10 artists to create original works for Diversity Billboard Art Project
Ten artists have been chosen to create original work for the Diversity Billboard Art Project created by the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition in partnership with The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Their commissions will be inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths” to convey how diversity and inclusion can make Westmoreland County communities stronger.
The artworks will be installed on highways around the county beginning in October and will remain at each location for 12 to 24 weeks. A series of exhibits featuring all 10 works also is planned, with the first to open at The Westmoreland on Oct. 16. Others are planned in the Jeannette, Murrysville and New Kensington areas, contingent on health and safety protocols.
The billboards are “another one of my crazy notions,” said Carlotta Paige, co-founder of the Diversity Coalition, whose mission is to “create, through advocacy and education, an atmosphere of understanding and unity in Westmoreland County where all people feel welcome.”
Positive message
“The arts aren’t something that we’re about, but I always wanted to do something with billboards,” Paige said. “I was inspired by the God billboards. I used to do a lot of driving up and down the Bible Belt when I had a consulting business, and there were a thousand of them along the roads.”
Those billboards began appearing along highways in 1999 as part of the GodSpeaks campaign.
“My favorite was one that said, ‘Don’t make me come down there,’ and it was just signed ‘God,’ ” she said. “I absolutely loved them, because they were just sweet messages, and that’s what I wanted. We are not activists, we are advocates, and our messages are meant to be positive.”
The project is funded by a $150,000 grant from the Heinz Endowment’s Just Arts program, a grant initiative designed to support communities using the power of the arts to address social issues.
“I never in a million years thought we would get funded, but when the museum came on board and gave us that credibility, I said, OK, we have a shot,” Paige said.
‘Captivating proposals’
“The artists are very diverse in age, race and where they are in their careers. Their proposals also were very diverse,” said Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer, an exhibiting artist and Diversity Coalition board member who is lead artist for the project.
“The 10 artists chosen had the strongest, most captivating proposals,” said Anne Kraybill, The Westmoreland’s director/CEO. “Each artist works with differing mediums, from textiles and oil paints to video and digital illustration, and their works of art promise to be powerful, provocative, and ultimately, creating a positive impact in Westmoreland County.”
“I’m very excited to have this message during this time,” Cuellar-Shaffer said. “I’m excited that it coincides with all the political ads, to spread this message that we don’t have to be alike to be friends, to understand each other and work together.”
10 artists
Artists chosen from among more than 50 applicants include:
• Edith Abeyta of North Braddock, whose current practice centers around temporary installations, sculptures and experiential life events. She has been artist in residence with the Office of Public Art at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Hazelwood since June 2014. Her work with Hazelwood residents includes Arts Excursions Unlimited, a free monthly arts excursions program, an art studio and temporary public art.
• Draftsman and filmmaker Dorion Barill, who produces site-specific work influenced by dream imagery and local history. His work has shown at the Palace of Saint Michael and Saint George in Corfu, Greece; the Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition in Pittsburgh; and the Castello Colonna in Genazzano, Italy. He was a recipient of The Pittsburgh Foundation’s 2013 Investing in Professional Artists Grant.
• Fiber artist Tina Williams Brewer, who is known for her artistic exploration of African American history and culture and the personal experiences associated with it, with work including story quilts. She is the recipient of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor’s Awards for the Arts, Artist of the Year, 2018.
• Ecuador native Alejandro Fiez, who is a winner of that country’s National Painting Prize Luis A. Martinez. After making installations in public spaces in Ecuador, he traveled to Pittsburgh and exhibited his work in group and solo exhibitions, including the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh’s 2019 Annual Exhibition.
• Fran Flaherty, a deaf artist and first-generation immigrant from The Philippines who has lived in Pittsburgh for more than 25 years. Her work explores issues of migrant family relations and assimilation, maternal feminism, disability aesthetics and social work. Her work is inspired by the care paradigm.
• A native of the San Francisco area, Shane Pilster has lived in Pittsburgh since 2004 and has worked with Rivers of Steel since 2012, creating its Urban Art Tour and interactive workshop curriculum to showcase the postindustrial history of Carrie Furnaces. He has organized art components and live demonstrations at events such as Homestead First Fridays, Thrival Festival and the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
• Amun Ray is a young Black multi-platform artist with a strong focus on visual arts. He names designing a community park in Wilkinsburg as one of his greatest accomplishments. He is also a creative consultant/artivist for 1hood Media, and teaching artist at Boom Concepts.
• Susanne Slavick is an artist, curator and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. Her resume includes many traveling curatorial projects. Slavick has exhibited most recently at University of Virginia, Gettysburg College, McDonough Museum of Art, Chicago Cultural Center and Accola Griefen Gallery in New York City. Her work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and through four awards from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
• Ginger Brooks Takahashi is co-founder of queer and feminist journal LTTR; project MOBILIVRE BOOKMOBILE project; the touring musical act MEN; and General Sisters. She has presented work at museums and galleries around the country and is developing a public art piece with Nine Mile Run Watershed Association and Center for Civic Arts in Wilkinsburg.
• Pittsburgh-based interdisciplinary artist and cultural producer Alisha B. Wormsley creates work about collective memory and the synchronicity of time through the stories of women of color. She has received numerous awards and grants to support her programs including film, video and performance series. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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