If you are out and about in Pittsburgh, be on the lookout for discarded books which read, “This Is A Lost Book”—it just might be your ticket to a prize.
The Andy Warhol Museum and its partners are hiding 160 books in key landmarks and attractions around the city in November and December as a promotion for the Warhol’s new “Warhol By the Book” exhibit. Everyone who returns a book to the museum will win free admission for two, a discount at the museum store and have the chance to place the book on a specially-made bookshelf which, when all books have been returned, will create an image of one of Warhol’s works of art.
The scavenger hunt aims to show the public that there are always new things to see at the Warhol, according to Josh Wigod, an advertising account supervisor for the museum.
“People think that if they’ve been to the Warhol once, then they’ve kind of seen it all, they check it off their list of things to do within Pittsburgh,” Wigod said. “In reality, [the museum] has new exhibitions a handful of times throughout the year, so each experience [at] the Warhol is brand new every time you go.”
He said the works of Warhol “open up your mind," and that the scavenger hunt can have a similar effect.
“You get that sense of discovery when you find one of these books and you get that sense of discovery when you go through the Warhol,” he said. “I think [that] creates a nice parallel.”
Several books have already been recovered from places such as PNC Park, Heinz Field and the Duquesne Incline.
The museum encourages scavengers to take photos of their finds with the hashtag “#warholbookhunt.” Photos will be posted on the website warholbookhunt.com. The scavenger hunt ends January 8.
The museum’s partners, listed on the website, might be places to search also, Wigod hinted.
“You may or may not be able to find one of the books at those locations,” he said.
