THIS WAS THEN....

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GA/GI's Fashion FUZEion Eco-Tech Fashion Show At Pittsburgh Glass Center - Photos - WPXI Pittsburgh

Photos: Fashion FUZEion Eco-Tech Fashion Show At Pittsburgh Glass Center - Photos - WPXI Pittsburgh

Touchfaster Imaging and Burgh Watching will bring GA/GI to Life

Touch faster first became known to us last year, when we used their amazing
graphics to give to our fledging new festival graphics and to also promote a shiny new wing of it called "Birds, Trees and Robots," which the children's segment of eco and technology activities, wich will again occur on Saturday, April 2 at the Union Project, starting 10 am. Today, Touchfaster boasts a line-up of phenomenal  young pittsburgh talent including Pierce Maratto and Eli Reibich and does a myriad of services including photograhy and events planning. Also watch for GA/GI on Living Pittsburgh's "Brugh Watching" video segments that are being run showing the best of  Penn Avenue's Arts Initiative.

GA/GI "FUZEion" Fashion Show Is a Lot Like its Sponsor!

"Gala" by Amanda Gross

Kristin Barker, GA/GI Fashion Director, has always taken a very open approach to her runway fashion statement. "Why should we be doing what everyone else does?" She asks. She has selected styles from both well-known and emerging designers, and will-- in the spirit of the event--make it all blend wonderfully.

'We love that we have clothes by teenagers right up there on the runway with people who have shown in Paris. Everyone is so accommodating and the younger people get a sense of the possibilities open to them. Many of our Pittsburgh folks are doing quite nicely in the world market."  Added to this is a sense of daring-- new definitions of fiber. When Team GA/GI learned the fashion show's host venue, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, was celebrating its 10th Anniversary, we asked them to put out a call for clothing made of glass. PGC's Paige Ilkhanipour and Heather Joy Puskarich took up the challenge.Within weeks, incredible submissions arrived; all of which certainly "break the glass ceiling" of what is considered wearable fashion today.



TEXT REDCROSS to 90999

 "Junk Kimono" or Kimonos made of salvage materials will also stride down the runway created by several designers like fiber artist, Karen Page whose students from CAPA are also featured in the show. Also, back for a second year is Neighborhood Academy whose young fashionistas are under the direction of Amanda Gross. Other artists adding a Japanned flair are LaVerne Kemp, Michelle A. Jones and others. The audience will be asked to show their support for tsunami victims by texting a $10 donation to the Red Cross.


Rounding out the fashion show, are vintage looks and eco inspired style from fashion "hot spots": Kelly Lane, ModCloth, Crazy Hot Clothes, Little Black Dress, Jonano, Cotton Factory, Sugar, and other amazing designers! The fashion show is sponsored by FUZE, a  fruity, 0-calorie beverage that comes in multi layered flavors.

GA/GI Discovery: The Center for Post Natural History

The Center for PostNatural History: An Introduction from Rich Pell on Vimeo.

Rich Pell, CPNH Curator

Center for PostNatural History from Rich Pell on Vimeo.

When Team GA/GI heard that 4913 Penn Avenue (formerly Tweek) had been untweeked, we had to learn what was going in. A few calls later we had the pleasure of talking to Rich Pell, part activist, part artist and low key mad scientist who according to the Kindle Project is " the most subtle bad ass" they've ever encountered. Pell, they, say "works in calculated and brilliant ways, never breaking any rules, while creating something no one has ever seen." We couldn't be happier that this Smithsonian Fellow chose Penn Avenue as the location to present his grand experiment which he says is simply to get people to "take a closer look at things they take for granted." This led Pell to advance the concept of The Center for Post Natural History or CPNH, a public outreach venue dedicated to the intersection of culture, nature and biotechnology.

Said Pell, "People need to consider the impact they have on living organisms, how we divide our resources, and how we use our food supply. We need to think those thoughts and hang out with them."

During GA/GI festival goers will get their first dose of what Pell plans to offer at his new Center when it officially opens in June 2011. He chose Penn Avenue for his location because of its diversity. "I don't want to be talking to only one kind of person, " he explained. "I love the broad range of people in the Friendship/Garfield area, and I want people from all over to come here and be fascinated!"

Well, there is no telling what Pell plans to present to the public on GA/GI Night, April 1. So, when the sun goes down that evening,  join the watch at the windows of 4913 Penn!

QoLT Brings Better Living Through Science to GA/GI

Joe McLaughlin

The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center, under the leadership of Takeo Kanade, is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) whose mission is to transform lives in a large and growing segment of the population – people with reduced functional capabilities due to aging or disability. A unique partnership between, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, it's also an effective platform for industry/practitioner/academic researcher interaction and for engaging the general public in technology research. In the near future, compassionate intelligent QoLT systems will monitor and communicate with a person, understand his or her daily needs and tasks, and provide reliable and happily-accepted assistance. Come meet Lead Outreach Ambassador, Joe McLaughlin at the Glass Lofts on Friday/GA/GI evening and learn about current and upcoming QoLT projects.

