ALL-NEW // Teen Cooperative Program Offered!

Although the temperature is still in the single digits outside, here in the MF Education Department we can’t stop thinking about summer! Community Art Lab classes are almost full and we just finished selecting the teaching artists who will be involved with our completely revamped summer teen program, SUMMER ART COOPERATIVE.

Kevin Clancy's inflatable space.

The SUMMER ART CO-OP is an all-new program focused on collaboration, creative practice and exploration. It’s modeled after our artist in residence program and gives teens the support and space they need to develop new ideas, experiment with materials and collaborate with each other.

Teens will work together over the course of a month to plan their own event, while also spending time in the galleries, utilizing the museum’s resources and gaining exposure to local artists, independent thinkers, and all-around creative people through a series of workshops and skill shares. 

Drawing done by Nate McDonough.

Our hope for the program is that it is a little radical, kind of kooky and potentially-life changing—showcasing some of the infinite number of ways there are to exist as a creative person in the world. We think the idea of a starving artist needs a revamp, and our goal is to bring in folks who have figured out how to sustain their creative practices in ways that feel genuine, exciting and earnest to share their expertise with our students.


Want to learn about inflatable utopian spaces? You’ll get to meet Kevin Clancy and learn more about how to create portable social spaces. Want to know how to organize an alley-cat (or what an alley-cat is!)? Meet Anna-Lena Kempen who knows all about bike-related fun, events and art. Thinking about how to run a community engaged screen-printing shop? You’ll get to make some prints with Leslie Stem. What about how to cut records and make a communal mix tape? Learn all about it with Frederick Arnold. How pickles are made? We’ll make our own with Caiti Sullivan. How to make your comics look killer? Do some drawing with Nate McDonough. That and a lot more in store for our teens this summer.

Photo by Carson Davis Brown.

SUMMER ART CO-OP is FREE but you have to apply.

Please contact sarah@mattress.org with any questions or to submit an application.

RECAP // Factory 500: Preservation Technologies

The Factory 500 member group visited Preservation Technologies in Cranberry on Saturday, January 24th for a behind-the-scenes tour of the facilities.

Preservation Technologies provides custom preservation, deacidification solutions, and digitization products and services for print and audiovisual materials for libraries, archives and businesses worldwide.

Vice President Bob Strauss gave the members an overview of the work Preservation Technologies does in the "Bookkeeper" and the "MediaPreserve" sections. Bob, and two of his co-workers, Diane and Hannah, divided the group and toured them around to each section of the building.

The evening concluded at Off the Hook restaurant down the road in Warrendale, where Factory 500 members enjoyed wine and a delicious selection of fish entrees.

Thank you to everyone who came to Preservation Technologies on January 24th. You can see more photos from this event, and past Factory 500 events, on our Flickr page.

Factory 500 is the Mattress Factory's premiere membership program, chaired by Susan Lammie. The group tours private collections, artist studios, local businesses, and other interesting arts destinations in Pittsburgh several times throughout the year. Don't miss out -- join today!

See you at our next event!

Caitlin

Membership Coordinator

PREVIEW // February 7 ARTLab: Gettin' Silly!

Making spaceships at the last ARTLab was more popular than we expected! We were so impressed by the enthusiasm and the creativity of all our participants. Folks used recycled cardboard boxes and LED lights to make their own spaceships, taking inspiration from Ryder Henry's installation Diaspora.

 

When visiting a museum or gallery, how do you typically act? I would guess you are very courteous and quiet, while trying your hardest to avoid touching things. At the next ARTLab, we will be breaking that habit by bringing Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZs for short) to the Mattress Factory.

What is a TAZ you ask? According to artist in residence Benjamin Sota, they are a “socio-political tactic of creating temporary spaces that elude formal structures of control” and can be very influential in how people think about society. In these spaces, individuals can act in ways they normally wouldn’t dare, free from the constraints of  “normal” societal behavior. Sota creates a TAZ in his exhibition Damn everything but the circus, an installation that invites viewers to forget the rules and play to get a full understanding of the pieces.

