Pittsburgh Art Places Launches September 24!
Office of Public Art launches Pittsburgh Art Places - Press conference September 24 showcases definitive interactive website of public art and art venues
PITTSBURGH, PA - The Office of Public Art launches Pittsburgh Art Places(pittsburghartplaces.org), a free, comprehensive, and interactive website designed to showcase public art and art venues throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Serving as a hub of arts and culture venues, the site currently houses information for approximately 201 art places covering a geographical region spanning the 13-county region of Western Pennsylvania. The site is designed to expand visitors’ interest, pursuit and knowledge of art within our region, serving the public as not simply a promotional tool for the arts, but as a cultural concierge and public art archive. Free for people to browse, site visitors can create profiles that remember their favorite art spots and enable sharing with friends. These “art place tours” inspire art-related vacations and exploring the region as a cultural destination.
Broadly defining “art”, Pittsburgh Art Places welcomes any venue where visitors experience the visual, literary, or performing arts to create a free website profile, which the venues then manage themselves. In addition to traditional arts venues such as galleries and theaters, this also includes non-traditional spaces such as bookstores and restaurants. Since venues may list information about exhibitions and facilities rental, artists can use Pittsburgh Art Places to locate new sites in which to showcase their work. Finally, this is the ONLY website that has comprehensive information about every work of public art in the region, including temporary works. The site is anticipated to grow in scope as more arts venues create website profiles and share their photography, video, social media links and information, and also as the Office of Public Art creates more public art profiles. Pittsburgh Art Places is generously funded by the Colcom Foundation and the Hillman Foundation.
About the Office of Public Art: OPA is a public private partnership between the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning. They provide technical assistance and educational programs about public art in the Pittsburgh region. For more information, visit www.publicartpittsburgh.org