Digital Programming Announced for Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 5-14

Now in its 61st year in 2020, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, announces the festival will be presented for the first time in its history as an all-digital festival. This year's Festival grounds will take place on the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust website via TrustArts.org/TRAF. Yes, the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, taking place June 5-14, 2020, is virtual, and the art is real!

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's decision to refrain from bringing a physical festival and moving to a digital platform was conscientiously made due to the COVID-19 global pandemic that has changed life as we know it across every sector. The festival's management continues to follow the mandates and guidelines of social distancing and large public gatherings as provided by local, state, government and health officials for the safety and health of everyone.

Art connects all of us. For the past 60 years, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's multidisciplinary Festival has presented an array of music, dance, theater, literary arts, public art, gallery exhibitions, and more, completely free of charge and open to the public, as well as an Artist Market which provides a platform and exposure for more than 300 artists. As much as we want to gather 500,000 people to celebrate art in all its forms this June, the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has made this physically impossible as we continue to prioritize safety of our city and our people.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to bring to the community this year's Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival 2020 through a digital platform that honors the community and artists. This unique first-ever 10-day digital Festival will bring to as many households as possible and for all ages new opportunities to be a part of immersive art experiences that continue the Festival's legacy of celebrating together music, art, creative activity, food, visual art, public art, one of a kind artistic projects, and more.

It is our vision that this digital Festival will also serve as a world-class model for other arts organizations and similar festivals. The festival microsite TrustArts.org/TRAF will feature some new innovations aimed at creating a fun Festival experience that's easily navigated on any device from any location. Featured programming components of this year's digital festival include the Artist Market, that also features works by Emerging Artists; Digital Stages: Dollar Bank Digital Main Stage and 24/7 Stage; Transverse: Visual Art Exhibition; Compass Roses: Maps by Artists; Anthropology of Motherhood: Culture of Care; Public Art in the Cultural District; Creative Activities; Film and Food.

Sarah Aziz, Director of Festival Management for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust shares, "We are honored to be shining a brilliant light on all of the artists and community partners who will be participating in this first-ever digital TRAF. Our vision for this Festival is to bring art-inspired experiences for everyone in the community, and beyond, to journey with us and walk through this redefined footprint throughout the 10 days and together find and share many special moments and treasures of inspiration." Ms. Aziz continues, "The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust extends its profound thanks to its Title Sponsor Dollar Bank and Supporting Sponsor Giant Eagle for their stalwart and generous support in the face of unprecedented circumstances. And to our many other generous and enthusiastic contributors, we look forward to providing you with many amazing opportunities as we move to a digital space in 2020 and plan for our on-site return in 2021. And, of course, deepest thanks to all the essential workers helping to keep us safe and healthy these past few months. "

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust expresses its gratitude to Dollar Bank for its generous support of the arts over the years that has made it possible to bring this ever popular, free 10-day Festival for everyone in the community to enjoy.

"For many of us, it just wouldn't seem like summer in Pittsburgh without the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival to usher in the season. The sense of community that this Festival brings is more important than ever this year, and Dollar Bank is proud to continue its long-standing partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to present 10 days of virtual free art and music to everyone. We will all be physically together again one day soon, but until then, stay safe and stay connected through the power of art," comments Jim McQuade, President and CEO, Dollar Bank.

The complete list of digital programming taking place during the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will be available beginning June 5 through 14, 2020 at TrustArts.org/TRAF and in advance of the festival opening day, as well as throughout, everyone is invited to join and follow the Festival on Facebook for more updates.

Artist Market

• This year, all 350+ artists will appear simultaneously on the digital Festival grounds for the full ten days, June 5-14, 2020. This online footprint will maximize the audience for every artist and be a convenience to all Festival visitors. A custom-designed map, organized by art medium (ceramics, drawing, etc.), can be easily accessed by tapping or clicking through this new Artist Market digital footprint. The Festival encourages anyone able to support these artists by purchasing work during the Festival and to share their purchases and experience online using #TRAF20.

Digital Stages

• Digital Stages: Beginning June 5 through 14, two virtual stages: the Dollar Bank Digital Main Stage and the 24-7 Stage will feature a variety of original performances, spanning music, dance, and literary art, created specifically for the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.
• Each evening on the Dollar Bank Digital Main Stage, at 7:30 pm (sometimes with earlier opening performances), the Festival will present live-streamed events enabling a real-time communal experience. The events will be streamed simultaneously to the Festival's Facebook page and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust YouTube account.

Livestream Performances

Featured Livestream Calendar

Daily @ 7:30 pm | Dollar Bank Digital Main Stage

6/5 - Josh Verbanets & Rick Sebak with music guests

6/6 - 91.3 WYEP FM presents Buffalo Rose & Inez

6/7 - Dance Battle 5 with DJ Inception

6/8 - holding pattern by slowdanger

6/9 - Thomas Wendt Quintet

6/10 - Social Justice Disco with Liz Berlin & Phat Man Dee featuring Deryck Tines,

HollyHood, and more!

6/11 - Byron Nash & Brittney Chantele

6/12 - Liberty Magic @ Home: Derek Hughes & Nathan Christopher

6/13 - PHILLTER Music Showcase: Live-Loopers, One-Human Bands, and more
6/14 - Meeting of Important People

Discover more music, dance, and literary art events once the Festival opens at TrustArts.org/TRAF.

