Vendors, visitors embrace change as Three Rivers Arts Festival begins

The Dollar Bank Pittsburgh Three Rivers Arts Festival may have shifted its point of view, but that doesn’t mean it’s lost its color or long-time contributors and attendees.

Set up along the riverfront lots at the 15th Street Plaza in the Strip District, the annual celebration of art and music looks a little different without its usual backdrop of Point State Park. Vendors and visitors alike are embracing this year’s theme: change.

Many artists putting their work up this year don’t just embrace change — they view it as a way of life.

“It’s not a thing where there’s one consistent path,” said Korey Edmonson, who transitioned from graphic design to full-time art after vending at the festival in 2021. “You have to do your own thing.”

This year’s shortened event only runs through Sunday. The festival hosts more than 200 arts vendors and booths and feature free concert performances from regional and national musicians, including Cautious Clay, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Las Cafeteras, Lisa Loeb and Suzanne Vega.

The festival typically runs for 10 days.

Edmonson isn’t the only vendor whose journey to artistry has been anything but linear. For John Kramer, change meant stepping away from the fast-paced world of TV commercials and moving into photography.

For another vendor, Bill Booth, it meant using his years of practice as an electrician to make sculptured lamps out of light switches. This is his third year selling his work at the festival, but he said starting out as an artist wasn’t easy.

Jana Scott, who has been selling her art for more than a decade, said she remembers how vulnerable it felt when she started.

“It feels like you’re putting your belly button on display and people are just ‘booping’ it,” Scott said with a laugh. “But I don’t feel that way anymore.”

Scott’s career has evolved from professional photography to artistic expression — her photos of rusted metal remind her to place less value in material things. She views change not as an obstacle, but as a necessary reminder to grow and let go.

Lex Covato’s artwork has accompanied her through major life shifts — namely her shift into motherhood — and the Three Rivers Arts Festival has seen her through those changes, too.

This year, Covato’s 8-year-old daughter, Gia, will be selling artwork alongside her mom who has been painting for 20 years.

“I couldn’t do anything else,” Covato said. “It’s like breathing.”

Chris Jackson said that art often informs his decision-making for the better.

“You have to make decisions for yourself in the real world,” Jackson said. He and his wife have come to the Three Rivers Arts Festival for 12 years, and have been working together for almost 20. “We don’t need fancy things, and we’re passionate about what we do.”

The Three Rivers Arts Festival will continue through the weekend, ending Sunday with Vega’s free concert.