Larry Rippel has been photographing Art Olympics since I started the event in 2007. Here are his images from the most recent Art Olympics at the October 25th, 2024 Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gallery Crawl in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The 2024 Art Olympics was supported by The Cultural Trust in partnership with Associated Artist of Pittsburgh. The public art project was part of AAP’s 110th Annual Exhibition. The Carnegie Museum of Art generously donated membership packages to the winning team. Flyspace Productions managed the technical aspects of the show, including sound, stage and lighting.
Over 500 people came through the Art Olympics venue over the three hour event, many taking advantage of the interactive aspects of the show. Twelve professional artists competed in the main event. It was a beautiful evening in Pittsburgh. The sun slowly went down, with daylight shifting into dramatic theatrical lighting and the glow of a city at night.
The Crew: Mike, Tom, Audra and Kristen. The Giant Eagle Backyard at 8th & Penn.Space 1. Each team gets a work area with a random selection of junk. Teams are also allowed to bring in a specified amount of their own materials.Space 2. Space 3.Space Pirates: Kirsten Ervin, Suzanne Werder, Karny & Rankin Tran.Gucci / Boom Concepts: Kuwame Kinsel, DeVaughn Rodgers, D.S. Kinsel, Jacqueline Walker.Office of Interstellar Environmental, Wingdings: Merle Rogers, Lindsey Scherloum, Albert Pantone, Katy DeMent. Mike and Audra leading in the Cheddar Bay Brass Band. Cheddar Bay Brass Band leading the opening ceremonies. Announcing the teams. Lindsey Scherloum delivering a team artist statement. Team leader Suzanne Werder performing the artist statement for Space Pirates. A giant scrolling story, similar to a puppet cranky device. D.S. Kinsel prepares to give his team artist statement. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Make Art! An enthusiastic audience member or maybe a team groupie?Audra Clayton interviewing judge Alison Zapata.Mike interviewing judge Chris Korch. Mike with judge David Montano. DJ Mary Mack pumping up the jams! Tom explaining the rules. Tom showing off the hand-crafted trophy for the winning team.A group of visiting students.The Half-Time Show puppet making contest. Three audience members volunteered to compete in a ten-minute contest to make puppets out of the random contents of small boxes. Each contestant is provided tape, scissors and glue. Kristen judging the puppet making contest. The winner!!!Halftime performance by Cheddar Bay Brass Band. Madeline, director of AAP, posing for the Seventh Inning Sketch. Eight audience members competed to draw Madeline over a ten minute period. Anastasia James, Director of Galleries and Public Art for The Cultural Trust, judged the Seventh Inning Sketch. The winner! Lindsey Scherloum adding some final details. A sustained tableau by Boom Concepts in the final stretch. Suzanne Werder gives some final remarks. And the trophy goes to: Space Pirates!
Mothman, inspired by the legendary 1960’s sightings of a giant moth-humanoid creature in West Virginia, will be on display in Puppets and Performance (Tom Sarver, 2024).
October has long been puppet season for me. For many years, it was the time of the year when I was organizing the Black Sheep Puppet Festival, an epic national festival of puppetry performance that happened at the Brew House on the South Side of Pittsburgh (1999 through 2008). The festival was always around Halloween. The puppets were often creepy. The cobwebbed Brew House, in need of major repairs at the time, added to the ambiance.
Flash forward to 2024. Early in the year, the crew at You Are Here Gallery in Jeanette, PA contacted me about participating in a community puppet festival in the small town about 45 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh, near Greensburg. I visited You Are Here and saw the first floor gallery and workshop space on the second floor. The organization is a refreshing burst of arts activity on a small town main street. Mary Briggs, Jen Costello and Natalie Condrac talked about a lineup of festive activities that they were planning for October, culminating in the Jeanette Halloween parade. I agreed to conduct a community puppet making workshop and to exhibit in a gallery exhibition of puppets.
Puppets by Tom Sarver that will be on display at You Are Here gallery, starting October 5th (created 2009 through 2024).
This Saturday October 5th from 6 PM to 8 PM is the opening of the You Are Here exhibition Puppets and Performance. I will be showing an assortment of small puppets. Other exhibitors include D.T. Burns, Sasha Schwartz, Sherri Roberts, Joann Kielar, Maddie Macek, Ayne Terceira and Lindsay Goranson. The show is curated by Natalie Condrac. The show runs through Saturday, November 16th.
Kristen Sarver, Tom Sarver, Joann Kielar and Albert Pantone, with Joann’s Traditional Wife puppet at the Puppets and Performance opening reception. Exhibiting artist and puppeteer Sherri Roberts, performing at the opening reception of Puppets and Performance.
I’ll be conducting a two-day workshop in puppet making, Monster Under Your Bed – Community Puppet Making Workshop, on Saturday October 12th at You Are Here Gallery (1 PM to 4 PM) and on Saturday October 19th at Jeanette Library (1 to 4 PM). The workshop is for adults and families with children ten years old and up. Anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult guardian. The workshop is free but preregistration is required. More information about the workshop can be found here.
Tom Sarver creating Mothman in his workshop.
On Friday, October 25th, You Are Here will be holding Puppet Open Mic Night, with hosts D.T. Burns and Natalie Condrac. Puppet making workshop participants are encouraged to come and perform with their puppets at this event. More information here.
On Wednesday, October 30th, 2024, the Jeanette Halloween Parade takes place, starting at 7 PM on Clay Avenue. I’ve heard this is a wild event and another great opportunity to show off a puppet!
Exploring puppetry is a great way to tell stories, meet new people and get creative. You don’t need special skills to get started. Everyone is invited to check out the activities.
And if you are in Jeanette Wednesday through Sunday before 2pm, I would recommend stopping by Peinetti’s Bakery and coffee shop!
Tom Sarver 