PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE - This paint job elevates Carnegie's landmark bridge by ROBERT PODURGIEL, June 27, 2021
TRIB LIV SIGNAL ITEM - Carnegie public art project brightens borough by: ALEXIS PAPALIA, June 30, 2021
More about Brian Alfred and his work brianalfred.net
Brian is celebrated for his podcast “Sound and Vision,” known as one of the top visual arts podcasts in the world. soundandvisionpodcast.com
Dedication of the Richie Cole Portrait by Artist Brian Alfred was held on Friday, October 22, 2021 and sponsored by the Carnegie Arts Initiative. The evening was documented on video by Nate Kesneck.
Tom Scantling of Crafton, a friend of Richie had suggested a tribute to the jazz musician who had volunteered so much of his time to the community. Artist Brian Alfred contacted the borough around the same time to discuss his interest in painting a mural in his hometown. Brian arrived in September of 2021 and completed the tribute mural over just a few days. A small unveiling event at the mural location took place on October 22 and brought together some of Richie's friends, local artists, and musicians. Carnegie Junior Councilperson Mac Johnson was on hand to cut the ribbon.
Monarch Shelter Mural
The Monarch Shelter Mural was a collaborative public art project celebrating community, conservation, and creativity. Through the Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media Artist Residency Program and support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, local artist and muralist Alison Zapata worked alongside students in Marlynn Vayanos' Carlynton High School art class to design and paint the mural. Students studied monarch butterflies using specimens generously loaned by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, allowing them to create scientifically inspired artwork while learning about the importance of pollinators and native habitats.
The mural transformed one of Carnegie's park shelters into the Monarch Shelter, named in recognition of former Mayor Stacie Riley's commitment to the National Wildlife Federation's Mayor's Monarch Pledge, which promotes the conservation of monarch butterflies and their habitats. Current Mayor Sam Bigham proudly continues the Borough's participation in the pledge, reaffirming Carnegie's commitment to environmental stewardship.
Student artists included Gabriella Adams, Haneen Alradi, Amel Belaid, McKenna Blake, Jayden Cohen, Emma Fanzo, Rose Highfield, Klaurra Kelso Walker, Colleen LaRiviere, Ruken Sahin, Songul Sheikh Omar, Aida Varghese, and Nargis Wahidi.
Community volunteers who helped bring the mural to life included Council President Phil Boyd, Councilperson Terry Lee, Borough Manager Steve Beuter, Shade Tree Commission President Gina James, Will Bigham, Olivia Wanat, Bill Bigham, Deneen Underwood, and Anne Grant.
The Borough extends special thanks to Mary Brenholts of the Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media for her support and guidance throughout the project. The Monarch Shelter stands as a lasting symbol of collaboration between local artists, students, volunteers, and community leaders while highlighting the Borough's ongoing commitment to public art, environmental education, and pollinator conservation.
Promoting nutrition and healthy eating through art, mARkeT was first implemented at the 2020 summer farmers market and has continued each season since. The primary teaching artist is Alicia Kesneck along with guests artists from Carlynton High School and face painters from the Carnegie Elementary School PTA. Using recycled materials when possible, mARkeT projects coincide with farmers market themes and our Fruit and Veggie Challenge that encourages young visitors to take a pledge to try a new fruit or vegetable.
Carnegie artist and Shade Tree Commission Vice President Alicia Kesneck created a Monarch Butterfly life cycle display featured at the Carnegie Library. (2023)
Mayor Stacie Riley presented rising Carlynton junior Leslie Rwigyema with the Mayor's Monarch Conservation Pledge Creative Award for her original poem "Lament for a Monarch Butterfly" on June 12, 2022 at Third Street Art Gallery. Leslie's freeform, lament poem shows empathy for the plight of the Monarch. The unrhymed structure and uneven stanzas dramatically symbolize habitat loss, fragmentation, migration, and movement.We commend Leslie for her creative contribution to "The Carnegie Monarch Butterfly Conservation Project."
East Main Street Public Art Project, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 1991
Click Here for PDF