This November marked Radiant Hall’s 10-year anniversary! In 10 years, we have expanded to provide over 100 studios across three locations, served over 270 artists as studio members, and invested nearly 3 million dollars in the local arts economy. We owe this milestone to the communities that host our studios, the artists who bring these spaces to life, and the supporters who allow these artists to thrive.
The preservation of affordable space is critical for keeping artists and creatives in the Pittsburgh area. Our active waitlist of over 60 artists speaks to the ongoing need for this fundamental resource. Affordable space is especially impactful for traditionally marginalized artists, artists facing economic hardship, or those in developing neighborhoods where creative communities are vulnerable to displacement.
Affordability isn’t the only reason artists turn to Radiant Hall. The overwhelming majority of our artists report that being at Radiant Hall increases their reputation, visibility, productivity, and access to opportunities and resources. Here’s what just a few of them have said about their experience:
Here are a few highlights from this year:
We enjoyed deepening our partnerships with BOOM Concepts through the BOOM Universe x Radiant Hall Residency, Black Tea Brown Suga Network with the BTBSN Soul Lounge, and Protohaven with a joint Management Assistance Grant from the Forbes Funds.
We received funding from The Heinz Endowments to enter our next strategic planning phase. This planning process will outline a strategic direction for Radiant Hall for 2024 through 2026, with particular emphasis on sustainability and diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.
We were honored to participate in the Full Circle Accelerator (a joint program of Social Venture Partners (SVP) Pittsburgh and The Equity | Impact Center) along with our cohort members, The Citizen Science Lab, and The Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network. This capacity-building program is designed to improve organizational efficiency, program implementation, financial sustainability, and increase overall impact.
We celebrated Radiant Hall’s 10-year anniversary with Radiant Ball, an unforgettable event featuring over 40 current and alumni artists. In addition to the funds raised to help support our programming, over $9,000 went directly to these artists to compensate them for their work.
We were proud to become W.A.G.E. Certified by making an ongoing commitment to pay artist fees on a fair wage scale calculated in relation to our total operating costs. W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) is a New York-based activist organization with a mission to establish equitable and sustainable economic relationships between artists and institutions.
With support from the Eberly Foundation, we launched a new Post-Grad Residency program for recent or upcoming graduates, designed to facilitate the transition from academic to professional creative practice.
We expanded our McKees Rocks location, adding 20 new studios and additional communal resources including a kiln, spray booth, and more!
Read on for more 2021 accomplishments from the Radiant Hall community…
We continually strive to cultivate an artist community that is reflective of the demographics of the city and representative of the neighborhoods that host our studios.
While we still have work to do, we are proud of the progress we have made, largely due to our residency programs that intentionally support artists from traditionally marginalized communities. For example, the representation of artists of color in our studios has increased from 18% to 34% since 2018.
Oreen Cohen (RH Homewood) unveiled a number of public art projects, including one for the Art in the Parks Initiative in Allentown Park.
Crystal Latimer (alumni) and Andrew Allison (alumni) were part of the group show, FRILLS: Glories, Excess, and Getting Weird at SPACE.
Heather Heitzenrater (RH Homewood) had two solo shows, Imaginarium at BoxHeart Gallery, and Dreamland at Curio.
Rebecca Harrison (alumni) opened a new store front for Old Flame Mending in Avalon.
Jeff Fuga (RH McKees Rocks) had an exhibition at Manos Gallery.
atiya jones (RH Lawrenceville) had a solo show, Use What You Got, at 707 Penn Gallery. atiya also designed cans for Dancing Gnome Beer and a pedal for Old Blood Noise Endeavors.
Samira Shaheen (RH Homewood) was part of a group show, Interaction Now, at Robert Morris University.
Kyle Anger (alumni) had a show, Terrain, at BoxHeart Gallery.
Women of Vision's Progeny of Change exhibition featured RH Homewood members Ashley Jones, Rell Rushin, Christine Bethea and alumni Jameelah Platt.
Kathy Mazur (RH McKees Rocks) had a residency at Nemacolin Resort and was part of the Off the Wall pARTy at Penn State New Kensington.
Njaimeh Njie (alumni) gave a keynote address for Global Academic Partnership Conference, and presented as part of Society of Architectural Historians' Conference Seminar, "Elevating Voices: Pittsburgh Reckonings, Renewal, Repair." Njaimeh was also part of the virtual panel on residencies at Westmoreland Museum with BOOM Concepts.
Alumni Selima Dawson, LaVerne Kemp, and Maritza Mosquera were selected for the Exposure Artists Program.
Christine Bethea (RH Homewood), Heather Heitzenrater (RH Homewood) and Tom Sarver (RH McKees Rocks) were in Those Who Teach at PCA&M.
Joe Perry (RH Lawrenceville) had a solo show, A Fool's Errand, at Pullproof Studio.
Annie Heisey (RH Lawrenceville) had a solo show, Uncharted Waters, at Curio in Zelienople.
Christine Bethea (RH Homewood) had work on view in Amalgamation with Katy Dement at the Laurel Arts Center.
Studio Director Nisha Blackwell (RH Homewood) designed a bowtie for actor Danny Glover's Oscars look and was part of the How You Make It Sustainable Speaker Series. Nisha also received the 2022 G.I.B.S.O.N Award for Business, and co-curated Full Spectrum at the Pittsburgh Glass Center which included work by Rell Rushin (RH Homewood).
