If you’re looking for art, many people would direct you to roped-off paintings at a museum or two-hour theater performances, but the Office of Public Art says try an open mic night at your local bar.
The office is launching a new website called Pittsburgh Art Places, where venues in the 13-county region can create profiles to connect to the public.
The venues can link to their websites or locations to buy tickets and post audio, video and images so the public can sample what kind of art they display.
The office of Public Art is opening its website to all venues that have any form of public art — not just museums and galleries.
Office Director Renee Piechocki said the website will also feature venues like clubs, bars, restaurants and bookstores that have some form of art.
“We made a decision at the beginning of this that we were going to be as open-minded about what the arts are as possible, so it’s not a site where it’s like art that we like, necessarily, or arts that we participate in, but we think that any bar that has a band playing, that’s an arts experience,” Piechocki said.
Art enthusiasts will be able to build lists of their favorite art places.
Piechocki said people always ask where they can find every public art display in Pittsburgh.
“There has never been a comprehensive listing of all museums or galleries or works of public art or theaters or open mic nights so when you’re coming here and you want to find something, there was no one place for you to look,” Piechocki said.
This listing will also include information about places that no longer exist.
The idea to create this website stemmed from the office’s Pittsburgh Artist Registry created in 2007.
The registry was meant to be a portfolio site for literary or performing artists, but museums and galleries tried to create profiles, too, so after turning them away for years, the office decided to make a twin site.
Piechocki said her office hopes to have 150 venues post profiles before it launches the site at the end of July, and it is about halfway there.
“We’re so excited about the venues because we’re getting so much feedback from people, but the other thing that Pittsburgh Art Places is, is a portal to learn about works of art in public places.”
