Pittsburgh's Cutting-Edge Festivals Reflect Steel City's Transformation

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three cutting-edge festivals taking place in Pittsburgh this fall illustrate the Steel City's transformation like never before.

"Pittsburgh represents the perfect place for these uniquely innovative and culturally spirited events," said Craig Davis, president & CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/, the official tourism promotion agency for the Pittsburgh region. "These festivals embody the passion and pride of Pittsburgh's environmental transformation into a technologically and creatively astute city that continues to reinvent itself."

Here's what's happening:

Drap-Art Makes North American Premiere in Pittsburgh

This weekend marks the kickoff of the Re:NEW Festival http://renewfestival.com/ (Sept. 9 – Oct. 9) and the North American premiere of Drap-Art in Pittsburgh. The festival invites visitors to enjoy 80+ public programs (the majority of them free) that together celebrate creative reuse, sustainability and transformation and reflect Pittsburgh's own renewal.

30+ organizations involving the arts, environmental and education sectors have come together in presenting Re:NEW Festival programming, including:

• Art Exhibits within Conventional Galleries & Alternative Urban Spaces
• Public art
• Talks
• Tours
• Markets of Upcycled Goods
• Films & Performances

A highlight of the Re:NEW Festival is the North American premiere of Drap-Art http://www.drapart.org/ the International Festival of Recycled Art based in Barcelona, Spain, with 65 artists presenting provocative art from reclaimed materials. Artists hailing from five continents and 17 countries are represented in this international exhibition that is installed inside Phillip Johnson's Wintergarden at PPG Place, an architecturally significant building in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh.

"Drap" means "rag" in Catalonian, and for 20 years, Drap-Art has showcased an international festival of recycled art at the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona. This curated exhibition has brought together accomplished international artists who use recycled materials to create provocative and compelling multi-media works. Drap-Art has collaborated and exhibited with like-minded organizations across Europe, Asia and South America but has never brought its provocative and timely exhibition to the United States.

Thrival Innovation + Music Festival

The Thrival Innovation + Music Festival http://www.thrivalfestival.com/ Sept. 20-24, is an annual event featuring multiple days of immersive, innovation-focused programming capped by a two-day outdoor live music experience at the historic Carrie Blast Furnaces – a former steel mill-turned-event-and-attraction-space.

The week of programs features thought leaders, cutting-edge technology and forward-thinking approaches to 21^st century challenges. In short: Thrival explores innovative, new ideas, technologies and stories that are defining modern society.

VIA Festival

For what's next in music, art and culture, it's the VIA Festival http://www.via-festival.com/2016/ Oct. 6-9. Throughout Pittsburgh, at cool venues (including the hip, new Ace Hotel as the location for VIA's main showcases), there will be a plethora of:

• Pop-up Galleries & After-Hour Clubs
• Historic Theaters & Public Libraries
• University Lecture Halls where artists from all over gather for custom performances
• Exhibitions, Special Projects, Workshops & More

This go-around, performers will be paired with an individual video-visual artist to create something totally new. 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160909/405971

SOURCE VisitPittsburgh