Ashley A. Jones (RH Homewood), Christopher Boring (RH Homewood), Paige Tibbe (alumni), Claira Heitzenrater (alumni), Michael McDevitt (RH Homewood), Chelsea Long (alumni), and Jonathan Schwartz (RH Homewood) were all featured in Out of Shape, curated by Heather Heitzenrater (RH Homewood).
Addoley Dzegede (alumni) was selected as a resident of the Norske Tekstilkunstrnere AiR Green Våren 2022, and was awarded A Fulbright Scholarship to study in Denmark. Addoley gave two talks and a workshop on Ghanaian batik at the Textile Research Center in the Netherlands.
Laura Krasnow (RH Homewood) had photographs included in the pARTicles Exhibition at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, as well as The Biennial Project Exhibition at the 2022 Venice Biennale.
Alisha Wormsley (alumni) was selected as a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow in the Creative Arts.
Rell Rushin (RH Homewood) was awarded the Public Art & Communities Grant (OPA + Neighborhood Allies) and had a solo show at the Lohr Gallery at the Wilkinsburg CDC.
Lizzee Solomon (RH Homewood) had work for the Distillery Residency Program in GLARE at the Brew House Association, and live painted for the Secret Walls performance at Spirit.
Samira Shaheen (RH Homewood) and Rell Rushin (RH Homewood) were in the Invisibility Collective bi-annual exhibition in San Francisco, CA.
Studio Director Seth Clark (RH Lawrenceville) had work on display at Abel Contemporary Gallery and Momentum Gallery.
Brent Nakamoto (alumni) curated Plain Silk, Uncarved Wood at AAP, and had a solo show, Mountains on Mountains, at Union Hall.
Nicole Renee Ryan (alumni) was part of the group show, As Everywhere of Silver, at the Southern Allegheny Museum of Art, and Art & Light Gallery's Anniversary Group Show.
Tom Sarver (RH McKees Rocks) curated the exhibition, The Pittsburgh Left, featuring works by several artists including Studio Director Ramon Riley (RH McKees Rocks).
Jamie Earnest (alumni) had a solo show at gallery here.
Several AAP exhibitions featured RH artists: Hilary Schenker (RH Homewood), Zim Syed (RH Homewood), Zoë Welsh (RH Homewood), Conor Coleman (alumni), Kathy Mazur (RH McKees Rocks), Paul Roden (alumni), Tom Sarver (RH McKees Rocks), Tim Engelhardt (RH Homewood), Teal Fitzpatrick (RH McKees Rocks), Michael McDevitt (RH Homewood), Lizzee Solomon (alumni), and Brent Nakamoto (alumni).
Tim Engelhardt (RH Homewood) had a solo exhibition at Atithi Studio in Sharpsburg and completed a mural at Dilworth Elementary School. Tim also completed the Kennywood Tunnel mural project with Heather Heitzenrater (RH Homewood).
Ian Brill (alumni) had an installation, Supply and Demand, at Wood Street Galleries.
Kisha Patterson (alumni) had a solo show at the Pushy Plant Lady Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
Rona Chang (RH Lawrenceville) and atiya jones (RH Lawrenceville) were guest artists for the 2022 annual Mo’town Studio Tour in Morgantown, WV.
The Kipp Gallery exhibition, undercurrent, featured paintings by Zoë Welsh (RH Homewood) and Natalie Moffitt.
Gavin Benjamin's (RH Lawrenceville) Break Down and Let It All Out opened at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Gavin also had work on view at McDonough Museum, and in Headspace with Hans Neleman at Zynka Gallery.
The 56th Annual Exhibition for Pittsburgh Society of Artists included two works by Studio Director Christopher Boring (RH Homewood), with one receiving a jurors award. Christopher was also featured in the ZYNKA Gallery group show Wood Works, at the Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, and in Paths at Unsmoke Systems.
Evan Rumble (RH McKees Rocks) had works selected for Full Spectrum, the Society of Sculptors exhibition at Brew House Gallery, as well as the annual juried exhibition at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Art of the State.
Hannah Altman (alumni) was selected as the inaugural Blanksteen Artist In Residence at the Slifka Center at Yale University. Hannah also had a solo exhibition, With Rifts and Collapses, at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA.
Peggi Habets (RH McKees Rocks) won third place in this year’s Watermedia Showcase competition. Her work will be featured in the Spring 2023 issue of Watercolor Artist magazine. Peggi was previously featured in the publication Art of Watercolor, and in the arts and literary journal Masquerade & Spectacle. She was also awarded the Mary Jo Rines Memorial Award for Innovation in Art by the New England Watercolor Society.
Christine Bethea (RH Homewood), MarySue Flick (alumni), Kathy Mazur (RH McKees Rocks), Jameelah Platt (alumni), and blaine siegel (alumni) were all awarded Allegheny Arts Revival Grants, a program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Tom Sarver (RH McKees Rocks) presented an artist talk as part of the AAP 2022 New Member Exhibition at Slippery Rock University, and was part of the group show, OH+5, at the Dairy Barn Arts Center.
Christine Bethea (RH Homewood), Addoley Dzegede (alumni), atiya jones (RH Lawrenceville), Xan Phillips (RH Lawrenceville), and Nat Sampson (RH Homewood) were awarded Advancing Black Arts grants.
