Shiftworks Community + Public Arts Pilots Artist-Designed Tour Series

Pittsburgh, PA — Six artists are inviting Pittsburghers to see the city differently. Through Psychogeography: City Practice, each artist has designed a tour that uses walking, observation, storytelling, and creative inquiry to explore a Pittsburgh neighborhood from a distinct perspective. The series is presented by Shiftworks Community + Public Arts as part of Developing the Creative Workforce, a workforce development pilot supporting artists in the development of public projects.

Designed and implemented by local writer and educator Sherrie Flick, and Shiftworks’ Program Manager of Education Rachel Klipa, the Psychogeography pilot provided a cohort-based setting for six artists to develop new ideas and implementation skills for projects in public space. Funding for Developing the Creative Workforce is provided in part by the City of Pittsburgh’s American Rescue Plan Act Arts Programming funds and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“At its heart, Psychogeography desires to question expected or prescribed ways of moving through space to imagine other possibilities,” said Rachel Klipa, Shiftworks’ Program Manager of Education. “Tour design involves asking questions, curiosity, and inviting people to notice, interpret, and move through a place in new ways. We want artists to have the agency to create their own approaches to place, while giving participants the agency to become authors of their own experiences.”

An open call for applicants was released in early 2026. A selection panel chose six artists to participate in this pilot: Carolina Loyola-Garcia, Celeste Neuhaus, Sarah Shotland, Marlana Vassar, Ruby Waldo, and Tess Wilson. In April 2026, Klipa and Flick led four weekly workshops for artists to develop their tours. Sessions were also used to answer questions, craft tour proposals, and teach the history and methods of Psychogeography.

“These six Pittsburgh artists have taken the ideas and skills we presented and come up with insightful, dynamic, experimental walking tours,” said Pittsburgh writer and educator, Sherrie Flick. “The training sessions served as a fantastic bonding experience for all involved and we can’t wait for these programs to hit the ground across a variety of Pittsburgh neighborhoods and public parks.”

The tour series is the culmination of the pilot, and is open to the public. Tours will take place on Saturday mornings from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM, September 12 to October 24, 2026. Tours are free to attend, but advanced registration is required. For more information and to register, please visit: https://shiftworkspgh.org/our-work/public-programming/psychogeography-city-practice/.

Developed by Shiftworks and Flick, the new Psychogeography: City Practice program builds on distinct approaches to walking, creative practice, and place-based engagement. Rooted in psychogeography, the exploration of how people experience and move through places, the cohort-based program invites participants to explore new approaches to tour development while engaging with Pittsburgh’s landscapes and communities.

###