• Original performances will include The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Staycee Pearl Dance Project, youth performers in 91.3 WYEP's Reimagination program, and others.

Transverse: Juried Visual Art Exhibition

• This year's artists had already been juried into Transverse: the Juried Visual Art Exhibition prior to the onset of the pandemic. Showcasing their work, even without a physical exhibition, was another key motivation for the Trust while developing this virtual Festival experience. The juried works chosen for this year's exhibition will be announced and on view the first weekend of the Festival on the Juried Visual Art Exhibition webpage on TrustArts.org/TRAF.
• Transverse, the theme given to artists during the October-January open application period, was about art having the power to offer new ways of seeing and experiencing our world. The exhibition sought submissions of work "exploring ideas about altered realities, utopias, and challenging the status quo."
• Out of hundreds of submissions, 51 works by 40 artists were selected by a panel of four jurors, showcasing exceptional new art (never exhibited in Pittsburgh) by regional artists (within 150 miles of Pittsburgh).
• The esteemed 2020 jury panel featured Richard Hylton, Exhibition Organizer, Lecturer, and Writer; Dan Leers, Curator of Photography at Carnegie Museum of Art; Lise Ragbir, Writer, Curator, and gallery Director; and Jessie Rommelt of Bunker Projects.
• For the first time ever, each artwork will be displayed on its own custom-built web page. These new pages will feature photo(s) or video of each piece, a description of the work from the artist, links to purchase the work, optional audio recordings from the artists reflecting on their work, and a button for users to vote each piece as their selection in the People's Choice Award.

• The People's Choice Award allows each Festival visitor the chance to cast a single vote, only once during the entire Festival, in support of favorite work in Transverse. The piece with the most votes will be awarded a $500 cash prize.

Compass Roses: Maps by Artists

• A special interactive art experience, Compass Roses: Maps by Artists, offers a selection of maps created by 20 visual, literary, and performing artists. For each map, the artists were asked to consider and interpret Pittsburgh in any way they wished. In this city of neighborhoods held together by roads, bridges, tunnels, stairways and walkways, this project invites a journey of discovery in which people can traverse, wander, wonder, reflect and share, using an artist's map as a guide.
• Featured artists include Edith Abeyta, Eric Boerer, Nick Childrers, Tuhin Das, Veronica Corpuz, Fran Flaherty, Sherrie Flick, Toby Fraley, Steve Gurysh, Yona Harvey, Carolina Loyola-Garcia, Christiane Leach, Marce Nixon, Renee Piechocki, Curtis Reaves, Diane Samuels, James Simon, Shaun Slifer, Sara Tang, and other/s to be announced.

Anthropology of Motherhood: Culture of Care

• The Anthropology of Motherhood: Culture of Care, celebrating its fifth year as part of the Festival, is an exhibition featuring works of art and design that engage in the complex visual, material, emotional, corporeal, and lived experiences of motherhood, caregiving, parenting, nurturing, and maternal labor.
• Normally a functional, hybrid exhibition that is innovatively designed as both an art space, an interactive amenity, and a place of respite for families with young children, this year's exhibition has been reimagined to be explored virtually at TrustArts.org/TRAF.
• This year's exhibition features work in a variety of media by ten artists: Emily Paige Armstrong, Sarah Simmons, Jaime Bird, Crystal Ann Brown, Brigette Davitt, Tara Fay, Aimee Gilmore, Derrick Quevedo, Lindsey Peck Scherloum, and Sandra Bacchi. All of these artists will have works exhibited on custom-built web pages.

Public Art

• The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has commissioned a permanent and semi-permanent collection of public art, created by renowned artists from around the world, as well as local, regional and national artists, that are on public display throughout the Cultural District. During the 2020 digital festival, everyone is encouraged to journey together and learn more about these works through a virtual self-guided tour, including 168 Lightbulbs, Magnolias for Pittsburgh, Agnes R. Katz Plaza, Allegheny Riverfront Park, Artist Bike Racks, Cell Phone Disco, FLOW, Haas Mural, Marx@200, Sign of Light, Trust Oasis, and Water Cube. For more information, visit TrustArts.org, visual arts, public art. Visitors can share their experience online with #TRAF20.

Creative Activities

• A variety of creative activities will be featured in this year's Giant Eagle Creativity Zone--a virtual gathering place to discover hands-on activities and artist demonstrations.
• Some creative activities will be especially for kids, but others will be engaging for all ages. Festival visitors will discover videos from many arts organizations and community partners that provide ideas for fun art-making at home with commonly available materials.

Film

• In line with its long history of free film presentation - especially at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's own Harris Theater on Liberty Avenue, the Festival will offer a number of films, made free for public streaming at home, only during the Festival's ten days.

Food

• Festival food is a highlight for many visitors each year. This year, plans are being made to make familiar flavors available throughout city neighborhoods with help from the region's creative food community. More information will be available on the Festival website beginning June 5 through 14.
• Complete details will be available during the Festival dates on TrustArts.org/TRAF and will provide a schedule of food options, including links to companies' special Festival and other menu offerings, instructions for pick-up or delivery, and preferred methods of payment.
• The Festival is proud to partner with 412 Food Rescue, as it does annually, to help make a difference in the community for anyone experiencing food insecurity. More details will be available on the Festival website.