PLACES: From ‘Monet in Bloom’ to big ‘Guitars’
Summer in some of our favorite Pittsburgh places finds Monet blooming at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, guitars wailing at Carnegie Science Center, a flurry of festivals at Kennywood and lots more.
ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM: “Paola Pivi: I Want It All” features dozens of playful sculptures, and photo and video documentation of the artist’s provocative performances as well as expansive site-specific installations (through Aug. 15). Pop Day with free admission (May 21). 117 Sandusky St., North Side, warhol.org.
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART: “Zoe Zenghelis: Fields, Fragments, Fictions” celebrates her work at the intersection of painting and spatial imagination (through July 24); “Working Thought” examines how contemporary artists have engaged with the history of labor and the conditions that structure inequality in contemporary American life (through June 26). 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland; cmoa.org.
CARNEGIE MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY: New exhibit “Nature’s Amazing Machines” explores the wonders of natural engineering (opens May 28); Special events include June Nature Crawl, a 21+ self-guided crawl through select exhibitions (June 10); Jurassic Park After Dark is a 21+ Jurassic Park-themed scavenger hunt (July 15). 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland; carnegiemnh.org.
CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER: “GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked the World” includes rare, antique and iconic guitars, as well as the largest playable guitar in the world and dozens of interactive exhibits ( May 20- Oct. 30); “roboworld” explores how robots can think, sense and act (through June 27). One Allegheny Ave., North Side; carnegiesciencecenter.org.
CONTEMPORARY CRAFT: Solo exhibit “what it is” by fiber artist Jamie Boyle (through June 4); 5645 Butler St., Lawrenceville; contemporarycraft.org.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGH: “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit” opens May 21. 10 Children’s Way, North Side, pittsburghkids.org.
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER: 3 Rivers Comicon (June 4-5); American Homebrewers Con (June 23-26); Anthrocon 2022 (July 1-3); Tekko 2022 (July 22-24); pittsburghcc.com.
THE FRICK PITTSBURGH: “Romare Bearden: Artist as Activist and Visionary” features a diverse collection of original collage, watercolor, limited edition prints, reproductions and rare archival material (through Sept. 18). Romare Bearden Family Fun Day (June 25). 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze; thefrickpittsburgh.org.
GATEWAY CLIPPER FLEET: Offering daily sightseeing cruises and a wide range of luncheon and dinner cruises. Station Square, South Side; gatewayclipper.com.
IDLEWILD PARK AND SOAK ZONE: The park is open weekends now and opens for daily operations on May 30. Ligonier; idlewild.com.
KENNYWOOD PARK: Swing into Spring Festival (through May 22); Bites and Pints (May 26-June 26); Celebrate America (July 1-4); Summer’s On (July 531); Fall Fantasy Parades (Aug. 6-21). West Mifflin; kennywood.com.
MATTRESS FACTORY: “PopAganda: Revolution & Iconography,” an exhibition of new site-specific works from eight artists, is the fourth iteration of director/founder/curator Tavia La Follette’s ongoing Sites of Passage series (ongoing). Urban Garden Party (Aug. 12). 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side; mattress.org.
MEADOWCROFT ROCKSHELTER & HISTORIC VILLAGE: Atlatl Competition (June 18); Independence Day Celebration (July 3); Insider Tour of Meadowcroft Rockshelter (July 9); 19th Century Chocolate (Aug. 27); Covered Bridge Festival (Sept. 17). Meadowcroft Road, Avella; heinzhistorycenter.org/meadowcroft.
NATIONAL AVIARY: Night in the Tropics Vintage Vacation is a gala celebrating the National Aviary’s 70th anniversary (July 16); Brushes and Birds featuring Maria DeSimone Prascak of Maria’s Ideas, painting class (June 18). Ridge Avenue and Arch Street, North Side; aviary.org.
PHIPPS CONSERVATORY & BOTANICAL GARDENS: “Monet in Bloom” exhibit finds the breathtaking art of Claude Monet brought to vibrant life through Phipps’ horticultural displays (through Sept. 25); Schenley Park, Oakland; phipps.conservatory.org.
PITTSBURGH ZOO & PPG AQUARIUM: UPMC Senior Health and Fitness Day (May 25); ZooBrew: Spring Hops (May 27); Opening Season Parade (May 30); Summer Safari: Groovin’ Thru the Zoo with music, drinks and dishes (June 11); Donuts with Dad (June 18); Father’s Day Celebration (June 19). Highland Park pittsburghzoo.org.
SANDCASTLE WATER PARK: Opening day is May 21. Daily operations kick off with Out of School, Into the Pool with scavenger hunts, balloon artists, ice cream eating contests, and popular TV show characters (June 4-26); Jammin’ July features local bands (July 1-31); Food and Cocktail Frenzy with breweries and food trucks and DJ’s on Friday and Saturday evenings (Aug. 5-Sept. 17); Friday Night Swim Under the Lights pays homage to the old Sandbar (Aug. 26-Sept. 16). West Homestead, sandcastlewaterpark.com.
SENATOR JOHN HEINZ HISTORY CENTER: “Pittsburgh’s John Kane: The Life & Art of an American Workman” features 36 original works of art and dozens of artifacts that explore the world of the Scottish immigrant who achieved success as a painter after toiling for more than 40 years as a laborer in industrial-age Pittsburgh (opens May 21). 1212 Smallman St., Strip District; heinzhistorycenter.org.
WOOD STREET GALLERIES: “Cinzia Campolese” is the U.S. premiere from the Montreal- based artist of an exhibition revolving around the concepts of presence and perception of space in both digital and physical environments (y hrough June 26). 601 Wood St., Downtown; trustarts.org.