RECAP // Mini-Factory: History!

In order for us to understand the present, we need to study the past. Mini-Factory tackled the topic of HISTORY. In essence, the past is a sequence of events which leads to the present. Our group of five-year-olds and their parents compared this idea to dominos; by standing up dominos in a line, we used our hands to make HISTORY and watch how events occur through time. Despite the challenges of keeping these skinny little rectangles vertical, our group of young artists caught on quick to the idea.

We followed up with a visit to Bill Woodrow's "Ship of Fools," an installation in the Mattress Factory's permanent collection at 1414 Monterey Street. It was so much fun to peer into this room of objects left stranded in the past. Cupboards are open, the paint is peeling, ... who lived here and used this space? What event occurred to make them leave? Even the light was left on as if the residents were in a hurry to leave. The objects give us clues about the HISTORY of this space, and the artists tells the story.

Mini-Factory is an interactive learning program for children ages three to five years old and their parents or caregivers. Using contemporary installation art, parents and children will explore new ideas and concepts from the everyday world. Join us at 10am on July 25 for FANTASY.

PREVIEW // ARTLAB: Summer in the Mattress Factory Gardens!

Recently in the garden: magic tricks during the Community Garden Party.

Winifred Lutz designed and built the garden installation from the rubble of the old paper factory, native plants, and boulders from the area, linking past and present, urban and natural landscapes. For our next ARTLab on Saturday July 18, we'll be enjoying our time in the garden and tapping into some summertime nostalgia with the following activities:

Make your own MAGIC POTION mixture with water, herbs, and special magic garden items!

MUD PIES! Make yourself or a friend a lovely muddy confection and decorate it with whatever you can find in the garden.

Make a newspaper sit-upon so you can sit wherever you'd like in the garden. At 3pm, we'll have an imaginary TEA PARTY and play some improvised tea party games.

It's summer, let's have some fun! And in the meantime you might uncover some fun hidden secrets that Winifred Lutz left in the garden. 

As always, ARTLab is FREE with museum admission and is fun for all ages!

Take a piece of the Mattress Factory home with you!

We are proud to offer several pieces from Ryder Henry's Diaspora for sale as part of our Artist Limited Edition Series! Henry creates models of cities that replicate real places in his neighborhood, combining sci-fi motfis like space ships and futuristic "Jetson-style" buildings with contemporary architecture. These works are included in the museum's Artists in Residence exhibition, which is on view through July 19, 2015.

For more information about these works or to view additional pieces, please email shop@mattress.org or call 412.325.1512.

Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to take a piece of the museum home with you!

PREVIEW // Factory 500: Lenka Clayton Studio + Clemente Museum Visit

Coming up next for our Factory 500 member program, we will be taking members on a one-of-a-kind tour of artist Lenka Clayton's studio in Polish Hill and to the Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville!

Lenka Clayton is a British conceptual artist whose work considers, exaggerates and alters the accepted rules of everyday life, extending the familiar into the realms of the poetic and absurd. Some of her previous works have included filming one person each age from 1 to 100, hand-numbering 7,000 stones, and founding An Artist Residency In Motherhood - a fully funded and structured artist residency that takes place inside her own home and life as a mother of two young children. Currently, Lenka and writer Michael Crowe are in the process of writing a personal letter to every household in America.

The Clemente Museum showcases the world's largest exhibited collection of baseball artifacts, works of art, literature, photographs and memorabilia which focus on Pittsburgh Pirate legend Roberto Clemente, his teammates, his personal life and his humanitarian causes. Here you can find everything from his 1960 and 1971 World Series rings, to his Gold Glove Awards, to a vase Roberto made for his wife Vera with her name scratched into it.

This event will take place on July 11, 2015 with the following schedule:

Lenka Clayton Studio // 3100 Brereton St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 2:30 - 4:15 pm

Clemente Museum // 3339 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15201 | 4:30 - 6pm

For more information on our Factory 500 program, click here or contact Caitlin Harpster.

Factory 500 is a great way to meet and connect with other contemporary art enthusiasts! Members enjoy exclusive entrée to artist studios, private collections and behind-the-scenes access to some of the most unique art happenings around Pittsburgh. Visit the "For Members" page to see upcoming Factory 500 events.

Urban Garden Party 2015: A Major Success!

Last Friday night nearly 1,200 people turned out to support the most magical event of the summer! The tent was rocking and the garden was packed. This year's Urban Garden Party offered food + drink from the city's best restaurants and bars, a magic show, a silent art auction, the ultimate Michael Jackson tribute and much more. After tallying up all of our ticket sales and sponsor pledges, we brought in nearly $220,000 for the museum.

Our photographers were roving the party all night and we're uploading pictures to Flickr as we get them. Share your photos with us using #UrbanGardenParty or #MattressFactory... we'd love to see them! If you had your photo taken in the photo booth at the party, your pictures may be here.

Finally, a big Mattress Factory thank you to our co-chairs Lisa Cibik + Bernie Kobosky and all of our wonderful sponsors. We could not have thrown the hottest party in Pittsburgh without the help of every single one of them. Make sure to help us thank our sponsors by seeking them for any of the professional services they provide.  

MF Co-Directors Michael Olijynk and Barbara Luderowski with Urban Garden Party Chairs Lisa Cibik and Bernie Kobosky.

Mark your calendar! The 2016 Urban Garden Party will take place Friday, June 17.  

PREVIEW // Community Garden Party 2015

Calling all families and fun-lovers! Our annual Community Garden Party is right around the corner with more music, craft-making, munchies, and activities than ever! The big event will be held Sunday, June 21 from 1-5pm and is FREE for all ages. Here's a look at what we have in store for this year's shindig:

Move your feet to the beat with an all day music line-up including the May Day Marching Band, Amongst the Monks, Molly Alphabet and Machete Kisumontao.

Amongst the Monks

May Day Marching Band

Make magical medallions, masking tape mazes, and mythical monster masks with the Mattress Factory!

 Community Garden Party 2013

Make miniature gardens with Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, capture memories and mugshots in a Photo Booth by Fishstep Studios, and mess around with Makey Makey.

Marvel at mime and magician Howard Mincone.

Mobile food munchies from PGH Taco Truck, Franktuary, and The Pop Stop.

Other activities include making with Techshop, megawatt manifestations with The Land Art Generator Initiative, and making marvelous screen printed masterpieces with Artists Image Resource.

We can't wait to see you there!

PREVIEW // ARTLab: Feel the Music!

Ever wonder why music makes you feel the way you do? The secret's in the low frequency sound. For this upcoming ARTLab program, you'll have the opportunity to make your own low-frequency music and sounds that you can hear and feel for yourself!

By experimenting with speaker settings and levels, you can see how music affects anything from a person's mood to a whole room's atmosphere. Inspired by Danny Bracken's 2014 piece, What Does It Mean?, explore sound and its effects on the subconscious by creating it yourself. From toddlers to adults, the Mattress Factory invites all to participate in "Feel the Music!" on Saturday, June 6 at 1pm. Be sure to come early to enjoy a guided tour of the museum - both are complementary with museum admission.