Visual Arts @ the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

On Friday, May 29, The Whitney Review of New Writing presents readings, performances, music, and video inside Marianne Vitale’s On Liberty: A Summoning at SPACE gallery, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Join us for an evening of live performances by: S&M Precious Okoyomon Lisa Carver Maya Martinez Mani Mekala Charlie Markbreiter And a program of video art curated by Molly Soda features work by Michel Auder, Mike Kelley, Lauren Cook, Isaiah Davis, Kembra Pfahler, Cruz Valdez, John Pilson, Jacob Ciocci, and E. Jane. The Whitney Review of New Writing is an independent journal of literary criticism based in New York City. Each issue features interviews, essays, poetry, and short-format reviews. At once a place of discovery—guiding readers toward their next book—it also stands as a record of the zeitgeist, connecting cultures of reading to art, design, performance, music, nightlife, and fashion, brought to life through its live programming and collaborative events. The new seventh issue of The Whitney Review marks three years of the project’s evolving interdisciplinary approach to literary criticism. It will be available for sale, alongside printed matter and ephemera courtesy of the featured performers. The Whitney Review @thewhitneyreview @whitneymallett Readings & Performances S&M @safratadesse @mayahmonet_art Precious Okoyomon @devilintraining_ Lisa Carver @carver9963 Maya Martinez @hidingfrommystalkerok Mani Mekala @mekalanumbers Charlie Markbreiter @charliedurian_ Video art program curated by Molly Soda @molly__soda Michel Auder @michelauder Mike Kelley @mike_kelley_foundation Lauren Cook @cow_eye_lashes Isaiah Davis and Kembra Pfahler @davisleathernyc @kembrapfahler_ Cruz Valdez @cruzcvaldez John Pilson Jacob Ciocci @jacobciocci E. Jane @glorious_nobodies @culturaltrust @trustvisualarts

An evening of durational music comes to Wood Street Galleries on Friday, May 29th during the Gallery Crawl. Forest Management is the long running ambient project of Chicago musician, John Daniel. His prolific output has been featured on labels such as No Rent Records, American Dreams, Vaknar, and numerous others. John’s music is exactly the kind of tonal and patient sound I seek in drone and ambient music and I am overjoyed to bring him back to Pittsburgh. Local support from long player veterans: Estelle, Nick Breinich, Gusto, and Bed Load A veritable feast of moving image mysteries will be projected for the duration of the event by film archivist Steven Haines of Flea Market Films

Opening tonight in Pittsburgh! Vitale’s Music Box Pete Drungle & His Slippery Sextette Kiko Soiree, Alex Tatarsky, Sis Thee Doll with host, Michael Portnoy Marianne Vitale On Liberty: A Summoning Opening Reception & Opening Night Performance Thursday, April 30, 2026 | Doors at 7 SPACE gallery, 812/818 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust #mariannevitale #petedrungle #sistheedoll #alextatarsky #kikosoiree

This Thursday April 30th doors open at 7pm 🎶🎺🎷🍸 Please join us to celebrate the opening of: MARIANNE VITALE ON LIBERTY: A Summoning 🗓️ April 30– October 11, 2026 📍 SPACE gallery, 812 Liberty Ave. 🍸 Opening: Reception: Thursday April 30th doors at 7pm. Performance starts at 8pm FREE The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is excited to announce the opening of: Marianne Vitale – On Liberty: A Summoning. Opening night performance hosted by Michael Portoy @michaelportnoy featuring Kiko Soiree @kikosoiree Alex Tatarsky @tartar.biz Sis Thee Doll @ucancallmesis and Peter Drungle @drungle his Slippery Sextet 🎺🎷 Patrick Breiner @alwaysbeenanelephant Tommy Lehman @tommmylehman John Shannon @johnshannonmusic Tony De Paolis @invisiblebolt David Throckmorton @throckmortondavid and Ben Opie @benopiemusic On Liberty: A Summoning is a site-responsive exhibition and performance project by the contemporary artist Marianne Vitale rooted in the layered social and cultural history of 812/818 Liberty Avenue. Over the twentieth century, the building housed a succession of influential nightlife and performance venues, including The Liberty Theater, The Music Box, The Staircase Lounge, Villa Madrid, The Pin Up Lounge, The Twilight Room, Lenny Litman’s Copa, and Pegasus which functioned as radically open spaces for music, performance, queer nightlife, and gathering. Vitale reanimates this history through sculpture, performance, film, and printed matter, creating a project that operates simultaneously as a formal exhibition and a series of live, time-based activations. Installed within a bar-and-stage framework referencing the site’s former nightclub configurations, the exhibition remains open daily as a sculptural environment and transforms into a functioning club during the Cultural Trust’s Final Fridays Gallery Crawls between May and October. Marianne Vitale On Liberty: A Summoning is guest curated by Benjamin Tischer in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Art21 present a special screening of artist Lenka Clayton in “Human Nature” at the Harris Theater on May 12. “Human Nature” is the newest episode of Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century, the first series on television in the U.S. to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists. Following the screening, the artist will be in conversation with Tina Kukielski, Art21’s Susan Sollins Executive Director and Chief Curator. Doors will open at 5:30, event to begin at 6pm. This event is free, however RSVP is strongly recommended at the link in our bio.

