“Nothing could exceed the brilliancy and gaiety of the scene by day. But it was at night that the carnival was at its merriest. For the frost continued unbroken; the nights were of perfect stillness; the moon and stars blazed with the hard fixity of diamonds, and to the fine music of flute and trumpet the courtiers danced.”
— The Great Frost from Orlando by Virginia Woolf
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ALL THROUGH DECEMBER Pittsburgh’s visual artists (plus a few musicians) will transform the city into a sprawling winter carnival, starting with holiday markets and arcades and progressing to a profusion of galleries and exhibits … and a musical drone show.
Glowland Winter Lighting Festival. Daily to Jan. 2, 2024. Two square miles of the Oakland Business Improvement District have been suffused with lights by a cadre of artists at 11 locations with special festival events:
- Dec. 1 (6-10 p.m.) Glow Ball features entertainment, dancing, themed cocktails, food, music by DJ Arie Cole at the PAA building illuminated for the holidays by artist Ian Brill, 4125 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh.
- Dec. 3 (7-10 p.m.) LIVE! Art && Code, Viva Los Tacos, 3901 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh.
- Dec. 16 (12-7:30 p.m.) Drone Show & Musical Fest presented by Sky elements featuring live music by Tuba Holiday, Mani Bahia, Kidmental, Austin Bey, Live from the City, Schenley Plaza, 4100 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh
Handmade Arcade. Dec. 1 (5:00-7:30 p.m.), Dec. 2 (11 a.m.-6 p.m.) Handmade products from 275+ artists at the largest holiday market in the region. David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd. Pittsburgh.
Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn. Dec. 1 (6-10 p.m.) The eclectic monthly art and entertainment stroll spotlighting galleries and art retailers along Penn Avenue in Bloomfield/Garfield — Pittsburgh Glass Center, Silver Eye Photography, Arts & Crafts: Bottanica & Occult Shop, Songbird Artistry, Imagebox, Vault Art Studio, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Center for PostNatural History, Irma Freeman Center for Imagination and more.
Black Market: Holiday Edition. Dec. 2-3 (10 a.m.-6 p.m.) Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership showcases local black-owned arts businesses. 413 Wood St. Pittsburgh.
Winter Lights Holiday Market. Dec. 7 (5-8 p.m.) A dozen artists present fine art, jewelry, textiles, pottery, glass and books. Westmoreland Museum of Modern Art. 221 N. Main St. Greensburg.
Winter Artists Market. Dec. 9 (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) 30 artists/vendors convene at Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media. 1047 Shady Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 361-0873.
I Made It! Last Minute Market at Rockwell Park. Dec. 9 (12-5 p.m.) 60+ artists are featured at Rockwell Park in North Point Breeze. 7514 Thomas Blvd. Pittsburgh.
Lawrenceville Cookie Tour. Dec. 9-10 (12-5 p.m.) 79 stops on a winding confectionary trail that includes numerous art studios and businesses along Butler Street and Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville.
Phipps Conservatory. To Jan. 7, 2024: Holiday Magic! Winter Flower Show and Light Garden. New displays featuring holiday trees adorned in jewel tones, exquisitely detailed props and floral arrangements including amaryllis, orchids and 21 varieties of poinsettias.. One Schenley Park, Pittsburgh. (412) 622-6914.
Winter Exhibition Celebration. Dec. 14 (6-8 p.m.) Carnegie Museum of Art previews of current and upcoming exhibits (Unsettling Matter, Gaining Ground; Amie Siegel: Panorama; Pittsburgh Satellite Reef; The Milton and Sheila Fine Collection; Neapolitan presepio; Carnegie Trees) featuring a global music mix by André Solomon, Aaron Basskin, Trē Seguritan Abalos, and Stephen Chin spanning jazz, electronic, hiphop, classical, Nepalese styles.
Holiday Crafts & Drafts. Dec. 16 (2-4 p.m.) East End Brewing Company, 147 Julius St. Pittsburgh.
Queer Craft Market. Dec. 17 (3-7 p.m.) Union Project, 801 N. Negley Ave. Pittsburgh.
Peoples Gas Holiday Market. To Dec. 24 (daily). 40+ artists and food vendors settle into Pittsburgh’s oldest marketplace venue. 28 Market Square, Pittsburgh.
Galleries & Exhibits
707 Penn Gallery. To Feb. 4, 2024: Death of a Lunar Cult. New work by painter Zach Brown. 707 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 456-6666.
820 Liberty Gallery. To Feb. 18, 2024: MS User. New video, installation, performance work by Anisha Baid. 820 Liberty Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 456-6666.
