2-D art, including murals, mosaic, photography, etc.
Pittsburgh Creative Corps Artist Directory
Charlese Dawson
Primary Discipline
Artistic Practice
Digital / photography
Send My Love to the Hill Downtown Installation, 2024. Commissioned by Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Silver Eye Center for Photography.
Send My Love to the Hill Cover Art, 2021, photography.
The Walk II, 2020, photography.
The Walk I, 2020, photography, 8.5″ x 11.”
Walk Uphill (from Send My Love to the Hill), 2021, photography, 7.5″ x 7.5.”
About the Artist
Charlese Dawson is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans various mediums. As a photographer, she’s well known for her keen eye, which encapsulates the experiences of her surroundings in the community. Passionate about history, the future, and how the two mesh together to create the present, she has an unwavering commitment to documenting her community accurately and artistically as it goes through extreme changes.
Since July 2021 Charlese has been working on creating, curating, and publishing a unique photobook titled Send My Love to The Hill. This photobook is a collective love letter dedicated to the Hill District, one of Pittsburgh’s most historic neighborhoods. Through this collection of over 70 photographs and 10 written pieces, Send My Love to the Hill uplifts the community in the Hill District by capturing real raw moments on streets and encapsulating what it feels like to be from the Hill. In the vein of Charles “Teenie” Harris and August Wilson, Charlese is taking the very real experiences of her day-to-day life and encapsulating the landscape of the Hill District in the present. To help support this project, please connect with Charlese via charlese.dawson@gmail.com
Photo by Eric Smith at CREW Production
Web
Accreditations, Certifications, and/or Awards
- Black Artist Empowerment Grant, 2025
- 25 under 25 award from youth organization YMBKQ, 2023
- Featured Artist at Radiant Hall’s Window Display Downtown, 2022
- Advancing Black Arts Grant, The Pittsburgh Foundation and Heinz Endowments, 2021
- Black Micro Artist Grant, The Pittsburgh Foundation, 2021
Provides Fabrication Services to Other Artists
No
Teaching Artist
Yes, ages 5-18
Joined the Directory
November 2025
Related
PROJECT
Pittsburgh Creative Corps
Designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Creative Corps initiative engages artists and creative workers to activate the public realm while providing economic opportunity.
“Public art is essential to my practice because it shows the power of representation and the importance of accessibility.”
Charlese Dawson
Contact the Artist
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Related
PROJECT
Pittsburgh Creative Corps
Designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Creative Corps initiative engages artists and creative workers to activate the public realm while providing economic opportunity.
