Pittsburgh Cultural Trust adds music, comedy and more to gallery crawl

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s annual Summer Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District is about more than just art. It’s also about music, magic, comedy and a drag revue.

From 5:30 p.m. to midnight Friday, free events are scheduled at more than 15 stops located in Trust galleries, other indoor and outdoor locations and public spaces.

A special outdoor edition of Soul Stage is set for the Trust’s new summertime downtown destination, the Backyard at 8th & Penn. A line-up of regional hip hop and R&B artists will take the stage from 5:30 to 10 p.m., including Anyah Nancy, Cam Chambers, DJ Arie Cole and Mani Bahia & The Mob.

Nancy will play a set of traditional Black jazz infused with modern soul and R&B, both covers and originals, backed by Sean Baker on piano, Kristin Baker on bass and Cam Chambers on cajon.

Raised in Pittsburgh and surrounded by music in church, Nancy studied musical theater and acting at Pittsburgh CAPA. A graduate of Temple University and a Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh staff member, she started posting music videos on Instagram about a year ago, leading to performances at Eddie V Steak House, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Con Alma and Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.

“Anybody who has a heartbeat will enjoy our music,” said Nancy, who lists jazz vocalists Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone among her influences. “I have so much fun singing and I love having the opportunity to share that.”

Capping off the night is the new “Crawl After Dark: Drag Edition With Dixie Surewood and Friends,” set for 10 p.m. to midnight in the Trust Arts Education Center at 805 Liberty Ave.

Surewood, an award-winning, self-described “campy comedy queen” who’s been performing drag in Pittsburgh for about seven years, will host a revue featuring Tamara Knight, Dynasty, Anna Steezia, Phoenix Fatale and Leia Way LeStat.

Show-goers will get an up-close-and-personal look at the Pittsburgh drag scene, Surewood said.

“There will be music, mingling and good times all around,” she said. “Drag has become so mainstream these past few years, but I think sometimes people only perceive drag as what happens on TV. I think when we get opportunities to show people some of the local drag scene, it’s mutually beneficial for both parties.

“We get to perform for audiences that typically wouldn’t see us at other gigs, and they get to see ‘real live’ drag queens (as) something that’s tangible and happening in front of them.”

The free event will include a cash bar; advanced registration is required on the Crawl After Dark page at trustarts.org.

The crawl’s four featured art exhibitions include:

• Wood Street Galleries, 601 Wood St. — “Supply and Demand,” by Ian Brill. The collection of site-specific performative light and sound installations are “the negotiated balance between a consistent set of rules, an evolving, symbolic language, and pre-existing constraints. Showing until Nov. 20.

• SPACE, 812 Liberty Ave. — Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival’s Juried Visual Art Exhibition, with works by more than 30 artists. The show’s theme, “___alachian [ah-LATCH-en],” encouraged artists to explore the cultures, communities, identities and topographies of the Appalachian region. The show debuted in June and is showing until July 31.

• 707 Gallery, 707 Penn Ave. — “Little Girl Urn,” by Shori Sims. The artist’s first solo exhibition of sculptural and two-dimensional work includes sculptures that were begun in 2018 and completed in 2021. One of the primary installation pieces, “Persistence of Memory (Furniture Replicas),” is a facsimile of Sims’ childhood bedroom. Showing until Aug. 7.

• Pop up Galleries and Exhibits, 820 Liberty Ave. — “Traveling Show,” by Renee Piechocki. Works include photographs, video and books created during or in response to Piechocki’s 2018 travels throughout the United States, Pacific Northwest and Montreal, Canada, and while living abroad in Japan, New Zealand, Mauritius, Chile and Ecuador in 2019. Showing until Sept. 12.

A pop-up exhibition in the Trust Arts Education Center, “Radiant Works: Out of the Studio,” will highlight more than 30 of the artists and creatives currently working across Radiant Hall’s three studio locations.

“A Sign of the Times” by Deeper Than Grits Studios, continues its showing at the Backstage Bar in The Greer Cabaret Theater. Crawl-goers will be able to grab a drink at the bar and chat with artist Corey Carrington.

Additional Crawl stops featuring Cultural District partners are street magic with Liberty Magic house magicians, pop-up improv performances at Arcade Comedy, A Night of Art at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Night Market in Market Square and works by local macramé artist Cecil St. Knots at love, Pittsburgh.

Con Alma also will offer a Pittsburgh Jazz-Themed Vinyl Happy Hour and late night jazz during the evening.

The full crawl schedule and more information, including venue entry requirements such as masks and proof of vaccination, are available at trustarts.org.