937 Liberty Gallery. Dec. 8-Mar. 17, 2024: The Wind Got Up in the Night and Took Our Plans Away. New work by Serbian photographers (Aleksandrija Ajduković, Milan Aleksić, Ivan Arsenijević, Boris Burić, Goranka Matić, Vesna Pavlović, Ivan Petrović, Katarina Radović, Mihailo Vasiljević, Srdjan Veljović) and photography collectives (Belgrade Raw, Jednostavno rečeno, Kamerades). 937 Liberty Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 456-6666.
Art & Soul Café. Dec. 1, 6-9 p.m. Paint and Sip Happy Hour. Painter Marlon Gist hosts an open-jam painting session. 1125 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 224-2552.
Assemble. Dec. 1-31: Hyperlocal Art Show. New work by Garfield artists and ECS Visions Art Club; opening reception 6-10 p.m. 4824 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 661-6111.
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. To Dec. 22: 113 X 113 Winter Anniversary Exhibition. Celebrating Associated Artists of Pittsburgh’s 113th year, 113×113 features 100+ works of art, each priced at $113. 100 43rd St., Unit 107, Pittsburgh. (412) 212-6650.
Atithi Studios. To Dec. 17: The Row of Lights. New painting by South Asian artists Ravindra Kamath, Rum Hansra, Sukeshi Sondhi on Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights; Diwali celebration Dec. 9, 6-9 p.m. 1020 N. Canal Street, Sharpsburg. (412) 301-5374.
August Wilson African American Cultural Center. To Feb. 18, 2024: Onna-Bugeisha: Warriors of Light. New work by Canadian-born painter Tim Okamura. On permanent exhibit: August Wilson, The Writer’s Landscape. 980 Liberty Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 339-1011.
Borelli Cellars. To Jan. 31, 2024: Leaders of Progress: Pittsburgh’s Artistic Luminaries. New work by Tom Mosser, Bob Ziller, Jesse Best, Bob Freyer, Tim Englehardt, Jacki Temple, James Wodarek, Michael Fratangelo, Carolyn Pierotti, After Dark, Scott Kowalski, Cue Perry; artist reception Dec. 2, 6-8 p.m. 1500 Washington Rd. Mt. Lebanon. (412) 670-2868.
Bottlebrush Gallery & Center for the Arts. To Dec. 21: Bottlebrush Gallery Holiday Show. New work featuring Cranberry Artists Network. 539 Main St. Harmony. (724) 452-0539.
BoxHeart Gallery. To Jan. 19, 2024: Chuffed Up! New work by Mary Becker, Rachael Burke, Clara Fialho, Aster da Fonseca, Karen Grosman, Heather Kanazawa, Marjorie Kaye, Melinda Laszczynski, Gary Mackender, Stephanie Martin, The Narfs, Mark Neuherz, Jeffrey Smith. 4523 Liberty Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 687-8858.
Brew House Arts. To Dec. 30: Buttery Spread. New work by Vania Evangelique, JR Holtz, Darian Johnson, Sarah LaPonte, Lauren McCoy, Steph Neary, Sophia Pappas, Rosabel Rosalind, Jennifer Shin, Gabrielle (Gabe) Wolfe, Imin Yeh. 711 S. 21st St. Pittsburgh. (412) 212-6650.
Carlow University Art Gallery. To Mar. 1, 2024: Kingdom of this World, Reimagined. New painting, photography, mixed media by Dudley Alexis, José Bedia, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Scherezade García, Sergio García, José García Cordero, Simryn Gill, Leah Gordon, Roberto Juárez, Maggie Steber commemorating the 1947 novel Kingdom of This World by Haitian author Alejo Carpentier. University Commons, 2nd floor, 3333 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 578-6000.
Carnegie Museum of Art. To Jan. 7, 2024: Unsettling Matter, Gaining Ground. 17 artists use photography, painting and sculpture to narrate complex stories of how fossil fuel economies have been produced and upheld; whom they have excluded and left vulnerable; how they have shaped and disrupted cities, communities, ecologies. To Feb. 11, 2024: Amie Siegel: Panorama. New work by filmmaker, multimedia artist Amie Siegel. To May 12, 2024: Imprinting in Their Time: Japanese Printmakers, 1912–2022. 90 classic prints drawn from the museum’s extensive collection. 4400 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 622-3131.
Concept Art Gallery. Dec. 7-22: Pop Up! Wearables and wall sculptures by fiber artist LaVerne Kemp; opening reception Dec. 9, 1-4 p.m. Dec. 9-Feb. 24, 2024: I Love You. New work by ceramicist Seuil Chung; opening reception Dec. 9, 1-4 p.m. 1031 S. Braddock Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 242-9200.
