For the first time, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will be at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust\u2019s Arts Landing. [Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust]\n<\/p>\n
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is back, transforming downtown Pittsburgh into an outdoor gallery filled with artists, eye-catching creations and plenty of temptation for visitors who suddenly realize they need more money, more wall space, or perhaps both.<\/p>\n
It starts Friday at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust\u2019s new Arts Landing, and continues on Saturday and Sunday. It will pick up again on June 11 and wrap up June 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re finally bringing it to its permanent home at our civic space, so it\u2019s a very exciting time for us,\u201d said Brooke Horejsi, chief programming and engagement officer with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1960 by the Women\u2019s Committee of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the free festival has been produced by the Cultural Trust since 2009.<\/p>\n
Choosing the music<\/p>\n
As it has done over its life, the festival caters to a wide range of musical tastes. This year\u2019s national headliners span genres from alt-rock and hip-hop to Americana, jazz and folk-pop. Notable artists booked at previous festivals have included Ella Fitzgerald, Smokey Robinson, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, and Lucinda Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get hundreds of submissions from national and regional performers and evaluate each and every one,\u201d said Horejsi, adding that musicians perform from noon until closing each day.<\/p>\n
Creativity abounds<\/p>\n
As anyone who has attended knows, creativity is key to landing a coveted slot at the juried show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a rigorous set of criteria for being accepted,\u201d said Horejsi.<\/p>\n
This year organizers reviewed approximately 500 submissions before selecting 350 artists.<\/p>\n
According to Horejsi, about 62% of the artists are from the region. \u201cThe other 38% come from across the country and we even have one international artist from Hungary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Art trends that Horejsi is seeing lately are nostalgia-based works, printmaking and metal art. \u201cDigital art has grown tremendously, as has eco-conscious art,\u201d Horejsi explained.<\/p>\n
Notable visual artists who have shown their work in the past include Keith Haring, Otto Piene, Louise Nevelson and Nam June Paik.<\/p>\n
A festival veteran<\/p>\n
This year marks photographer J.P. Diroll\u2019s 15th appearance at the festival.<\/p>\n
The self-taught artist turned to photography after a difficult breakup in college. Rather than channeling his energy into unhealthy habits, he picked up a camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time there was an early photo-sharing site called PBase and I started getting positive feedback on my work there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Encouraged by the response, he began printing his images on metal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use aluminum with a glossy white base coat and when the image is on there, it takes on a different life-a three-dimensional quality that almost appears lit from behind. People loved it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Today his best-selling pieces include Pittsburgh skyline scenes and Pittsburgh Steelers-themed artwork. He also sells functional gifts like coasters.<\/p>\n
Diroll said he enjoys returning every year due to the camaraderie and the relationships he\u2019s built.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cultural Trust is great to work with, the volunteers are absolutely wonderful and some of my closest friendships are artists I met at the show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Helping local businesses<\/p>\n
Another positive aspect of the festival is that people travel from miles around to visit nearby restaurants, hotels and shops.<\/p>\n
\u201cA festival of this size takes a lot of work and we start planning the next one almost immediately after the current one ends,\u201d said Horejsi.<\/p>\n
She notes that the rewards are substantial, from giving artists a platform to showcase their work to supporting local businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur free festivals make a significant impact,\u201d she said. \u201cAccording to a study, they generate a $175 million economic impact, while improving the quality of life for the people of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
What she hopes people will take away from the festival is a new feeling of wonder. <\/p>\n
\u201cGetting away from the algorithmic bubble and discovering something new whether it be an artist, or a genre of music, there\u2019s something unique and valuable about it,\u201d she said. \u201cSitting with your neighbors and enjoying it together. There\u2019s just something magical about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
More information on the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival can be found at traf.trustarts.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will be at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[92213,92214,73,22818,75,74],"class_list":["post-210311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-dollar-bank-three-rivers-arts-festival","tag-j-p-diroll","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-cultural-trust","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}