My mission as an artist is to produce integrated educational and cultural experiences in public space. I learned how to plan, manage, market and produce cultural projects and events through the need to sustain my own artistic practice. My strengths lie in my ability to navigate various contexts and characters to develop sustainable partnerships, as that can strengthen the overall mission of amplifying outreach and accessibility of educational and cultural engagement. I strive to contribute to integrate communities by connecting resources, opportunity to support the development of effective educational hands-on programming for all ages.
I offer consulting services to non-profit organizations in beginning, middle and transitional stages of operation with marketing, programming, fundraising and outreach initiatives. Contracts have included AIR: Artists Image Resource, Metta: Healing and Arts Center. Currently I am on the steering committee for Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Center for the Arts as they consolidate and revamp their services to artists in the Pittsburgh region.
2015-2016 FALLOW GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE
Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Fallow Grounds for Sculpture promotes innovative ideas for repurposing of abandoned properties in Spring Garden and East Deutschtown neighborhoods of Pittsburgh's Northside. An annual program running from April-August, Fallow Grounds commissions one artist per month to develop a month long community engaged public artwork as well as presented a public program (workshop, lecture or public performance arranged with local Northside community organizations, regional partnering organizations and neighborhood individuals.
From 2014-2016, I developed the program from the ground up managed five multifaceted artist projects, raised funds for two years of programming to facilitate innovative works of public art with varying approaches to instigating community and the potentials of space. I also organized a final season celebration, public art tours and presentations on re-use for various public events across the city.
In partnership with: Community Alliance of Spring Garden East Deutschtown, City View Community Center (church and Girlfriends Youth Support Group), Northview Heights Family Support Center, Project Destiny, Girlfriends Youth Support Group, Artist Image Resource, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, TechShop Pittsburgh, Allegheny CleanWays, Construction Junction, Iron Workers Local Union No. 3. Cement Mason's Local 526. More info: http://neukirche.org/fallow-grounds
2015 NEU CITY @ FOOD CITY URBAN GARDEN
Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Pittsburgh, PA
While at Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center I worked in collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s Food City community garden to establish Neu City, an annual public art initiative in the Food City Urban Garden. The permaculture forest garden that is a quarter of an acre (10,821 square feet) located on six lots on the bottom of Spring Garden’s sloping Hill. NEU CITY offered five local Pittsburgh artist to create interactive and educational public artworks in the garden from April- August 2015, alongside hands-on workshops, presentations, and community events
I developed the public art program portion from the ground up managed five multifaceted, community engaged artist projects, raised funds for one season of programming to activate community stewardship. I have continued to help cultivate the ground at Food City with Deutschtown residents and coordinated youth camps age K-12, volunteer workshops and festivities in the garden in collaboration with City View Community Center.
In partnership with: Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, TechShop Pittsburgh, Construction Junction, Standard Ceramic Supply, Union Project, Community Alliance of Spring Garden East Deutschtown,
2015- Urban Gardening Forum Wednesday, February 24, 2016
preserve Food City URban Garden, Tripoli st./retail way pgh 15212
I curated and organized the Northside Community Gardening and Urban Farming Forum. The forum served as an opportunity for Northside communities and individuals who are interested in learning and exchanging ideas on how to make healthy food available in their communities, how to transform empty lots into community gardens and learn about the effects of climate change. Neu Kirche and the CDC group- Community Alliance of Spring Garden East Deutschtown run Food City, a quarter acre urban garden on Tripoli Street. Furthering the purpose of the urban garden forum, we used the forum educate the community on the benefits of preserving Food City as a green space rather than turning it into a parking lot. Participants heard from speakers from various local Pittsburgh organizations such as Allegheny Cleanways, Allegheny Land Trust, RandyLand, Pennsylvania Resources Council, and other local neighborhood leaders who are invested in sustainability and agriculture. Our goal with this forum is to build and share resources, skills and knowledge, so we can grow a resilient, diverse and sustainable Northside.
Thank you to our program partners: Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, Climate Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP), Community Alliance of Spring Garden East Deutschtown, and The Sprout Fund One Northside Grant. For a full schedule click: Forum
Fundraising events
2015 RAW DRAW
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
Contracted or volunteer community programming servicing local Pittsburgh schools, community centers and most specifically my Northside neighbors for all humans and all ages. Programs, camps and workshops are always hands-on, tactical adventures in a vast variety of art materials and themes.
Programming has been held at City View Community Center, Sewickly Academy (Art Can Travel Program), Assemble (M3: Metal), South Arts in Bethel Park and many more.