Alloy hosts Improv Jam @ GA/GI

Dance Alloy is thrilled to invite the community to their home for a new and fresh celebration of creativity. For April’s GA/GI @ Unblurred event, they will be hosting THE CITRUS SERIES.  This is an Improv Jam and Informal Showcase that was founded by Alloy’s own Jasmine Hearn, a relatively new addition to the company. Jasmine started the series to create a safe environment where she could immerse herself into her art. Before too long, the Improv Jams grew to where several fellow students and artists were joining together to share in the experience. With what started as just one dancer in the studio has evolved into a beloved event that has been hosted in various spaces throughout Pittsburgh. 

Hearn explains her inspiration, “If we are missing an experience then we should do it ourselves, create it ourselves. I thought maybe other people need a safe place too.”

Dancers, poets, musicians, photographers, anyone that would like to share in this inspiring atmosphere, please join us for this enriching evening.  It will be a pay-what-you-can event to help sustain our mission and to further promote and encourage the arts community. The night is not only to dance, but to sing, play instruments, or even just watch. Come share the creative energy with fellow artists! For other GA/GI event information check our schedule link in the left column of this blog.

Legos + Robotics + Kids: Meet New GA/GI Partner SNAPOLOGY!

The brainchild of sisters, Laura Barrows and Lisa Coe, the Snapology center was created to advance, science, math, technology and literacy through play. Coe and Barrows saw the fun their own children had creating with Legos and other building materials and decided to take it to the next level. Children at Snapology learn team work and hone their social skills by working with instructors who teach by interactive lesson plans followed by model building and computer work.

Snapology offers Parents Night Out Lego Labs, summer classes, birthday parties and other programs. Try out a sampling at GA/DAY, Saturday April 2 from 10 am to Noon at the Union Project  Hosting their annual open house @ 801 North Negley Avenue in Highland Park.
Snapology is joined by David Edwards Power Flower, The Pittsburgh Center of the Arts paper-making artists, SpeakLife Storytellers, and Apps for Healthy Kids from "Fit 4 Life" and more. Plus kids enjoy a health snack from Right by Nature.

Hip Hop and Lock positively Likes GA/GI

Students from the Hip Hop on Lock Project, located in East Liberty and run by local music mogul, Emmai Alaquiva, will participate in GA/GI Fest to enhance their writing talents and share their positive energy. They'll get a special session to check out the work of Craigslist Tunes producer Gian Carlos De-Silva Jesus (see story below) on Friday, April 1. Then, on April 2, they'll participate in a special story-telling workshop with SpeakLife, spoken word artists who attend Duquesne University. The workshop is one component of GA/GI Day for Kids at the Union Project's Open House on April 2. Other GA/GI Day participants included David Edwards with his solar powered metal flower, Healthy Family Apps organized by Jia Ji, and hands-on eco art activities coordinated by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. For more check our GA/GI events schedule at the top of the page.

Share the Love.... Love the Lint!

In 2009, Gian Carlos Silva-De Jesús  took a random ad from Craigslist posted by a guy looking to purchase a $50 BMX Bike and began an international music initiative--The Craiglist Tunes Project. With the collaboration of "El Santos, " a reggaeton producer from Puerto Rico, 'Soy Sos" a Pittsburgh Producer and "Biddle" a Pittsburgh Rapper, the first experiments with collecting mundane words and putting them to rhythms and songs began.   Says Gian, "I bring my culture and music to build bridges.By mixing people and sounds from different places, we are creating new forms of cross cultural music production." At GA/GI, Silva-De Jesus will be collecting words of love and peace from passersby, to put into his super song mixer.See more about one of his other projects here. He expects to produce a CD of the GA/GI collections in the near future. Find DeSliva and his traveling recording booth--"Walkmic"-- at the BGC Activities Center on Friday, April 1st, Saturday, April 2 at the Glass Center.

Cheryl Capezutti w/ "Febreeze"

If you ask anyone about Cheryl Capezutti, you'll mostly likely get a broad smile, just before they answer. For years, Capezutti has been delighting people of all ages and demographics across Southwestern, PA  with her  artful wit, artsy programming, and artistic revelations. One of the city's premiere "found object artists" she broke ground by taking the unsalvagable--common dryer lint--and creating soulful and whimsical figures and puppets from that waste product. Since then, Cheryl and her puppets have shown up everywhere in dozens of communities, and have graced downtown during First Night.
Cheryl says the goals for her work are to get people to ponder the daily tasks they take for granted, to converse about the place of art in contemporary society and to delight in the creative process.
You can collect lint for Cheryl's National Lint Project @ M & G Laundry located at 5511 Penn Avenue. Mail your lint to Capezutti @ 1509 Tremon Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 along with your name, what you washed and how doing laundry makes you feel.Cheryl is especially interest in getting lint from people who live and work near the Penn Avenue corridor.
You can Also drop off  lint and information at ARTica Gallery 5110 Penn Ave by March 25th.


So remember, a non tumbling dryer gathers no lint. Get that laundry done and contribute! :-)

GA/GI Hits the Mark!

Look for 'em! Designed by Brenda Brown of Passports: Art Diversity, a pre-event poster will be popping up all over Penn Avenue, reminding folks that GA/GI is one sign of spring--weeks before Earth Day. And Revive Marketing with kick start us! Redd Up 'Burghers!