Contemporary Craft. To Jan. 13, 2024: Climate Awakening: Crafting a Sustainable Future. New work by Susie Ganch, Courtney Mattison, Meghan Price, Adrien Segal. To Feb. 24, 2024: ::iRiD3SC3NT[dreamz_____]:::. New work by jeweler Sulo Bee. 5645 Butler St. Pittsburgh. (412) 261-7003.
Dormont Municipal Center. To Feb. 29, 2024: Art on the Walls. New work from Pittsburgh-based artists Giovanna Ferrari, John Hinderliter, Paige Kleinfelder, Jeannie McGuire, Anne M. Trimble, Wavy Wednesday, sponsored by Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Art on the Walls program. 1444 Hillsdale Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 391-2060.
Eleven Stanwix. To Dec. 31: Art on the Walls. New work from Pittsburgh-based artists Katie Koenig, Brian J. Sesack, Polly Whitehorn, Industrial Arts Workshop, sponsored by Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Art on the Walls program. 11 Stanwix St. Pittsburgh. (412) 391-2060.
The Frick Art Museum. To Jan. 28, 2024. The Red Dress. A collaborative embroidery project conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod as an artistic platform for women around the world, many of whom are vulnerable and live in poverty, to tell their personal stories through embroidery. The dress features contributions by 380 artists from 51 countries and has become a representation of border-defying unity and self-expression. To Feb. 4, 2024: Pittsburgh and the Great Migration: Black Mobility and the Automobile. An exhibit exploring the role of automobile ownership and the early 20th-century migration of Black Americans fleeing racism in the U.S. South. To Mar. 10, 2024: From Stage to Page: 400 Years of Shakespeare in Print. An exhibit tracing the history of the famed First Folio collection of William Shakespeare plays. 7227 Reynolds St. Pittsburgh (412) 371-0600.
Inkwell Coffee Shop. Dec. 15-31: Coffee Talk Festivus. New work by painters Timothy Kelley and Eli Johnson; opening reception Dec. 15, 6:30-11 p.m. 4419 Butler Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 621-0168.
Irma Freeman Center for Imagination. To Dec. 1: Life Is Short, Art Is Long. New work by Jean McClung, Francis Crisafio, John Morris, Phil Rosetek, Jill Scipione, David Goldstein, Frank Harris, John Bender. 5006 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. (412) 924-0634.
James Gallery. To Dec. 8: Fugue State: Paintings by Catherine Fichtner, solo show by painter Catherine Fichtner; opening reception Oct. 12, 5-8 p.m. 413 S. Main St. Pittsburgh. (412) 922-9800.
Johno’s Art Studio. Each Sat. in Dec. 11 a.m.-3 p.m: New works by painters Johno Prascak, Maria Desimone Prascak, jeweler Joanie DeSimone. 1705 Arlington Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 481-4208.
Ketchup City Creative. Dec. 2-10: Adult Life Lab Art Show. Multidisciplinary film/photography collaboration of over 70 people in Turku, Finland, Rome, Georgia and Pittsburgh by Amy Scatliff, Kari Kylänpää, Ullrike By Anki, Hacklab Turku; artist talk Dec. 2, 1:30-2:30 p.m., opening reception Dec. 2, 6-9 p.m. 612 Main St. Sharpsburg. (412) 593-4386.
KST Alloy Studios. To Dec. 17: Eternal Maternal. New work by painter Fran Flaherty and dancer Meg Foley. 5530 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 363-3000.
Latin American Cultural Center. To Apr. 20, 2024: Mexican Masks: Symbols, Celebrations, Satire & Safety. History of masks in Mexican culture over the last eight millennia. 4338 Bigelow Blvd. Pittsburgh. (412) 383-8078.
Lohr Gallery. Dec. 9-Feb. 24: Jasmine Green. New work by painter Jasmine Green; opening reception Dec. 9, noon-3 p.m. 725 Wood St. Wilkinsburg. (412) 727-7855.
Manos Gallery. To Dec. 31: Locally Magnified. 29 artists showcasing works magnifying local scenery; opening reception Dec. 9, 12-4 p.m. 320 E. 5th Ave. Tarentum. (484) 529-1597.
