Art & Museums category

On stages across Western Pennsylvania, the drama unfolding isn’t only scripted — it’s real. Five years after covid-19 shuttered theaters and silenced auditoriums, regional arts organizations are still navigating the fallout of the pandemic, shrinking funding streams and an audience base that looks much different than before. National data from...

LONDON — Frida Kahlo’s face is one of the best known in art, thanks to her bold and challenging self-portraits. A lesser-seen self-depiction by the Mexican artist is going up for auction at Sotheby’s in what could be a record-setting sale. With an estimated price of $40 million to $60...

Sweetwater Center for the Arts is continuing an almost-30-year tradition of celebrating Black art and culture with the Mavuno Festival and Exhibition, and this year it will be bigger than ever. Mavuno, which means “first fruit” in Swahili, is a celebration of BIPOC art, food, music and culture that aims...

Even if you’re painting a life-size depiction of baby birds, you don’t need a huge canvas. That’s part of the reason why Murrysville artist Betty Trout decided to focus on multiple families of robins in her backyard as the subject of her entry in the “24 Minis” exhibit at the...

On Jan. 2, 1956, college football fans gathered at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. They were there to watch the annual Sugar Bowl, played between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but they also got to witness history. It was the first ever racially integrated...

The new logo unveiled for the Kamin Science Center on Thursday has a “K” for Kamin and an image that represents a telescope positioned toward a sky of stars — signifying the love of science by Daniel G. Kamin and the gift of a lifetime to the museum on Pittsburgh’s...

Nina Whitfield Stahlberg meandered among chairs, desks and bookcases at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library last week, directing her son, Kevin, on where to hang 35 paintings featured in her latest art exhibit. Those stopping in to check out books would hardly suspect that the Penn Township resident will celebrate...

A picture is worth a thousand words, but for Black photojournalists during the 20th century, many of those words were spoken in whispers. A new exhibit from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland seeks to bring the work of these professionals to the forefront. Much of the inspiration for...

WASHINGTON — In an afternoon’s walk through ground zero of Americana — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History — objects around every corner invite one question: What could possibly be more American than this? There’s the enormous Star-Spangled Banner in all its timeworn glory, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The...

President Donald Trump reportedly plans to expand his push to whitewash “woke” museum exhibits on slavery and American history beyond the Smithsonian. After Trump tweeted that the Smithsonian is too focused on “how bad slavery was,” the White House said it would eventually seek to use its power over funding...

Walking through Sandra Jackson’s childhood home is akin to walking through an art museum. The Perrysville Avenue property in Pittsburgh’s North Side holds the artwork of Jackson’s father, Charles Jackson, who devoted nearly six decades of his life to documenting the city through paintings. A selection of his work —...

Among the pages of the textbook “Art Through the Ages” by Helen Gardner, Carolyn Brahney learned to appreciate art and inspire others to embrace their creativity. A 1962 graduate of Youngstown (now State) University with a Bachelor of Arts in fine arts and education, Brahney began teaching junior high school...

At the Westmoreland Museum of American Art on Sunday morning, an artist-designed replica of the Liberty Bell rested under a blue blanket draping. Created in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the bell awaited its unveiling, surrounded by officials from the museum, local politicians and stained-glass artist Mandy Sirofchuck,...

The public Monday will have an opportunity to weigh in on upcoming plans for historical preservation, interpretation and programming along the six-county Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Working with New Jersey- based consultant Relevant Strategies & Solutions, the transportation-focused heritage organization will present ideas for updating its Management Action Plan (MAP) —...

After 20 months, the Carnegie Science Center will officially become the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center. “It has definitely been worth the wait,” said Jason Brown, Henry Buhl Jr. director of the science center and vice president of Carnegie Museums. Brown said that thanks to the tremendous...

In Mark Rengers Gallery, one of the shadow boxes on the wall contains memorabilia from Rengers’ late father, Edward F. Rengers, who served in World War II. When someone looks at a framed image or collection of pieces behind the glass, it creates a feeling of what they are seeing,...

When the United States marks its 250th anniversary in 2026, replicas of the iconic Liberty Bell will be installed all across Pennsylvania, each with a different theme created by local artists. And while the goal was to place at least one in each county, Westmoreland County already has two in...

The votes are in — the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library will be the next historical landmark to be commemorated in the Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad and Village model. “We were very gung-ho,” said Ellen Goodman, director of the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue. Nikki Wilhelm, manager for the...

NEW YORK — The Smithsonian Institution has removed from an exhibit a reference to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments, a decision that comes as the White House exerts pressure to offer a more positive — and selective — view of American history. A spokesperson said the exhibit eventually “will include...

When Aspinwall business owner Debbie McManus viewed a photograph of a bombed-out apartment with an intact kitchen cabinet in Ukraine in 2022, she grew inspired to honor the people of Ukraine with a commissioned miniature display titled “Be Strong Like This Kitchen Cabinet.” McManus owns Lynlott Miniatures Dollhouse Junction on...

After a week of sweating from the heat outside, take this weekend to sweat from concerts, monster truck rallies and dance parties instead. Here are a few ways to turn up the heat on your weekend. Lawrenceville Art Crawl Encompassing more than a dozen blocks along Butler Street in Lawrenceville,...

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg announced on Tuesday that it has named Nicole Lampl as its new curator of American art. “We’re excited to welcome Nicole to The Westmoreland in this lead curatorial role,” Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, PhD., said in a news release. “She...

Mike Casper always has some vinyl records lying around. “We get a lot of vinyl donated, and a lot of times people will bring things in they don’t have the (record) sleeves for anymore and we can’t do much with those,” said Casper, an employee at CD Warehouse in Hempfield....

Sometimes the smallest things can have a huge impact — just ask the people whose buildings were nominated for inclusion in the Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad and Village model. Voting is open once again as the science center looks to add another model to its collection of iconic Pittsburgh...

Painters dab a variety of materials onto their canvases. Oil paint. Pastel paint. Watercolor paint. But milk paint? “The materials relate directly to the time period,” said Michael Belman, referring to a 1930s-era painting at Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ in Murrysville, which he recently finished...