Local Pittsburgh happenings in arts, performance, culture, etc.
Sept. 23–30:
Pittsburgh Art Book Fair:
Saturday, September 28, 10 a.m., Carnegie Museum of Art
The annual Pittsburgh Art Book Fair is back! This year, 73 vendors will fill the Carnegie Museum of Art’s magnificent Hall of Sculpture, set against the monochromatic, alabaster space and surrounded by Andrew Carnegie’s cast sculpture collection (a must-see in itself). Art Books are art that take the form of books, but goods won’t be limited to these. Favorites like Karen’s Book Row, and several CMU organizations will be there, but this is also an exciting way to meet and support small Pittsburgh makers like Alchemic Print. Entry is free, but vendors will be selling their work. Web: pabf.cargo.site; IG: @pghartbookfair.
Screenshot Asian Film Festival:
September 25-29, various times and locations
In a collaborative project between the University of Pittsburgh’s film and Asian studies departments with other community members, Screenshot is presenting their third annual film festival centered around the Asian and Asian American experience. Over the course of five days, 12 films will be screened. Many will be accompanied by discussions — Thursday’s “The Cats of Gokogu Shrine” (a new documentary about cat occupation of a Shinto temple and, more broadly, the town Ushimado) will be accompanied by a Q&A with the director, Kazuhiro Soda. For CMU students, tickets are $5 at the door. Web: screenshot.pitt.edu.
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances:
September 27 at 7:30 p.m. and 29 at 2:30 p.m., Heinz Hall
As long as the buses to and from downtown are back on schedule, Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, is a destination for a classy night. The set list includes three other pieces before the three-movement Symphonic Dances (1940), one of Rachmaninoff’s very last works. The Russian composer’s famously big hands give his music an agile, expressive, and complex quality. For a new orchestra attendee, this is not a snoozer (and were you to doze off, your dreams would certainly be whimsical). Tickets start at $25 online and you can call for a discount. Web: https://pittsburghsymphony.org/.
“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Idiot Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”:
September 21 to October 13, various times, City Theatre
The trip across the river (gasp) is well worth it to catch City Theatre’s “POTUS”, a feminist, bipartisan play about exactly what its byline says. It was written by Selina Fillinger just two years ago, so this production’s run from Sept. 21 to Oct. 13 falls just before the first presidential election cycle since then, one that could possibly subvert the roles. But “POTUS” depicts this high-stakes situation through farce and play. There are student discount tickets and pay-what-you-want nights, along with talk-back and engagement events on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. Web: citytheatre.culturaldistrict.org/.
Treasured Ornaments:
Until October 20, Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Frick Museum
The Frick Museum’s historic Clayton grounds will house a collection of Islamic art until Oct. 20. Its objects are physical embodiments of the incredibly rich and geographically diverse scope of the Islamic World: spanning from Southern Spain to Egypt to Iran to India, the objects are united by their religious connection to Islam. Many were produced during the Islamic Golden Age, a time in which the pursuit of knowledge was paramount. The exhibit isn’t limited to the artifacts themselves: there are rich accompanying resources including a small collection of books to browse and an interactive map website. Web: https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/.
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