Art: Susanne Slavick’s billboard from Make Our Differences Our Strengths
Diversity Billboard Art Project Artists’ Talks at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
TALK • VIRTUAL
Instead of subjecting passersby to the expected advertisements of fast food or nearby hotels, 10 billboards throughout Westmoreland County have gone deeper, with images of social justice, equity, and love. They’re a part of Make Our Differences Our Strengths, a public art billboard campaign and traveling exhibit created by 10 artists and sponsored by the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Hear Pittsburgh artists Susanne Slavick and Ginger Brooks Takahashi discuss their original artwork in the exhibit during the Diversity Billboard Art Project Artists’ Talks, a virtual conversation moderated by the project’s lead artist Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer. 7-8 p.m. Free with registration. thewestmoreland.org
Fri., Jan. 15
HIKE • IRL
It may be winter, but you can still get outside and enjoy the fresh air and open sky. Join the Women's Adventure Club for an Astro Hike to the Allegheny Observatory. The event will feature short talks from astrophysicist Elizabeth Brunette on subjects like the Big Bang and dark matter. 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Riverview Park, Perry North. $20. adventureclubsewickley.com
Sat., Jan. 16
ART • VIRTUAL
The Carnegie Museum of Art winds down its On Contested Terrain exhibition with An-My Lê and Dawoud Bey: In Conversation. Moderated by CMOA curator of photography Dan Leers, the event invites On Contested Terrain photographer Lê and Bey to discuss their practices and approach to capturing landscapes and portraits of their respective subjects. Drawing on her experience as a refugee of the Vietnam War, Lê is known for examining the culture of conflict, while Bey documents the Black experience in America, particularly life in 1970s Harlem and the Underground Railroad. 12 p.m. On Contested Terrain continues through Mon., Jan. 18. Pay what you wish. cmoa.org
Sun., Jan. 17
FILM • VIRTUAL
Experience the rich history and sounds of calypso music with a film screening through City of Asylum's Virtual Channel. JouvayFest Collective, a Brooklyn-based group focused on Caribbean films, and Sabira Cole Film Festival, a Pittsburgh curator of films depicting the African diaspora, will present Calypso Dreams, a 2004 documentary about calypso singers from Trinidad and Tobago that also examines the history, culture, and anti-colonialist origins of the musical genre. The event includes a panel featuring the film's co-director, Geoffrey Dunn, Trinidadian calypso musician, David Michael Rudder, and others. 7-9 p.m. Free. Registration required. alphabetcity.org/events
Mon., Jan. 18
LIT • VIRTUAL
In his book The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, author David Treuer thoroughly maps Native American history, from contact with settlers, to forced assimilation, to resistance. Treuer, a member of the Ojibwe tribe who grew up on a reservation in Minnesota, will speak about this history and his book during a virtual event for Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures' Ten Evenings series. 7:30 p.m. (Watch anytime for one week.) $15. pittsburghlectures.org
KIDS • VIRTUAL
No one should be ashamed of, or discriminated against, for their natural hair, especially young Black girls. Kids in grades 3-5 can join Assemble for the Afrofuturism: Hair Pride Day Camp, a two-hour event that “aims to connect those from the Black diaspora with their African ancestry.” It will also teach participants about the CROWN Act, a piece of legislation designed to protect against discrimination towards how someone wears their hair. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Free for Garfield residents, $10-20 for others. assemblepgh.org
Tue., Jan. 19
WORKSHOP • VIRTUAL
Contemporary Craft will teach you how to make textile art with the first of a three-part Felting Workshop series led by Rae Gold. A local fiber artist who specializes in making pieces from merino wool, Gold will lead participants through the process of making their own decorative felt balls. Some prerequisite experience manipulating felt, as well as a long list of materials, are required for this and the two following workshops scheduled to take place in February. 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Registration required. $135 for series. contemporarycraft.org
Wed., Jan. 20
ART • IRL
Anyone who's worked in a grocery store, or any kind of corporate customer service job, knows how strange of an experience it can be. Lancaster-based photographer Erik Hagen encapsulates this in his new exhibit Team Member at Silver Eye Center for Photography. The series captures the "physical and psychological effects of this environment, the feeling of losing one's identity in the face of corporate dogma, and the unrelenting desires of the customer." Continues through April 24. By appointment only. 4808 Penn Ave., Bloomfield. Free. silvereye.org