CLOSING SOON | Don’t miss your chance to experience “Dream Sequence,” the CMU School of Art 1st and 2nd Year MFA Exhibition at SPACE Gallery, before it closes April 5. 📸 @chrissycliche

You’re invited 📣🎉 MARIANNE VITALE ON LIBERTY: A Summoning 🗓️ April 30– October 11, 2026 📍 SPACE gallery, 812 Liberty Ave. 🍸 Opening: Reception: Thursday April 30th doors at 7pm. Performance starts at 8pm The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is excited to announce the opening of: Marianne Vitale – On Liberty: A Summoning. Opening night performance hosted by Michael Portoy @michaelportnoy featuring Kiko Soiree @kikosoiree Alex Tatarsky @tartar.biz Sis Thee Doll @ucancallmesis and Peter Drungle @drungle his Slippery Sextet 🎺🎷 Patrick Breiner @alwaysbeenanelephant Tommy Lehman @tommmylehman John Shannon @johnshannonmusic Tony De Paolis @invisiblebolt David Throckmorton @throckmortondavid and Ben Opie @benopiemusic On Liberty: A Summoning is a site-responsive exhibition and performance project by the contemporary artist Marianne Vitale rooted in the layered social and cultural history of 812/818 Liberty Avenue. Over the twentieth century, the building housed a succession of influential nightlife and performance venues, including The Liberty Theater, The Music Box, The Staircase Lounge, Villa Madrid, The Pin Up Lounge, The Twilight Room, Lenny Litman’s Copa, and Pegasus which functioned as radically open spaces for music, performance, queer nightlife, and gathering. Vitale reanimates this history through sculpture, performance, film, and printed matter, creating a project that operates simultaneously as a formal exhibition and a series of live, time-based activations. Installed within a bar-and-stage framework referencing the site’s former nightclub configurations, the exhibition remains open daily as a sculptural environment and transforms into a functioning club during the Cultural Trust’s Final Fridays Gallery Crawls between May and October. Marianne Vitale On Liberty: A Summoning is guest curated by Benjamin Tischer in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

🏈📸✨ TOMORROW NIGHT 🏈 Opening Reception of Michael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography—and Pittsburgh football fans won’t want to miss it! FIRST TWENTY VISITORS WILL RECEIVE A FULL SET OF THE LIMITED EDITION TRADING CARDS MADE FOR THE EXHIBITION! Join us at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Friday March 27, 2026, from 5:30–9:00 PM at 707 Penn Avenue for the opening reception. Even better—Michael Zagaris himself will be here, meeting visitors and sharing stories from the sidelines of football history. To celebrate the opening, limited edition football cards will be available during the reception—a special keepsake for fans and collectors. Catalogues will also be available for sale and only available at the exhibition! This exhibition arrives as we mark more than 50 years since the dawn of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary Steel Curtain dynasty, a golden era that changed the game forever. The exhibition features iconic Zagaris photographs from the Steelers’ championship years, including unforgettable images of Lynn Swann, Hall of Fame wide receiver, four-time Super Bowl champion, and Super Bowl X MVP, whose grace and athleticism defined Steelers greatness in the 1970s. One featured photograph captures Swann—captured in Zagaris’ words—“signaling he and the Steelers are No. 1 in the waning seconds of a 24–13 playoff win.” 🏈📸✨Opening March 27, 2026Michael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography📍 707 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA🗓 Opening Reception: March 27 | 5:30–9:00 PM🎟 Free and open to the public From locker rooms to Super Bowls, from the Steelers’ golden years to the heart of NFL history—this is one exhibition football fans won’t want to miss. #MichaelZagaris #SteelersHistory #SteelCurtain #NFLPhotography #LynnSwann

