Public Art Training Camp 2024

David Bernabo is a musician, artist, and independent filmmaker. He currently plays in the bands Watererer, How Things Are Made, and Else Collective. His film work documents studio practices of composers and artists, western Pennsylvania food systems, and histories of iconic arts institutions like the Mattress Factory. He is most noted for Moundsville, a documentary co-directed with former Wall Street Journal writer John W. Miller, which screened on PBS for three years, and the biographical documentary Just For The Record about avant-garde composer “Blue” Gene Tyranny. He has exhibited 2D, video, and installation art at SPACE, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Miller ICA, and 707 Penn, and he co-founded and co-curated the Lightlab Performance Series (2013-2019) with taylor knight and anna thompson of slowdanger.

He is a founding partner at Bright Archives, an independent archival production house. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. www.davidbernabo.info.

Kenseth Armstead has created provocative conceptual art for three decades. His work has been included in
pivotal explorations of history, American culture, ethnicity, and institution defining moments. Selected historic exhibitions which include his work are: Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art; It’s Happening! Celebrating 50 Years of Public Art in NYC Parks, Central Park, NY, NY, Presented by NYC Parks, Art in the Parks; Race in Digital Space at the MIT List Visual Arts Center; Veni Vidi Video at the Studio Museum in Harlem (their first video exhibition in 2003); Open House: Working in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Museum; “Edited at EAI”: Video Interference at Electronic Arts Intermix (celebrating 45 years of their award winning collection); Modern Heroics, 75 years of African American Expressionism at the Newark Museum.

Katherine Miranda (they/he) is a Latinx non-binary multidisciplinary artist. Interested in the innate way familial and communal stories are connected to ancestral lineages; Miranda’s artistic practice is one that is deeply rooted in the idea that our histories hold both value and power. Using discarded objects, most notably Café Bustelo, they create work that acts as an homage to their family, community and ancestry.

Miranda has been awarded several residences and fellowships including the Governors Island Residency with BronxArtSpace (2023), the Create Change Fellowship with The Laundromat Project (2023), the Artist in the Marketplace Fellowship with the Bronx Museum (2022) and the New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowship with Wave Hill (2021). They received their BFA from Macaulay Honors at Brooklyn College.

Maya Marie S. (she/her) is a Black farmer, chef, writer, and foodways educator from Baltimore, MD (Piscataway, Cherokee, and Lumbee lands) with roots in the Southern US who’s called Brooklyn, NY (Canarsee, Lenni Lenape lands) her home for over 10 years. She’s invested in creating accessible spaces for Black and brown people to learn about food and health that center their personal stories and food traditions while reconnecting with the earth and each other. She’s the founder and lead facilitator of Deep Routes, which is an educational project that uplifts the foodways of African and Indigenous diasporas via workshops, educational publications, and media.

Max Emiliano Gonzales, also known by their artist name “GEMS”, can be classified as an activist, art educator, muralist, graffiti writer, curator, and much more. Originally from the Southwest side of Chicago and raised in Latino communities, Max brings a unique perspective to Pittsburgh and their Garfield community.

Max was brought to Pittsburgh in 2012 to attend Carnegie Mellon University’s Fine Art program on a full-ride Scholarship. By 2016 Max had graduated with honors, secured multiple positions with the University, and was arrested as Pittsburgh’s most wanted graffiti artist. Rather than let the notoriety of their graffiti identity dwindle, Max has gone on to develop a career from it as a practicing artist, muralist, curator, and art educator.

Max has presented as a guest artist, lectured, and run workshops at locations including The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Winchester Thurston High School, Pittsburgh CAPA, Propel Schools, The Carnegie Libraries, Youth Places, Assemble Pgh, and The Environmental Charter School. Max is also a member of Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project, the Uptown Arts Council, and the Maxo Vanka Educational Programming Committee.

Lately, Max has become most well known for their spray paint Murals and community-driven Mural events. As a full-time muralist, Max wishes to use their identity and vast knowledge of the arts to serve the public and brighten the walls of any community they may be invited into.

Shane Pilster is a dynamic creative force, skilled in artistry, muralism, curation, and graphic design. He merges graffiti and urban arts with a strong dedication to community engagement, taking on roles as an educator, advocate, and mentor. Shane uses graffiti to amplify the voices of marginalized groups, sharing his expertise to empower individuals to use art for personal or societal change.

Originally from Santa Cruz, CA, Shane has been rooted in Pittsburgh since 2004. He initiated the Graffiti Art Program at Rivers of Steel (Carrie Furnaces) in 2013 and co-founded HCUAP, collaborating with impactful nonprofits like Hip-Hop On LOCK and The YMCA. His portfolio ranges from local projects to partnerships with national corporations such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Verizon.

With over two decades of spray painting experience and fifteen years of engaging with youth and the public, Shane has contributed to numerous public art installations and workshops. He continues to refine his craft alongside fellow artist and mural partner Max Gonzales.

In Shane Pilster’s career, you’ll find a blend of artistic skill and a commitment to nurturing creativity and social change within communities, leaving a lasting impact through vibrant expressions of art.

Leslie Roybal (Co-Founder, United Flamenco) has enjoyed a professional career as a performing artist, spanning over 25 years in both the contemporary dance and flamenco forms. She performed internationally with The Metropolitan Opera, Pasión y Arte, A Palo Seco Flamenco, Entreflamenco, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana and in the New York Area and New Mexico tablaos. Over the past 7 years, her work has been dedicated to providing essential support to artists through coaching, mentorship, and production support. She envisioned and created events and programs such as the Flamenco Certamen USA, an international competition for rising artists, and Evolución, a multi-tiered framework of support for dancers at all stages of their journey. Leslie is a certified NLP Practitioner and her coaching, mentorship and leadership has empowered hundreds of rising artists to grow in their practice.

Christina Berke MFA M.Ed. is a Chilean-American writer and educator based in Los Angeles. She was the 2022 Katharine Bakeless Nason Contributor Award Recipient in Nonfiction at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her fiction manuscript based on her maternal family’s history living through the 1973 coup won Honorable Mention for the 2022 Miami Book Fair Emerging Writers Fellowship. A former Managing Editor for Black Mountain Institute’s award-winning literary magazine, Witness, she now reads memoir for Split Lip Magazine. Her writing has been supported by the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Bread Loaf, the Kenyon Review Teacher’s Workshop, VONA, Tin House and elsewhere. She’s been awarded residencies with Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, Storyknife and Ragdale. A former middle school English teacher, Christina is an Adjunct Professor of English and teaches creative writing classes online and within her community.