Pittsburgh CLO
CLO Academy Mural
Client
Services Provided
Project Planning
Artist Selection
Project Management
Artist
Tim Engelhardt, Above Stage, 2022
Project Summary
In 2022, Shiftworks was hired by the Pittsburgh CLO to provide artist selection and project management services for the commission of a large-scale mural above the alleyway entrance to their Pittsburgh CLO Academy in Downtown PIttsburgh. As the primary public entrance to the theater school, the goal of the project was to transform the uninviting alleyway—from Penn Avenue to the entrance of the building—into a safe, inviting, and inspiring corridor.
Through an artist selection process administered by Shiftworks, Pittsburgh-based artist Tim Engelhardt was chosen among a large pool of local and regional artists. Well-established as a muralist, Engelhardt was tasked with approaching the execution of the mural in a manner that was new to him: due to the historic nature of the building, the client sought alternative methods of mural installation that would not require direct paint application and would cause no permanent impact to the surface of the building. In response, Engelhardt, with support from Flyspace Productions, designed a system to mount hand-painted and digitally printed aluminum panels that could be attached inches off of the wall with minimal impact on the building’s facade.
The final result, Above Stage, is a multi-dimensional mural depicting colorful birds of various species flying overhead in and out of imaginary window panes of the academy in an excited rush to prepare for a big musical production. The work spans from the start of the alley on Penn Avenue to the school’s doors, a length of over 200 feet. The artwork creates a whimsical, colorful, and welcoming entranceway for students and guests.
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”The Pittsburgh CLO is grateful to Shiftworks and the support they provided during the process of developing an art installation to beautify our entrance. While COVID and other setbacks occurred to make the project last longer than anticipated, Shiftworks was with us every step of the way to guide the process of artist selection, permitting, and fabrication, to ensure a satisfactory completion, which ensured a new vibrancy to the CLO Academy space.
Pittsburgh CLO
About the Client
The mission of Pittsburgh CLO is the “celebration of musical theater.” Pittsburgh CLO is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to the preservation, creation and promotion of the American musical theater art form, the furnishing of arts education and providing outreach and meaningful community service opportunities in Western Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.
The Pittsburgh CLO Academy is the hub for 7 education programs that impact students of all ages throughout the southwest PA region. We believe that every student should have access to musical theater performances and training and use our programming to work toward that goal.
About the Artist
Tim Engelhardt is a visual artist residing in Pittsburgh, PA. Throughout the past 8 years, Tim has worked with businesses, communities, nonprofits, and residences to create a wide range of work that meets the creative goals of each client. Over the course of the past several years, Tim’s career in art has blossomed, taking him to Las Vegas, Reno, and Virginia Beach to create murals for local businesses, a project with the URA in Arnold, PA, a 6,000 sq. ft. mural for the Davis Companies at their apartment building Terminal 21 in Pittsburgh, a painted pathway for UPMC Children’s hospital and most recently, overseeing the installation of murals at Kennywood amusement park.
Tim’s ability to diversify his styles has given him a wide window of opportunities and he has seized upon them to great success. In addition to his public artwork and murals, Tim maintains a home studio as well as space in Radiant Hall in Homewood where he is developing a body of abstract works.
Additional Project Support
Flyspace Productions
Fred’s Signs
Gateway Engineers
Image credits
Gallery, top:
All photos by Sean Carroll
Artist Headshot:
Courtesy the artist
Related
CLIENT PROJECTS
Light-Based Artwork for the Sister Bridges
Shiftworks manages artist selection and project coordination for the annual artist-designed light-based artworks on the Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson bridges.