Site-specific and integrated art
Live performance, including puppetry, theater, dance, music, and spoken word poetry, etc.
Pittsburgh Creative Corps Artist Directory
Lindsay Surmacz
Primary Discipline
Artistic Practice
Performance
Site-specificity determines materials used
About the Artist
My strongest artistic inspirations involve confluence – the elegant combination of seemingly disparate elements into a vibrant, dynamic whole. This comes from an upbringing that, for me, included heavy involvement in theatre and music (especially percussion), a degree in Creative Writing, a career in science education, and a passion for making stuff. It’s no wonder, then, why I feel at home in the pinnacle of coordinated confusion: the circus.
As a teenager, my dream was to play drums for Cirque du Soleil. More than a decade later, I hopped aboard the circus train, and have delighted in its culture ever since, studying multiple disciplines and integrating them with my other professional practices. Circus and science education. Circus and music performance. Circus and creative writing. Circus and filmmaking. These are the artistic experiments that follow me through my days and nights, growing bigger, louder, and more colorful all the time.
Pittsburgh, which I have been blessed to call home throughout my life, is a rich planting ground for work like this. This city that was once a cradle for steel and jazz has reinvented itself as a hub for life science and technology innovations while cultivating a new generation of artistic luminaries. Historically, Pittsburghers have been strong people who work hard to build strong things. I move in service of that spirit, enriching myself and my community through artistic expression that requires a strong mind, a strong body, and a strong purpose through all the bumps and bravos!
Photo by J. Aaron Hager
Web
Accreditations, Certifications, and/or Awards
- University of Pittsburgh, Certificate in Digital Media – Video Concentration, 2018;
- Purdue University, BA in Creative Writing with Minor in Music History/Theory, 2011;
- R.B. and Lillian Stewart Scholarship, Purdue Bands and Orchestra, 2009;
- Maxine Lefever Outstanding Percussionist Award, Purdue Bands and Orchestra, 2008;
- Outstanding Percussion Ensemble Member Award, Purdue Bands and Orchestra, 2007
Provides Fabrication Services to Other Artists
No
Teaching Artist
Yes, ages 5 – 12
Joined the Directory
January 2024
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.
“I want to help reinvent the way people think of the circus by promoting it as a homegrown space for science, communication, contemporary art, poetry, musicianship, acting, and digital media.”
Lindsay Surmacz
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.