Collaborative Projects
2016-2021 HEMISPHERIC CONVERSATIONS URBAN ART PROJECT (HCUAP)
www.hcuap.com
Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Program (HCUAP) is an education and art program organized by Caitlin Bruce, Oreen Cohen, Shane Pilster, and Max Emiliano Gonzalez in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh. This program has been running for five consecutive years and seeks to create platforms for conversation and education about aerosol art production, and to explore aesthetic and historical connections in the post-industrial cities of Pittsburgh, Chicago, and León Guanajuato Mexico. Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project is a generator for international discussion and action in support of vibrant cultural public art practices. Learn more at: www.hcuap.com
Our Fall 2016 programming is focused on graffiti post industrial history and education.
Event 1: Public Debate: Should the City of Pittsburgh Have Legal Graffiti Walls?
Event 2: Symposium: Symposium: Urban Art in the Post Industrial Landscape Saturday October 8, 2016 9:00am-5:00pm
The symposium explored the history of graffiti art in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and León Guanajuato, Mexico charting its post-industrial past and evolving present. From illicit subcultural act to permission-based and city-sanctioned artistic practice, graffiti illustrates the evolution of industrial surfaces into sprawling urban canvases. Participants included local and international scholars and practitioners, and audience members will invited to dialogue about potential educational uses for graffiti history in diverse settings. This event was free and open to the public.
In Spring 2017 HCUAP hosted three aerosol artists from Leon Mexico, five local artists from Pittsburgh and two scholars/artist from Chicago to produce work and engage with the community in Street Art Workshops.
Spring 2017 focused on HCUAP in the Classroom: Graffiti and Street Art Workshops for Youth
HCUAP Resident Artists and organizers facilitated workshops within Pittsburgh middle schools Environmental Charter School and Manchester Academic Charter
School, Brasher High School and Dormant High School . We also held after school workshops in various community settings: Hazelwood Public Library,
Lighthouse Project, Assemble Youth Maker Night.
For more detailed information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/HCUAP/
Thank you to our partners and supporters: Rivers of Steel; the American Studies Association; Provost's Year of Diversity Initiative; Department of Communication;
Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program; Cultural Studies Program; History of Art and Architecture Department; William Pitt Debate Union; Center for Latin
American Studies; Collecting Knowledge Pittsburgh.
Artist DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING
2016-CURRENT RADIANT HALL 1:1 Studio visit series
1:1 Studio Visits- I curate monthly opportunities yearlong for radiant hall artists to meet with local and visiting curators, writers, artists and critics. Space is limited- 5 RH artists are welcome to sign up for a 30 minute studio visits. http://www.radianthall.com/
2016-2017 INDUSTRY ARTIST LECTURE SERIES
I curated the Industry Artist Lecture Series 2016/2017 in partnership with Techshop Pittsburgh which featured a robust lineup of fourteen local national and internationally exhibiting Pittsburgh artists. Presenting artists shared a range motives and processes from digital media, installation art, painting, robotics and performance. Free and Open to the public to discover parallels and expansions of concepts within the arts and industry. Lectures ran 6:30-8:30pm on the 3rd Monday of every month, June 2016- June 2017.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2013 LIVE ARCHIVE
In partnership with Carnegie Mellon University School of Art and School of the Art Institute Chicago
LIVE ARCHIVE was a collaborative exhibition between Carnegie Mellon University and School of the Art Institute Chicago features 19 MFA students, and is the first of its kind to create connections between emerging artists working in both Pittsburgh and Chicago. Artist practices range from art and technology, performance, social practice, and installation, to kinetic and bio art.
As co-collaborator in administration, development and curation, myself and Carl Bajandas (MFA, CMU 2014) found a vacant property to hold the large scale exhibition, coordinated an artist meet up in Cleveland and raised funds to support the artist's production of work for the final exhibition.
It is not often that students form two accomplished MFA programs have the opportunity to interact for extended periods of time. To begin this project, we wanted to meet on equal footing, in a venue which is outside of our respective cities for a week long intensive. From January 6-9th, both schools came together for an intensive think tank in Cleveland, Ohio. During this event we presented our work at the Cleveland Sculpture Center with special guest Cleveland Museum of Art’s Assistant curator Reto Thuring. After the talks we had a fast-paced round robin session in which everyone proposed a collaborative piece with each other, this event created strong working relationships between artists in Pittsburgh and Chicago and facilitated discussion between students from both CMU (7 students) and SAIC (10).
From the artist participants:
"This collaboration encourages us to create long-term connections with peer art practitioners, galleries, and event organizers throughout the region, generating a larger conversation about the emergence of interdisciplinary art. We hope this model of working together can affect the way ideas and art are generated, shared, and experienced across an academic and social spectrum." -Carl Bajandas, CMU 2014
“Strengthening the ties between our cities through face to face interaction not only expands the shared networks of every artist involved, but also strengthens the ties between our cities. This opportunity will ultimately serve as a segway out of the academic system by creating ties with artists, curators, and galleries in both Pittsburgh and Chicago; which will culminate in shows to be held in both cities.”- Joshua Patterson SAIC 2013