Artist-Designed Tour of Pittsburgh Public Art by Darrell Kinsel

Pittsburgh, PA – The Office of Public Art (OPA) is pleased to announce Jaunt, an artist-designed public art tour by artist D.S. Kinsel. Jaunt is a series of postcards to color, designed in collaboration with artist Maggie Negrete, featuring artwork by Pittsburgh artists. Jaunt encourages safe exploration of public art in the region during the pandemic. The free postcards are available at the following locations based on their operating hours: BOOM Concepts, 5139 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15224; Small Mall, 5300 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, 15201; CDCP Project Space and Small Mall Outpost, 317 S Trenton, Wilkinsburg, 15221; Ujamaa Collective, 1901 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, 15219; and People’s Grocery, 5136 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, 15224.

Jaunt is designed to introduce recipients of the cards to art in the public realm by Black and femme artists. The cards feature work such as Thad Mosley’s Mountaintop, Deavron Dailey’s Arms of East Liberty, and Janel Young’s Home Court Advantage as well as others. Kinsel, a visual artist and co-founder of BOOM Concepts in Garfield, researched and selected the artworks to be featured on each card. He then hired Negrete, a Pittsburgh-based illustrator and teaching artist, to create black and white line drawings of each artwork that can be colored by the recipients. Recipients are invited to participate in a self-guided tour of art in the public realm by Black and femme artists by visiting the locations depicted, and learning more about the valuable contributions these artists have made to Pittsburgh’s culture.

“Our original intention in commissioning Jaunt was for Darrell to lead a walking tour of public art as part of OPA’s regular public programming. We were seeking to expand the ways in which we engage audience members by providing them with an opportunity to view public art through an artist’s eyes,” said Rachel Klipa, OPA’s program manager for education and outreach. “When the pandemic arrived, Darrell had to pivot to create a new approach that did not involve in-person activities. His artist’s lens was critical to creating a fresh way of looking at what a public art tour can be. It’s exciting to see how he is connecting spaces across the city and making them accessible to more people.”

“Public art and the way we enjoy visual work is essential during these times. Jaunt gives us a chance to experience works in the public space in a different way together, yet still apart,” said Kinsel.

About Darrell Kinsel

D.S. Kinsel is co-founder of BOOM Concepts, an award-winning creative entrepreneur, and cultural agitator. He expresses his creativity through the mediums of painting, installation, curating, and non-traditional performance. Kinsel’s work focuses on space keeping, urban tradition, hip-hop, informalism, and cultural re-appropriation. He has participated in numerous artist residencies at AS220, Carnegie Mellon University Digital Arts Studio, and Pittsburgh Glass Center.

About Maggie Negrete

Maggie Lynn Negrete is a Pittsburgh-based illustrator, designer and educator specializing in portraiture, hand lettering and zines. Negrete proudly serves as Art Director for Women in Sound, a digital and print zine that features women and nonbinary professionals in live and recorded sound. For notable freelance commissions, Negrete has provided artwork for the City of Pittsburgh, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Early Media, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. In 2018, Negrete received the Transformative Teaching Artist award from the Heinz Endowments for her work with the Brashear Association and MGR Youth Empowerment.

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