See films from underappreciated Pittsburgh artists with the Essential Pittsburgh series from Pittsburgh Sound + Image or celebrate the country’s semiquincentennial with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s American Soundscapes — here’s what to do this weekend.

Visual Art
The South Side’s status as an arty neighborhood came thanks in no small part to the Brew House Association, a cooperative based in the old Duquesne Brewery. Today that building is the Brew House Lofts, which is still home to artists and to Brew House Arts, a nonprofit that keeps the tradition alive. This week, BHA opens “Art of Pittsburgh’s South Side,” featuring more than 50 artists from the emerging to the established, working in ceramics, fiber, jewelry, illustration, painting, printmaking, sculpture, video and more. The opening reception is Thu., Feb. 26.

Film
Pittsburgh Sound + Image continues its series Essential Pittsburgh, which highlights underappreciated local artists. First up is the late John Kirch, who began making 8 mm films as a teenager in the 1960s (when he also played a zombie in “Night of the Living Dead”) and studied film at CalArts before working as a film editor for KDKA TV news. The Thu., Feb. 26, program at Homestead’s Glitterbox Theater includes Kirch’s 1969 romp “Postcard City,” shot at Point State Park and other local landmarks; “The Targets,” a proto music video from Pittsburgh’s early punk scene; and Kirch’s later experimental videos.

Visual Art
Few exhibits this year will include more, or more accomplished, Pittsburgh artists than “The Salon of Working Artists.” The ninth and final weekend-long exhibition in collector and curator Pat McArdle’s wildly ambitious “LIVE WORSHIP SHOP” series at the John A. Hermann Jr. Memorial Art Museum includes more than 130 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and more by 100 local artists. Expect wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling art — and lots of fellow patrons — at the two visiting times, 6-9 p.m. Sat., Feb. 28, and 1-4 p.m. Sun., March 1. Admission is free.

Dance
Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre collaborated with no less than the Owsley Stanley Foundation to create the new Grateful Dead-inspired dance work “Once in A While.” Attack dancers perform to a sonic landscape of Dead songs and unreleased stage banter across two weekends of shows at the troupe’s intimate Lawrenceville headquarters. Attractions include post-show live music, parties and more, both in the space and at other neighborhood venues. Opening night is Fri., Feb. 27, with five additional shows through March 7.

Music
American Soundscapes is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 250th-birthday tribute to the nation’s wide range of traditional popular music, from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to Jelly Roll Morton’s “Black Bottom Stomp,” Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” and tunes by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and John Philip Sousa. The PSO’s Byron Stripling conducts, with guests including vocalist Mamie Parris and the Hamlisch-Page Student Choir. Heinz Hall hosts three performances, Fri., Feb. 27, through Sun., March 1.

Comedy
Way back in 2004, Alonzo Bodden won season three of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He went on to star in specials like “Historically Incorrect,” on Showtime, and to regular panelist spots on NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.” Bodden brings his wry wit to City Winery for a pair of evening shows on Sat., Feb. 28.