Grant helps bring South Arts Pittsburgh work to public eye in Bethel Park

South Arts Pittsburgh launched its 40th-anniversary year with a visual flourish.

A new display at the group’s home base, Bethel Park Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Arts and History Center, puts an array of members’ work in the public eye.

“It’s been a dream,” Jeanie Slater, South Arts co-president, said about the hanging art system purchased recently through a grant from the Bethel Park Community Foundation.

The initial exhibit features 27 works by South Arts members in a variety of media, from traditional oils, pastels and watercolors to digital art. Plans call for the display to be rotated every two or three months, according to Slater.

Each piece is for sale, with 10% of the proceeds earmarked for the historical society.

“I think they’re very proud of what we’ve done,” Cheryl Chivers, the other South Arts co-president, said.

The system hangs on a wall in an area where customers of Reginald’s Coffee, located in the west wing of the arts and history center, are welcome to sit and sip. The shop, in turn, is promoting South Arts through social media.

Another purchase made possible by the community foundation grant was for a sturdy set of blinds in the co-op room where South Arts conducts classes, including one that focuses on the unclothed human form.

“The figure-drawing group is ecstatic over those,” Chivers said about the blinds, the presence of which mitigates some tedious work to ensure privacy. “They used to have to cover the windows with tape and black fabric.”

Founded in 1984, the nonprofit South Arts Pittsburgh is designed to bring education, cultural outreach and networking opportunities to the community through various art programs.

Among the group’s endeavors is supporting the annual Spring Art Show at the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon. This year’s event is scheduled from April 5-14, featuring the work of artists from numerous South Hills-based groups.

For more details about the show, contact photographer Bob Hayes at 412-496-4236 or NIKF4@aol.com1.

Further information about South Arts Pittsburgh is available at www.southartspittsburgh.org.