Members appointed to Pittsburgh's reorganized Art Commission

Pittsburgh City Council has approved Mayor Ed Gainey’s appointments to the city’s Art Commission, which officials reorganized last month after the mayor disbanded the prior commission.

Gainey in November removed all prior Art Commission members with little explanation. He then proposed a plan to divide the Art Commission into a committee dedicated to reviewing public art such as paintings and sculptures and a committee focused on civic design, including construction and renovation of public buildings and parks.

City Council in early January approved the commission’s reorganization. Last week, council members approved the mayor’s first appointments to the commission.

Ariam Ford, Lisa Carver and Megan Zeigler were approved as members of the Civic Design Committee of the Public Art & Civic Design Committee. Celeste Smith, Christine Bethea, Mikael Owunna and Tom Mosser were approved as members of the commission’s Public Art Committee.

Ford serves as the executive director of Grounded Strategies, an organization that aims to grow intergenerational wealth in marginalized communities using land.

Smith serves as the senior program officer for arts and culture at The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Bethea is president of Women of Vision, which is dedicated to advancing art, culture and history.

Carver is a principal at Perfido, Wieskopf, Wagstaff and Goettel, a Pittsburgh architectural firm.

Zeigler serves as vice president of relationships and development for the Pittsburgh-based Green Building Alliance.

Owunna’s resume lists numerous public art displays and other artistic works, including films, group exhibitions and books.

Mosser is a freelance illustrator.

Additional members need to be appointed. Both committees are to be made up of four practicing experts and one community representative.

It is unclear when the commission will begin meeting.