♥ We Love Our Neighbors ♥

Did you know that the Mattress Factory offers half-off admission for our neighbors year-round? It’s true – all you need to do is show us a valid ID displaying a 15212 or 15233 zip code, and we’ll take 50% off your general admission price.

Wish exchange dandelion by Ling He, on view through January 6th, 2013

You know what else? Now any guest who presents their Access / EBT card can receive admission for up to four people at only $1 each. Just present your card and a photo ID at the front desk to receive the discount. For only $1, you can see all of the museum's installations, including those in our upcoming exhibition Feminist and...

Just one week away!

We know cash is tight for almost everybody these days, so we’d like to make the museum as accessible as possible in any little way we can. We offer discounts for students and seniors, and of course, kids under 6 are always free!

What do we want? RAINBOW WORLD! When do we want it? NOW!

What would you do if someone took away something you loved?  Would you demand its swift return?  Would you protest?  Would you take to the streets?

That’s exactly what the kids at MF’s Community ArtLab did yesterday when their beloved “rainbow world” (the colorful installation currently in our lobby) got tied up in knots and no longer hung down to the floor to flow freely. With a little help from ArtLab instructors Kevin Clancy and David Pohl, the kids decided to take matters into their own hands. Their list of demands was simple:  What did they want? RAINBOW WORLD!  When did they want it? NOW!

So they made some signs, grabbed some instruments, and set out onto Sampsonia Way to make some noise.

Some of our friends from Lungs Face Feet stopped by to help.

Each summer, MF’s Community ArtLab brings artists and educators together with local youth for a summer day camp experience that inspires creativity and initiates conversations about the community. With themes like “The Power of Play” and “Super Hero Snacktime,” each session of Community ArtLab gives kids a chance to explore artistic and practical ways to improve the places we live.

The theme of this week’s workshop is “Utopia.” Students have been visiting nearby gardens, pondering geodesic domes, and learning how to become the change they wish to see in the world. It’s fitting then, that they returned to the museum yesterday to find that sometimes dreaming big really does pay off–rainbow world was back!

This summer's Community ArtLab workshops are currently full, but you can click here to learn more about them or sign up for the waiting list.

516 Sampsonia Way is underway!

We hope you'll join us this Thursday, November 10th at 10am for a groundbreaking celebration of our newest exhibition space – 516 Sampsonia!

516 Sampsonia with the main galleries at 500 Sampsonia in the background

The Mattress Factory is currently renovating an 1890 Victorian-era row house and vacant lot located at 516 & 518 Sampsonia Way. By the end of summer, we'll will have an additional 2,500 square feet of space for more exhibitions and programs.

"It really does give us a much more flexible schedule so that there should be always something interesting to see. We love the fabric of this neighborhood. We love the idea of keeping this old building, not tearing it down, not building something that would be more appropriate."

                             -Michael Olijnyk, Co-Director, as quoted by William Loeffler, Tribune-Review


Watch the retrofitting progress here:

Groundbreaking Celebration
Thursday, November 10, 2011
10am
Coffee and pastries will be available
Free and open to everyone

POSTED BY LINDSAY Read All Posts by Lindsay

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ARTIST AT THE COMMUNITY GARDEN PARTY!

Hello friends, my name is Tom. I’m the summer marketing intern here at the Mattress Factory and today I have come on a mission. A mission to tell you about yet another rocking party the Mattress Factory is throwing this month.

Less than 36 hours after the 2011 Urban Garden Party’s trip from Hollywood to Paradise has drawn to a close (and in less time than it takes to walk to Homer City, PA and back), we will be throwing our Community Garden Party!

We’re going to have some awesome performances, great art and amazing personalities including the emcees of the party, Tom Sarver and Mike Cuccaro of The Puppet Happening. I’m telling you, this party is going to have it all.

You wanna to see the art? We got you.

Our galleries will be open and you can see our latest exhibition Neighbo(u)rhood in the main galleries. Or take a walk down to our satellite space at 1414 Monterey Street to see all the great work done by local artists for Gestures 15.

