After a five-year layoff, the Carnegie International exhibition of contemporary art is back and bigger than ever in Pittsburgh.
The exhibition is more than a century old, having started in 1896. Pittsburgh holds another one every three to five years.
This year’s exhibition – which opens Oct. 5 and runs through March 16, 2014 – promises to take over every room in the city’s sprawling Carnegie Museum of Art.
The Carnegie International features works by 35 artists from 19 countries. It plays an important role in showing how Pittsburgh has been rebuilt, remade and revitalized, says Connie George, vice president of communications for the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“This exhibit, much more than anything else, puts Pittsburgh in the international contemporary arts spotlight,” George says.
The exhibition follows Andrew Carnegie’s founding idea: to discover and bring the “old masters of tomorrow” into the permanent collection at the Carnegie Museum of Art. It is the only international contemporary art exhibition that builds a museum’s permanent collection.
Co-curators Dan Byers, Daniel Baumann and Tina Kukielski traveled around the world to select the new “old masters” – their first collaboration together.
“Miraculously, it’s been a lot of fun,” Kukielski says. “Now our conversations unfold as easily over the conference table as they do over a beer at 1 in the morning.”
All three curators planned to visit countries in the Middle East in 2011. Shortly before Kukielski’s trip to Beirut, the Arab Spring broke out, but it didn’t do anything to detract from the art scene.
“Beirut is one of the most chaotic, stimulating, invigorating environments,” Kukielski says. “I loved the city.”
From their travels, the curators found and commissioned works by emerging and established artists alike.
The first floor of the museum will feature monumental works and interactive exhibits, including a commissioned sculpture by British artist Phyllida Barlow, photos of Pittsburgh’s Homestead neighborhood by Philadelphia-based photographer Zoe Strauss, corridors lit with neon sculptures by Chinese artist He An, books about the Middle East on loan from traveling exhibition the Bidoun Library and weapons that have been transformed into self-playing instruments by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes.
The second floor of the museum will feature group-style exhibits, including a retrospective of Nicole Eisenmann’s works. Eisenmann is well-known for her figurative, narrative paintings, but the exhibit will also show her recent work, which extends her figurative style into sculpture.
For the first time this year, visitors will be able to see more than 200 works from previous exhibitions. The Carnegie International also includes the Playground Project, guest-curated by Gabriela Burkhalter, which features photos and sculptures of playgrounds around the world, and the Lozziwurm, a giant, orange tube installed in front of the museum for public enjoyment. During the eight-month exhibition, artists will be on site to give talks, screenings and presentations.
Just a three-hour drive from Columbus, the Carnegie International corresponds with a bevy of arts events throughout Pittsburgh.
Dance, theater and other performing arts lovers can see one of 10 shows during the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, so-named because all of the works will be making their U.S. premieres. The festival takes place in Pittsburgh’s walkable, 14-block Cultural District, which features six theaters, dozens of art galleries and public artworks.
Music lovers might consider attending the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s season opener, featuring Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, from Oct. 4-6. The Pittsburgh Opera’s opening-night performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida is slated for Oct. 12. And the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will present An Evening of Twyla Tharp – featuring In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs by Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer Tharp – from Oct. 25-27.
Between the exhibition and dozens of other cultural attractions, it would be easy to plan a week-long arts and culture vacation, George says.
“We will amaze and surprise you. It’s not a far drive, it’s inexpensive and there’s more to do than you could possibly fit into a weekend,” she says.
Regular admission price for the Carnegie Museum of Art and the adjoining Carnegie Museum of Natural History is $17.95, with discounts available for seniors, students and groups.
For hours, tickets and more information, visit www.cmoa.org or call 412-622-3131.
Lauren Hutchison is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
