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Must-See Pittsburgh Art Exhibits, Concerts, and Performances: October 28-November 3


Explore Pittsburgh’s arts and culture scene with this week’s event recommendations, featuring art exhibits, concerts, performances, films, literary events, and more!

Colorful collage of old political advertisements
Political Advertisement XI draws on archives of political advertising from 1952 to 2024 // Photo courtesy of The Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry

Monday, October 28

STAGE

Season Announcement Spooktacular. Little Lake Theatre, Canonsburg. 7 p.m.

 

LITERARY

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures presents Ten Evenings with Heather Cox Richardson. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. 7:30 p.m.

Dinaw Mengestu Public Reading. Chatham University, Shadyside. 8-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 29

ART

DRAW CLUB! By Draw or Die Co. Federal Galley, North Side. 6-8 p.m.

 

STAGE

Balafon Dance presents Black River African Dance Fest Community Workshop. Sankofa Village for the Arts, Larimer. 6 p.m.

Project Silk presents Vogue Night. Qmnty Center, North Side. 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Big Laughs Comedy Open Mic. Mr. Smalls Cafe, Millvale. 7 p.m.

PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh presents & Juliet. Benedum Center, Downtown. 7:30 p.m. Continues through November 3.

 

LITERARY

Storytime Spotlight series with Dr. Denise LaRosa. August Wilson African American Cultural Center virtual event. 6:30-7:30 p.m.

meTamorphosis: A Queer & Trans-Led Reading Series. White Whale Bookstore, Bloomfield. 7-8:30 p.m.

 

A photo of Pittsburgh's skyline, a yellow bridge, and a river, with a red trolley visible in the foreground
Photograph by Keilani Walker, one of the featured artists in ESP’s Photographic Print Fair

FILM

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust celebrates Día de Los Muertos. Harris Theater, Downtown. 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Continues through October 31.

 

MUSIC

MCG Jazz presents Jazz Live with Tania Grubbs. The Lounge at the Greer Cabaret, Downtown. 5-7 p.m.

Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me! Collective presents Death Lens w/ Positive Thinking + Spiral + Fake Grave. Mr. Roboto Project, Bloomfield. 7-11 p.m.

Wednesday, October 30

STAGE

Balafon Dance presents Black River African Dance Fest Community Workshop. Legacy Arts Project, Homewood. 6 p.m.

Realtime Arts presents Angelmakers: Songs for Female Serial Killers. The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls, Millvale. 8 p.m. Continues on October 31.

 

LITERARY

An Evening with Weird Black Girls’ Elwin Cotman. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, South Side. 6-7 p.m.

 

FILM

Ganja and Hess. Harris Theater, Downtown. 7:30 p.m. Continues on October 31.

 

MUSIC

Devil's Night Bash. The Government Center, North Side. 7-11 p.m.

Thursday, October 31

ART

The Whale: Zoë Schneider Preview Reception & Artist Q&A. Bunker Projects, Bloomfield. 6-8 p.m. Continues through December 20.

 

STAGE

Iron City Circus Arts presents Drag Me To Velum. Velum Fermentation, South Side. 7 p.m.

 

MUSIC

The Halloween Cover Show. Bottlerocket Social Hall, Allentown. 8 p.m.

a mural on the exterior of a building showing a painted woman's face with 3-D chain objects installed to represent long hair braids
“Braids of Hope,” a mural created by Industrial Arts Workshop and Arts Excursions Unlimited, on view during Hazelwood First Friday // Photo by Lisa Cunningham

Friday, November 1

ART

Small Works. Mark Rengers Gallery, Sewickley. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through December 31.

Offroute Art presents Hazelwood First Friday. Various locations, Hazelwood. 2-10 p.m.

Print Release Party with Clayton Merrell, Catherine Drabkin, Patricia Bellan Gillen, Alisha Wormsley, and Jacob Thomas. Artists Image Resource, North Side. 5-7 p.m.

Blue Screen of Death: A Solo Art Show by Kelli Horan. Two Frays Brewery, Garfield. 6 p.m.

Art Showcase Happy Hour. Art and Soul Cafe, Downtown. 6-9 p.m.

Craft-in-Concert: Traditional Japanese Music – Shamisen and Shakuhachi. Contemporary Craft, Lawrenceville. 6:30-7:30 p.m.

 

STAGE

The Personal Is Political. True T Studios, Uptown. 7-10 p.m.