You wanna make some art? Oh man, we got you.

Going along with our newest exhibition Neighbo(u)rhood, there will be art-making activities including screen printing, flower potting, sound recordings and more.

You wanna hear some music? How about some drums….OF STEEL.

We’ve got local steel drum masters North Side Urban Pathways Sounds of Steel coming in and the folks from Evolve Productions will be dancing up a storm.

You get the gist, a fun time will be had by all who attend. Now, I know what you may be thinking, “But Tom, how could I possibly afford this afternoon of unleashing my wild side with my friends and family?” and “Who would ever think to walk to Homer City, Pennsylvania?”

Friends, allow me to answer only one of those questions:

This party is FREE, it’s going to be fun for all ages and it’s open to the public. Come on down Sunday, June 19 and party with us from noon to five!

Special thanks to our sponsors:

AT&T

Verizon

Huntington National Bank

PNC Bank

Venture Outdoors

Artist Image Resource

Rita's Italian Ice

Franktuary

Indigo Raffel

Obscure Games

Tee Rex

FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL PROJECT

Let’s talk about neighborhoods. We have an entire show about the topic courtesy of Curator-in-Residence, Georgina Jackson.

The Neighbo(u)rhood exhibition includes events, installations and video-based works, which present differing points of departure and reflections upon the idea of neighborhood. The (u) in the title refers to a difference of translation, but also an a nod to the role of oneself in the existence of neighborhood.

ARTLab project in March led by artist Gian Carlos (far right)

The show has me thinking about our communities and the way that our actions can contribute to our wellbeing as a whole. Because of this I think that we should start taking care of our global neighborhood by making art. Fundreds of pieces of art…

Participants of this Saturday’s Artlab will be participating in the Fundred Dollar Bill Project. Fundred Dollar Bills are original, hand-drawn versions of U.S. one hundred dollar bills that are being created around the country.

Wall of Fundreds at the Fabric Workshop

So what happens to these fundreds and fundreds of little pieces of art? They are all going to collection centers (the closest collection center is at one of our favorite places, The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia) and will be delivered – by an armored truck! – to the U.S. Congress. Along with the fundreds will be a request for an even exchange of the creative capital for real funding to make safe lead-polluted soils in New Orleans and beyond.

The Fundred armored truck! One day, your Fundred will be inside.

Please join us from 1:00-4:00pm in the Mattress Factory lobby and help to take care of our neighborhoods!

Where: Mattress Factory lobby

When: Saturday, May 21, 2011 from 1-4pm

Why: To celebrate community and help a community through the Fundred Dollar Bill project.

SARAH PIERCE NEEDS YOU!

Sarah Pierce is an artist based in Dublin, who is making a newly commissioned work at the Mattress Factory for the show Neighbo(u)rhood. Her focus is the University of Pittsburgh campus. She is interested places where students gather, in various registers of "organization" from classroom learning, to political demonstrations, to student government, to campus clubs.

As part of this new work, Pierce is producing a new performance that will take place during the opening of the exhibition on May 13, 2011 from 6 - 8 p.m. She has collected various quotes from student protests and the Black Action Society dating back to 1959-1969, as well as recent ones from studio art classes and student senate meetings recorded in April 2011. These quotes will be incorporated into the performance, along with a series of simple 'gestures' performed by a group of 8-12 volunteers.

It's time to sign up to become a part of the art!

If you are interested in participating as a volunteer for the performance (any and all are welcome), please contact Lindsay at the Mattress Factory at lindsay [at] mattress [dot] org or post a comment below.

TIME COMMITMENT: Volunteers are asked participate in a closed workshop on Thursday, May 12 from 6 - 8 pm at the Mattress Factory, with Pierce to develop / rehearse the performance. There will be a short 'rehearsal' on May 13 at 6 pm, and the performance is at the Mattress Factory during the opening reception of Neighbo(u)rhood on May 13 from 6 - 8 pm.

No performance, drama, or dance experience required. All are welcome to volunteer, age 18 and older please.