Mattress Factory. To Dec. 30: The Museum Collects Itself by Lenka Clayton & Phillip Andrew Lewis; Do this while I wait by Lydia Rosenberg; As Seen From the Surface by Katie Bullock – at Monterey Annex, 1414 Monterey St. Pittsburgh. To May 19, 2024: As Below, So Above. Artist-in-residence Shohei Katayama explores the space between light and dark, life and death, beauty and danger, nature and man. To Dec. 1, 2024: Andrea Peña. New solo exhibit by sculptor/choreographer Andrea Peña. To 2025: State of the Sky. New two-year exhibition by artist-in-residence Luke Stettner featuring collaborations with Mac Carbonell, Chris Domenick, Michelle Franco, Nicholas Kawa, Calista Lyon, Bryan Ortiz, Suzanne Silver, Ed Steck, Mike Stickrod. 516 Sampsonia Way, Pittsburgh. (412) 231-3169.
Miller ICA. To Dec. 10: Impossible Music. Interdisciplinary group exhibition features work by composers, artists, collectives (Terry Adkins, Black Quantum Futurism, Benvenuto Chavajay, Nikita Gale, Sarah Hennies, Tom Johnson, Conlon Nancarrow, Aki Onda, C. Spencer Yeh, Christine Sun Kim, Potlatch Records Listening Station. Carnegie Mellon University Purnell Center for the Arts, 5000 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 268-3618.
Pittsburgh Glass Center. To Dec. 22: This Is Becoming a Pattern. New work by Nancy Callan, Mel Douglas, Joanna Manousis, Corey Pemberton, Nathan Sandberg, Amanda Simmons. 5472 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 365-2145.
Redfishbowl Studios. Dec. 16 (7-11 p.m.): Interconnected Realities. New work by painters Etta Davis and Jayla Patton. 4327 Butler St. #200, Pittsburgh. (724) 681-8965.
Silver Eye Center For Photography. To Feb. 3, 2024: Radial Survey Vol. 3. New work Akea Brionne, Larry W. Cook, Alanna Fields, Marissa Long, Eduardo L. Rivera. 4808 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 431-1810. From Oct. 24: Emerging Visions. New work by Sobia Ahmad, Anqwenique Kinsel, Evangeline Mensah-Agyekum at 529 Liberty Ave., 603 Liberty Ave., 817 Liberty Ave. with Pittsburgh Downtown Partners.
StopWatch Gallery & Studio. Dec. 2-Jan. 6, 2024: Rell Rushin: Reflections. New work by painter Rell Rushin; opening reception Dec. 2, 6-8 p.m. 323 South Main St. Greensburg. (724) 708-2034.
Sweetwater Center for the Arts. To Dec. 3: Holiday Market. 200 Broad St. Sewickley. (412) 741-4405.
Tomayko Foundation. Dec. 14-31: The Tomayko Collection. Work by 21 artists from 30 years of collecting by Jack Tomayko – Atticus Adams, David Aschkenas, Gavin Benjamin, Ron Bennett, Elizabeth Myers Castonguay, Ron Donoughe, Dan Droz, Carolyn Frischling, Fabrizio Gerbino, Janese Hexon, Christine Lorenz, Chris McGinnes, Clayton Merrell, Chuck Olson, Ed Panar, Mark Perrott, Joyce Werwie Perry, Robert Qualters, Michele Randall, Mia Tarducci, Kara Zupanci. 5173 Liberty Ave. Pittsburgh. info@tomayko.foundation
University Art Gallery. To Mar. 1, 2024: Kingdom of this World, Reimagined. New painting, photography, mixed media by Dudley Alexis, José Bedia, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Scherezade García, Sergio García, José García Cordero, Simryn Gill, Leah Gordon, Roberto Juárez, Maggie Steber commemorating the 1947 novel Kingdom of This World by Haitian author Alejo Carpentier. Frick Fine Arts Building, 650 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh. (412) 648-2400.
VaultArt Studio. Dec. 1-31: New work by VaultArt Studio members; opening reception Dec. 1, 7-9 p.m. 5100 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh. (412) 404-2895.
Westmoreland Museum of American Art. To Jan. 14, 2024: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania. Multimedia exhibit features immersive videos and models of unrealized residential, commercial and civic projects designed by Frank Lloyd Wright from the 1930s through the ’50s. Toshiko Mori & Frank Lloyd Wright: Dialogue in Details. Exhibit features a dialogue between architects Wright and Mori. 221 N. Main St. Greensburg. (724) 837-1500.
Wick Monet. Dec. 1 (6-9 p.m.): the seabirds dream. An installation by jessica pixie. 5404 Walnut St. Pittsburgh. (412) 874-4331.
Wood Street Galleries. To Feb. 11, 2024: Workflow: Jenson Leonard. New work by filmmaker Jenson Leonard. 601 Wood St. Pittsburgh. (412) 456-6666.
ZYNKA Gallery. To Dec. 21: Other Ghosts. New work by painter Michael Lotenero. 904 Main St. Sharpsburg. (412) 952-7370.
