Pittsburgh man uses 27 billboards to display uplifting art exhibition

A man from Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood is using 27 billboards to create an outdoor art exhibit, spreading messages of love, togetherness and resilience.

The exhibition, titled “April in Paris of Appalachia,” will display Sean Rothermel’s artwork through July.

Rothermel isn’t an artist by trade — he said he has a background in finance. The massive art project, he said, provided a way for him to express his feelings during the covid-19 pandemic, while also bringing the community together.

He said he purchased the space on 27 billboards and spent about two weeks creating the artwork.

“To me, this whole exhibition is really just about love and togetherness and resilience. I think those are the things that Pittsburgh exemplifies,” he said. “At the same time, it’s very personal, very autobiographical. Going through the last few months, I just had this idea that it would be a good way to share a positive message in some hard times — and do it in a way that’s safe and socially distant.”

People can drive the route through Pittsburgh to see the billboards, which are displayed primarily in residential areas throughout the city. The full exhibition takes about three hours.

“I wanted to create a way for people to expose themselves to the different communities and neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. When you go somewhere that you’re not used to, it requires you to see things differently and that requires you to change a little bit,” he said, noting that this is more experiential than a standard art museum exhibit.

Rothermel said most of the billboards are in areas where viewers could easily park their cars and walk toward the artwork. He urged people to be careful of traffic laws while viewing the displays.

He hopes the exhibition will be a source of inspiration.

“I hope people see that it’s OK to take these types of risks and to make a mistake in the spirit of learning a new skill or trying to improve your community,” Rothermel said.

Once the artwork is taken down at the end of month, Rothermel plans to auction it, donating 100% of the proceeds to various charities.

“It’s a way to put the energy of this back into the city,” Rothermel said. “The goal of this is to benefit the communities of Pittsburgh, especially the ones that might be especially struggling right now.”