Pitt Has Science on Wheels + Meet the Man Out to Save Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena " Igloo"

The University of Pittsburgh has put science on wheels! And the GA/GI Festival will showcase it!

If you have children in grades K-12, they may have already seen Pitt's awesome Mobile Lab. But lucky for us, more children--and adults--will get a preview, when this 80-foot retro-fitted tractor trailer comes swinging into the Friendship/Garfield community on April 2.

Pitt Mobile Science Lab is a self-contained mobile laboratory that allows students to use current, high-end equipment to perform laboratory investigations. And it's the latest exciting addition to a very active K-12 education outreach effort sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Biological Sciences.

Other partners of this outstanding program include: The University of Pittsburgh Translational Sciences Institute, The Pittsburgh, Life Sciences Greenhouse, The Lyceum Group, Thermo Fisher, and Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative.



Meet the architect who is out to save the Mellon Arena! Rob Pfaffmann--a mega awarded, LEED and "green" man--comes from a long line of ground-breaking architects. His great, great grandfather helped to create Chicago's uninterrupted chain of lakeside parks. FF 100 + years and another Pfaffmann is leading the charge. This time to "recycle" Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena making the igloo shaped building beautiful and useful to the community once more. Rob Pfaffmann will be at our Eco-Tech Building (aka Bloomfield/Garfield Activities Center) @ 113 N. Pacific Avenue during the Geek Art Green Innovators Festival to give you all the details, and show us what the future of the Mellon Arena could be!

EcoCents to Get Big Debut @ GA/GI

Out on the shelves for a mere two weeks, this awesome, new Pittsburgh green guide hasn't had a big party yet, so we're helping them shine at GA/GI.
"It was a community driven project," says Corinne Bechtel, who along with co-owner Megan Cook, spearheaded the EcoCents Green Guide. It took the two women over a year to unearth, compile and highlight dozens of people and places where "green" thinking reigns. The creators of the publication acted more as editors, allowing their subjects to write their own individual stories and so the book is chock full of information that might not make it to the pages of ordinary guides. One example is Turner Dairy Farms, who talks about their new rBGH-free milk; there are recipes for green cooking as well as something for"Whatever floats your kayak," the two creators claim. "You can find ways to make it greener with EcoCents." Meet the women and buy the book @ the Geek Art/ Green Innovators Festival; discover all the wonderful ways to add more "green" to your everyday living....and EcoCents has over $1000 worth of coupons to prove it!

Edinboro University's Eco-based Prints @ Most Wanted for GA/GI

Professor, John Lysak told GA/GI, "We will have some artists and students in this exhibit who created imagery specifically for the exhibition, using some of the listed themes, such as robotics, digital media, green technology or eco-friendly and mind-expanding art." Other Edinboro University artists will bring pieces created, that neatly fit the festival themes. Some of the processes used include photo-lithography for digital and hand drawn images, water based screen printing (which is fairly eco-friendly), relief printing, letter press printing, linocut, woodcut or intaglio printmaking. Most of the artists in the exhibition are creating their prints using hand-made fine art techniques or papers from sustainable fibers such as cotton and bark from harvested trees for an Asian aesthetic. Said Lysak of his show with pieces still being processed: "I think it will be a very interesting exhibition with a wide range of approaches to theme and media." Shown above is work Lysak himself will include in the show: "Verdant Growth" and "A Way Back."

See Me @ GA/GI 2

There's more to art than meets the eye!

GA/GI Festival's First VIdeo "Teaser"

First GA/GI Video Teaser is complete! Will be on Youtube soon!

The Man Who Makes That "Great Little Wine from Lawrenceville" @ GA/GI

The creator of an urban winery, Engine House 25 is coming to GA/GI! And though a legend could be concocted that the wine is as light as the winged clouds seen floating above the personage of Roberto Clemente, whose photo hangs at the entrance of the building in honor of the saint-like baseball player, himself the subject of the museum of the same name: We don't mind telling you that the entire establishment and the winery are a vision of one man--photographer Duane Reider who is making and remaking history at Engine House 25.

Rieder and his partner Tim Gaber, once a bassist in a rock band, have been crushing grapes in the basement of their Roberto Clemente Museum aka the old fire engine house 25, since 1999. Back then, Rieder's passion for Roberto Clemente collectibles and his photography were the focus. It was when Rieder's wife got tired of seeing $20,000 a year go into grapes without any return, that Rider went legit and Engine House 25--the wine--was born. Penguins CEO Mario Lemieux has become a fan of the wine. Athletes like Franco Harris even have their own limited edition label. And Reider, whose passion for Roberto Clemente, led him to establish the nationally known museum, has built two businesses in a vintage Pittsburgh establishment that have become the rallying point for celebrities, sports fans, and wine lovers alike.

On April 2 @ GA/GI you'll meet Duane Rieder, and get the 101 of honoring a baseball legend and making urban wine from the man himself. Can't wait? Call the museum for a visit. 412-621-1268.

In Other News: "The Saudi Arabia of Coal" and Excerpts from"YERT" to showcase at the Union Project, A GA/GI Partner, on Feb. 11

YERT (Your Environment Road Trip), is a year-long eco-expedition through all 50 United States, filmed by three young explorers with video cameras in hand and tongues in cheek. The trio scouts the landscape of America for unique approaches to environmental sustainability, persistent in their quest to show that Americans want to do the right thing--they just: A) Don't want to look strange doing it and B)Don't have the time or means to explore all the options. The YERT team takes the time! They drag us kicking, screaming and laughing week by week, play by play through a mix of outrageous antics and provocative examples, taking risks while still managing to give us thoughtful and insightful reporting. While we wait for this cinematic gem to release, you can see excepts, and enjoy a multi media presentation of an original play,"Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal," all on Thursday, February 11 at 8 p.m. @ the Union Project, 801 North Negley Avenue. The cost is $15 General Admission and $10 for students. Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/

This presentation is brought to you by: The Sierra Club, The Citizens Coal Council, The Center for Coalfield Justice and Mountain Watershed Association.

Yert: The Film is coming "soonish!"

Of Artists, Art and Artistic Collaborations coming April 2

Justin Visnesky grew up in a village in Pennsylvania, went to college
in Jimmy Stewart’s hometown of Indiana, PA, and now lives in the Sixburgh. He makes photographs of the simple, quiet times in life; taking the ordinary and making it something more, something for the keeping. You'll see more of Justin's introspective work at Image Box, 4933 Penn Avenue:"A firm that handles all your design and marketing needs." (And who--for a limited time--is offering businesses a free, no obligation, consulting session.)

Evolve is a firm "dedicated to advancing synergies between environment and architecture," who will celebrate their anniversary as "Evolve5!" They will take segments of their surrounding community--Friendship--and imagine what it might look like in a more sustainable world, a prospect which concerns us all as we envision how sustainability might affect our own places and social relationships. Evolve is located @5530 Penn Avenue. Click here for a look at their select projects.

And... Over 50 artists have agreed to paint utility poles on Penn Ave. Check it out on our Face book event page! Click here.

Team GA/GI Profile: Alberto Almarza sez, "Honor your inner oddball!"

From a TedX conference hosted by Leadershipship Pittsburgh 11/09