Saturday, November 4, 2023 | |
Artist Jennie Reyes, along with her husband Jay, participates in a coin-stamping activity as part of the Currents mentoring program that helps build her skills as a teaching artist. | |
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Heritage Arts
We're excited today to have an opportunity to focus on our heritage arts program and the practice of cultural conservation!
Rivers of Steel’s Heritage Arts program represents the region’s diverse cultural heritage—from traditional, ethnic customs and industrial arts directly linked to Pittsburgh’s past to new American folk arts and cultural practices emerging from the region’s diverse urban experience. Usually passed down from person to person within close-knit communities, these traditions are as varied as they are unique, each representing another part of southwestern Pennsylvania’s rich ways of life.
In 2023, Rivers of Steel collaborated with three cultural centers, four traditional artists, and three trained teaching artists on a project called Currents. The goal was to help immigrant artists, who are already skilled in a cultural practice, learn techniques to become just as skilled at being a teaching artist. Then each newly-trained artist led a workshop at their own cultural center. Learn more about this yearlong project in this Heritage Highlights article by Jon Engel.
Gulay Baltali is one of those artists, and is originally from Istanbul, Turkey. In addition to participating in the Currents program, she also collaborated with Rivers of Steel to create an instructional video for her ebru practice. Ebru is the Turkish art of water marbling. Watch the video and then stop by the Carnegie Library of Homestead to pick up a Heritage Craft Kit to try the practice at home. These are great for kids and adults; they are available while supplies last.
Tomorrow, we'll host the last Arts & Grounds Tour of the season, along with a final Photo Safari, both of which still have tickets available. The Hot Metal Happy Hour: Forged Bottle Openers workshop on November 16 has just four available spots, so now's a good time to register for this one-day blacksmithing program.
Around the region, the Go Laurel Highlands team is hosting a Pour Tour event with Yinzer Valley Farms in Mt. Pleasant, and the Society for the Preservation of the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka are highlighting a newly restored mural during their tours through the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale.
This weekend promises to have lovely weather, so we hope you are able to make the most of it!
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Collaborators with the Currents program: (Top row from left) Alison Zapata, Lindsay Huff, Jon Engel, Katy DeMent, Til Gurung, and Chitra Gurung. (Seated from left) Benjamin Aysan and Gulay Baltali. Participating, but not shown here, is artist Jennie Reyes. | |
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HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Currents—Teaching Artists & Tradition Bearers
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Earlier this year, our Heritage Arts Coordinator, Jon Engel, teamed up with the Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media (PCA&M) for a community-building project, dubbed Currents, that collaborated with new American groups in the city of Pittsburgh.
Jon and several of PCA&M’s staff artists led an educational program for immigrant tradition-bearers, culminating in a series of free arts workshops for their communities. At the end of their year together, these traditional artists left with a new network of mentors and new ways to share their cultural skills with others.
In this article, Jon speaks with each of the artists, as well as leaders from their communities, about why this series and these traditions are so vital and important to their people.
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A tray midway through the process of creating an ebru painting. | |
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HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Ebru Heritage Craft Kits
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Through an ongoing partnership with the Carnegie Library of Homestead, Rivers of Steel is able to offer heritage craft video instruction, along with corresponding craft kits that patrons can take home from the library to practice an artform, like the one available now with artist Gulay Baltali that provides instruction on ebru, Turkish water marbling.
Learn more about the artist, the process, and how you can try this for yourself.
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HERITAGE TOURS
Arts & Grounds Tour at the Carrie Blast Furnaces
Sunday, November 5, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
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Stop by for the last public tour at the Carrie Blast Furnaces this season. This tour highlights the artworks on display at this National Historic Landmark, and also shares context for how the landscapes on the site are managed, specifically the Iron Garden. Enjoy a walk through the gardens and grounds on a lovely fall day while you learn about how the site has inspired an array of creatives. | |
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OPEN PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION
Photo Safari
Sunday, November 5, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
| The Carrie Furnaces are undoubtably a photographer's muse. The form and texture of the structures cater to seasonal scenes with the soft lighting of autumn, and with the addition of an array of colors in The Iron Garden area, now is an excellent time to capture unique perspectives of this National Historic Landmark site. Take advantage of this opportunity to photograph the Carrie Blast Furnaces with only a few other photographers around. | |
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METAL ARTS WORKSHOP
Hot Metal Happy Hour: Forged Bottle Openers
Thursday, November 16, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
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Join us for a Hot Metal Happy Hour at the Carrie Blast Furnaces.
This three-hour, hands-on event is an excellent introduction to blacksmithing. Work with hot steel to create your own custom bottle opener! In the process, you’ll learn basic blacksmithing techniques including slitting, drifting, punching, bending, and more. At the end of the session, put your handiwork to the test when you crack open an ice-cold bottled beverage to toast your accomplishment!
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THINGS TO DO IN THE RIVERS OF STEEL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
Laurel Highlands' Pour Tour—Bonfires, Barrels & Brews
November 5, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m., Yinzer Valley Farms, Mt. Pleasant
| Sample a variety of delicious craft beers, wines, ciders, and spirits from Laurel Highlands Pour Tour makers while enjoying the cozy warmth of a bonfire. With live music, food trucks, vendors, and great company, Sunday's festivities promise to be a Pour Tour event to remember. Don't miss out on the opportunity to taste the best of local beverages and enjoy the atmosphere of the Laurel Highlands countryside. Grab your friends and get ready to raise a glass to good times! | |
Restoring the Eye of God. Perched three stories high on scaffolding, conservator Cindy Fiorini meticulously cleans Maxo Vanka's mesmerizing masterpiece. | |
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THINGS TO DO IN THE RIVERS OF STEEL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
Tour the Murals of Maxo Vanka
Mondays and Saturdays, St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, Millvale
| Now that the Gledaj! The Gaze of Maxo Vanka exhibition has finished its run at the Bost Building, is a great time to see the murals themselves! Immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring murals of Croatian artist Maxo Vanka on a guided tour at the historic St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale. Discover how these striking works were painted by Vanka in 1937 and 1941 to reflect the culture and lives of the working-class immigrant congregation. While on the tour, you’ll learn about the stories behind the murals and their timeless messages, and view the newly restored Eye of God mural, pictured above. | |
Help preserve our region’s industrial and cultural heritage! Your tax-deductible contribution will help ensure that Rivers of Steel can continue to offer vital, engaging, community-based arts, education, and heritage programs for the residents of southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.
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