Celebrate City Steps and Walkable Neighborhood Connections
Steps We Take: October 4th – 12th
Join Bike Pittsburgh (BikePGH) and the Office of Public Art (OPA) for a new event series to celebrate city steps and walkable neighborhood connections. Launching on October 4, 2019, Steps We Take will partner four Pittsburgh neighborhoods with artists to design and implement temporary activations on city steps.
BikePGH and OPA are pleased to announce the four artist and community teams who will collaborate to design and implement events activating city steps in neighborhoods across Pittsburgh. The projects will include:
Event Schedule
STEPS WE TAKE POLISH HILL: VERTICAL BLOCK PARTY
Landscape architects Merritt Chase, in collaboration with Polish Hill Civic Association, will temporarily transform Polish’s Hill’s city steps into a system of vertical parks with seating, gateways and signage. The vertical parks will be activated with two vertical parties, including a block party along the Harding Way steps.
- Date: Friday, October 4th
- Time: 7pm-10pm
- Location: Harding Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
- Click here to RSVP
Click here to learn more!
STEPS WE TAKE West End: Fashion Show
Artist Bradford Mumpower, in collaboration with West End Community Group, are organizing an afternoon event in the West End on Saturday, October 5th, consisting of a fashion scavenger hunt on the stairs, fashion market place, and a fashion show on the Sanctus Street Steps. These events will feature six Pittsburgh fashion designers and create experiences where participants use the city steps to explore the West End.
- Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2019
- Time: 12:00 – 6:30pm
- Location: S Main St & Alexander St. Pittsburgh, PA 15220
- Click here to RSVP!
Click here to learn more!
STEPS WE TAKE POLISH HILL: VERTICAL PIEROGI PARTY
Landscape architects Merritt Chase, in collaboration with Polish Hill Civic Association, will temporarily transform Polish’s Hill’s city steps into a system of vertical parks with seating, gateways and signage. The vertical parks will be activated with vertical parties, including a pierogi party on the Phelan Way steps.
- Date: Sunday, October 6th
- Time: 11am-1pm
- Location: 3060 Brereton St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
- Click here to RSVP!
Click here to learn more!
STEPS WE TAKE Fineview: CARRIE STREET STEPS BLOCK PARTY
Artist H. Gene Thompson, in collaboration with Fineview Citizens Council, is organizing a free participatory performance event in Fineview on Friday, October 11th at the Carrie Street steps. This events will feature a line-up of communal wearable sculpture interactions both on and around the steps, celebrating our potential to connect to one another in unlikely spaces.
- Date: Friday, October 11th
- Time: 4pm-7pm
- Location: Carrie St & Henderson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
- Click here to RSVP
Click here to learn more!
Steps We Take Troy Hill: Audio walk and installation
Artist team Danny Bracken and Erin Anderson, in collaboration with Troy Hill Citizens, are creating an audio walk of the neighborhood’s steps, featuring a temporary sound and light installation up Rialto street. During October 10-12th, visitors will encounter an installation of sound-activated light fixtures leading up the Rialto Street steps, immersing them in a musical composition and collage of residents’ voices and neighborhood sounds. (Don’t forget to bring headphones!)
- Date: October 10th, 11th, & 12th
- Time: 5:00 – 8:00pm
- Location: Rialto St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
- Click here to RSVP!
Click here to learn more!
STEPS WE TAKE Fineview: GRAIB STREET STEPS BLOCK PARTY
Artist H. Gene Thompson, in collaboration with Fineview Citizens Council, is organizing a free participatory performance event in Fineview on Saturday, October 12th at the Graib Street steps. This events will feature a line-up of communal wearable sculpture interactions both on and around the steps, celebrating our potential to connect to one another in unlikely spaces.
- Date: Saturday, October 12th
- Time: 3pm-6pm
- Location: Henderson St, & Graib St, Pittsburgh PA 15212
- Click here to RSVP
Click here to learn more!
ABOUT
Pittsburgh has approximately 800 sets of steps – more public staircases than any other city in the United States. The steps are an important and under-resourced connection between communities, which thousands of residents rely on for transportation and recreation. Nearly two-thirds of the steps are in low or moderate-income areas and many are located in the City’s hilliest neighborhoods. Many of these neighborhoods lack strong public transit resources. Maintenance of the steps has proved an enormous financial and logistical challenge — some staircases are in such disrepair and built in such intricate surroundings that repairing them equates to undertaking a small bridge repair project.
ABOUT US
BikePGH is a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization. Since 2002 Bike Pittsburgh has been transforming Pittsburgh’s streets and communities into vibrant, healthy places by making them safe and accessible for everyone to bike and walk. For more information visit bikepgh.org. Office of Public Art (OPA) is the leading agent and advocate for public art in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Founded in 2005, OPA is part of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and works with communities and artists throughout the region by providing public art education, commissions, project management, artist selection, and artist residencies in the public realm. OPA collaborates with individuals and organizations in both the public and private sector. For more information, visit: publicartpittsburgh.org.
This program is generously supported by the Hillman Foundation.
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