Office of Public Art Announces New Season of Online Programming

Pittsburgh, PA — Office of Public Art (OPA) today announced a new season of online programming featuring artists and arts administrators engaged with critical public health and social justice issues. Programs will feature the debut of the OPA Live! Extended series presented via Zoom, Winter Intensive training for artists, and a Call for Hosts for OPA Live! on Instagram. These online programs were originally created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to remain part of OPA’s regular programming schedule.

“Our online programs reach local and global audiences. They allow us to access, and contribute to, a powerful network of cultural workers that can collectively share their knowledge through digital means,” said Rachel Klipa, Program Manager for the Office of Public Art. “This interconnectivity provides our Pittsburgh community with unique learning opportunities from those at the forefront of cutting-edge artistic and cultural practices.”

The first OPA Live! Extended will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM with a screening of From Colored to Black, a fact-based play by Brittany M. Caldwell and Jeffrey Pufahl which dissects the historical oppression and racism experienced by Black Americans. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the playwrights moderated by Shaunda McDill. Tickets for this event are Pay What You Can ranging from free to $10 with an option to donate. For tickets, please visit: https://opapgh.org/event/opa-live-extended-with-brittney-caldwell-and-jeffrey-pufahl/.

The new OPA Live! Extended format builds upon the success of OPA Live!, an Instagram video series that launched in the summer of 2020. OPA Live! Extended will be a three-part series of live, in-depth conversations and interaction with the audience. Topics for this series will relate to OPA’s current work addressing the intersection of public art and public health. Future guests include cultural workers from outside of the Pittsburgh region who will provide perspective in regard to race, Blackness, environmentalism, and will demonstrate how artists can catalyze change.

As part of OPA’s commitment to provide resources and tools for artists to work in the public realm, the Winter Intensive series also returns in February. This series features speakers from leading arts service organizations to share insights on public art and community-based projects. Winter Intensive topics include:

• Artists Working in Communities, with Jun-Li Wang, Associate Director of Springboard for the Arts, on February 10, 2022;
• Preparing for Fiscal Sponsorship, with Madeleine Cutrona, Senior Program Officer at The New York Foundation for the Arts, on February 17, 2022; and
• How to Market Your Creative Projects, with Jason McKoy of McKoy Creative on February 24, 2022.

Sessions will be held remotely from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM on Thursdays, February 10, February 17, and February 24, 2022. Tickets are Pay What You Can, ranging from free to $15 for individual sessions, or $35 (includes donation to OPA Programs) or $25 (without donation) for the three-part series. For tickets, please visit: https://opapgh.org/our-work/public-programming/winter-intensive-2022/.

Call for Hosts for OPA Live! on Instagram

OPA Live! on Instagram will return for Spring 2022. Now entering its third season of production, OPA Live! features Pittsburgh-based cultural producers, including artists, writers, and curators, in dialogue with their peers in locations across the nation and world. For this season, OPA is seeking applications from Pittsburgh-based cultural producers to host an OPA Live! session. OPA will commission four hosts for this season in April and May of 2022. The budget for each session is $250 that will cover the honorarium for the host and their guest. Applications are due by Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 11:59 PM. To apply, please visit: https://opapgh.org/our-work/public-programming/opa-live-call-for-hosts/.

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