Join us tomorrow for spidrmanthemusical Issue 4: How Did We Get Here? an art performance that celebrates Pittsburgh, friendship, and the unrelenting need to create. Wood Street Gallery floor 2 Doors at 5:30pm Live performance at 7:30pm @trustvisualarts FREE, limited seating. See you there, spider friends! Theme song by @cscott412 in collaboration with Lee Kennedy 🕷️ #spidrmanthemusical #vaultartstudio #robotwarhol #pittsburgh

Swipe to see the free programs we have in store for the March 27th Gallery Crawl!* —>   Please join us for the opening reception of ‘Michael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography’ at 707 Gallery! In celebration of the 2026 NFL Draft hosted in Pittsburgh, this exhibition offers a glimpse into the world of professional football through photographer Michael Zagaris. Selected from Zagaris’ rarely seen archive spanning decades of his legendary career, these photographs transcend traditional game-day shots, capturing fleeting moments that define the sport’s culture. Limited trading cards and catalogs available for purchase. ‘Michael Zagaris: 60 Years of NFL Photography’ is curated by Anastasia James and presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.     The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s partnership with VaultArt Studio continues with ‘Spidrmanthemusical’ at Wood Street Galleries. Sam Berner and Chris Donadio began creating Spidrmanthemusical performances in 2011. Their performances utilize low-fi props and technology paired with humorous dialog that draws from comics, pop culture, and everyday life. Issue 4 will feature a presentation of Pittsburgh and superhero themed artwork by Kim Bond, Tafara Bundrige, Tarira Bundrige, Wendy Davis, Kahyll Holyfield, Darian Johnson, Heikeem Johnson, Maggie Kambic, Lee Kennedy, Cicely Murray, Steph Neary, Frank Principe, Charlie Scott, Edith Sullivan, Sean Regis Traynor, Charlie Wallace and feature a 25 minute action packed live performance that starts at 7:30pm. All artwork is available for purchase through VaultArt Studio.  Wood Street Galleries 3rd fl., 820 Gallery, and SPACE Gallery will be open late with our current exhibitions for the Crawl, 5:30-9pm.   *The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Gallery Crawls will now occur on a monthly basis falling on the final Friday of each month (excluding April and December). All exhibitions will be open 5:30-9pm with special one-night-only programs announced each month. For full details on this Crawl’s offerings, please visit Crawl.TrustArts.org.

Showtimes: 11:15/1:15/3:15 each day :) New horror comedy feature film from Dennis Cooper & Zac Farley. Free & open to the public. You have six different times to catch the movie. It’s happening on floor 2 of the galleries. Seating provided. Elevator accessible. Big thanks to the talented @steakmtn for working on the flyer with me. Thanks to @dennis_cooper_writer and @zac__farley for asking me to screen it. “In the desert of southern California, every year a family dutifully works to convert their prefabricated home into a haunted house spectacle for neighbors to explore. But as the mundane slowly gives way to the macabre, the family’s own personal problems are laid bare as the father’s infatuation increasingly begins to take its toll on everyone.”

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust mourns the passing of, and celebrates the life of, Thaddeus Mosley: beloved artist, father, veteran, and friend whose artistic contributions have forever enriched our community. Our thoughts are with the Mosley family and all who loved him. Photos: Gregory D. Neiser, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (2024) Inaugural Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Icon Award Reception (2024)| Solo Exhibition Reception with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, City of Pittsburgh Proclamation of "Thaddeus Mosley Day" (August 29, 2024)