Prime Stage Theatre presents Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. New Hazlett Theater, North Side. 7:30 p.m. Continues through November 10.

Heavy Is The Crown. KST’s Alloy Studios, East Liberty. 7:30-9 p.m. Continues on November 2.

Quantum Theatre presents The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: An Out of the Box Theatrical Experience. Union Trust Building, Downtown. 8 p.m. Continues through November 24.

 

FILM

Marshall Reese & Antoni Muntadas “Political Advertisement XI” Screening and Q&A. The Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry, Oakland. 5:30-8 p.m.

Allegheny Sport and Outdoor Film Festival: We Ride. Harris Theater, Downtown. 7 p.m.

 

MUSIC

Don't Let the Scene Go Down on Me! Collective presents Drauve w/ Spiral + Sorry Face + Artificial Go. Mr. Roboto Project, Bloomfield. 7-11 p.m.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents Brahms and Schumann with Ray Chen. Heinz Hall, Downtown. 7:30 p.m. Continues through November 3.

Two actors post on a theater set. A scary looking man with ghoulish makeup holds onto a woman in distress
Quantum Theatre’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari // Photo by Jason Snyder

Saturday, November 2

ART

Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents Everyone Is A Winner! Family Workshop with Artist Eric Anthony Berdis. SPACE Gallery, Downtown. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Healing Through Art. Eden’s Farm, West End. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Casey Droege Cultural Productions and the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation present Mo'ney Thomas Artist Reception. WDCD's Lohr Gallery, Wilkinsburg. 12-5 p.m. Continues through February 2025.

Quiet please, Exhibit Opening. Spinning Plate Gallery, East Liberty. 12-6 p.m.

Photographic Print Fair. Wilkinsburg Train Station, Wilkinsburg. 1-6 p.m.

Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive Concert and Celebration. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. 2 p.m.

Unblurred: First Friday Art Crawl. Multiple locations, Bloomfield and Garfield. 4-10 p.m.

Cory Bonnet’s Work(s) Exhibit Opening. ZYNKA Gallery, Sharpsburg. 5-8 p.m. Continues through December 22.

Doin' Our Own Thing Art Party. BoxHeart Gallery, Bloomfield. 5 p.m.

Art & Soul: Of the African American Woman. Edgewood Country Club, Edgewood. 5-8 p.m.

Francesca Woodman Smiles: Photography by George Lange. Bottom Feeder Books, Point Breeze. 6-8 p.m. Continues through November 30.

 

STAGE

Tamburitzans present Legacy. Ross Auditorium, North Hills. 3-5 p.m.

Gaslight Comedy with Ed Bailey. Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley. 7-9 p.m.

Atsuko Okatsuka. Byham Theater, Downtown. 7 p.m.

Irony City: Am I the Jagoff? Arcade Comedy Theater, Downtown. 8 p.m.

 

MUSIC

The Regal Sweet w/Bad Custer & Working Breed. The Original Pittsburgh Winery, Strip District. 8 p.m.

Mr. Smalls Post-Halloween Party. The Funhouse @ Mr. Smalls, Millvale. 8 p.m.

 

PARTY

90s House Party Fundraiser. Hill Dance Academy Theatre, Hill District. 6-11 p.m.

 

NETWORKING

Live Visuals Meetup. Tech25, Mt. Oliver. 6-9 p.m.

Sunday, November 3

ART

Artist Talk with Abby Franzen-Sheehan. Double Dog Studios, Carnegie. 1:30 p.m.

Creating In Community: Artist Talk w/Alecia Dawn Young and Janet Watkins. Steel City Squash, Larimer. 3-5 p.m.

 

LITERARY

Aaron Robertson & Joseph Earl Thomas Talk Utopia vs. Reality. Alphabet City @ City of Asylum, North Side. 3-4:30 p.m.

 

MUSIC

Pittsburgh Concert Chorale’s Festival of Choirs. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. 4 p.m.

South Side Music Festival. Enclave, South Side. 4:30-9:30 p.m.

Carnegie Mellon School of Drama’s Music Theater Ensemble presents Light: The Songbook of Tom Kitt. Greer Cabaret Theater, Downtown. 7 p.m.


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If you have an Allegheny County library card, you have access to weekly discounted tickets or free admission to regional cultural attractions through RAD Pass. Apply for your free library card to start using your RAD Pass today!