakland, on Sept. 5. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram @quinnglabicki.

Stephanie Strasburg is a photojournalist with Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at Stephanie@publicsource.org or on Instagram at @stephaniestrasburg.

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