 

At the upcoming ARTLab, visitors will be invited to create their own TAZs, each with a different “rule” everyone must follow upon entering - the sillier, the better. Sota makes it clear that TAZs don’t work unless EVERYONE commits, so come out and join us for a fun afternoon of breaking the rules!

ARTLab and Drop-in Tours are open to all ages and free with museum admission. See you there!

Sweet Gifts for your Sweetheart!

Vintage Globe. $75

Valentine's Day - it's almost here! Whether you're a last minute shopper, DIYer, or typically go the flowers and chocolate route - why not shop unique and local? The MF Shop has quite an assortment of funky and locally made items you just can't buy anywhere else! From vintage vases to handcrafted jewelry to beautiful cutting boards made from reclaimed wood - we've got it all.

Please stop by or contact us with any questions via email at shop@mattress.org or by calling 412.325.1512.

Handcrafted Wooden Vases by Bones & All. $30 / $65

Original Artwork by Jeshaka. $40

Valentines Cards by Alternate Histories. $4

Porcelain Earrings by Red Raven Studios. $46
Ceramic Cloud Dish by Adam J. Waddell. $10

Hand Artwork / Coasters by Celeste Paulick.
Set of two: $40.

Crochet Sterling Silver & Lava Stone Necklace by Nathan Hall. $140

Turquoise Spike Ring by Adam J. Waddell. $40
Ceramic Cloud Dish by Adam J. Waddell. $10

Fries & Slaw card by John the Craftist. $4

Tube Earrings by MakeWan. $27
Ceramic Cloud Dish by Adam J. Waddell. $10

ANNOUNCING // New Event Series for MF Members!

Have you ever wanted to sit down with a Mattress Factory artist and pick their brain? Do you have a bunch of questions you'd like to ask them? How did you make this? How long did it take you? What does it mean? Well, here is your chance!

Introducing Coffee Dates -- a FREE new event series that allows members to have coffee with an exhibiting MF artist. Join us on select Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:30am in the MF Café and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with MF artists.

Mark your calendars for Coffee Dates with Artist in Residence artists:

• February 14:  Coffee with Benjamin Sota
• March 21:  Coffee with Kathleen Montgomery
• April 18:  Coffee with John Peña

We encourage you to arrive to museum at 10am to see the artist's installation on your own (if you haven't already) before your Coffee Date begins. A free drop-in tour will follow Kathleen Montgomery's and John Peña's Coffee Dates.

Don't miss out on this exclusive opportunity to get to know your favorite artists!

This series is FREE for MF Members. Members are allowed to bring guests. Guests pay cost of admission.

Please RSVP to Caitlin Harpster, Development & Membership Coordinator, by calling 412.231.3169 or e-mailing caitlin@mattress.org. Space is limited. Coffee and tea are provided.

Not a member? Join today.

MF IN THE NEWS // The Saturday Light Brigade, January 2015

Benjamin Sota, whose work Damn everything but the circus is part of the museum's Artists in Residence exhibition currently on view, was interviewed on The Saturday Light Brigade radio program on Saturday, January 3. Listen to the full interview here.

PREVIEW // ARTLab: Mask-Making + Performance with Benjamin Sota!

Benjamin Sota, whose work is currently on display at the museum, will be leading a circus and physical theater workshop in his installation Damn everything but the circus from 1-2:30pm on Saturday, January 2. Learn how to use the circus equipment in his installation, some neat physical theater moves, and mask techniques. The workshop is $5 and you can RSVP by emailing education@matress.org.

In addition to the workshop, you can join us in the lobby and make your own mask at an ARTLab program from 1-4pm! We’ll have another performance at 4pm where you can learn and show off some more physical theater moves in your very own mask. Maybe you can try on a mask made by someone else, too!

You may find that you feel more free to do things you would otherwise not do when you have a mask on. Ben’s installation invites you to interact and perform in a space where, in any other normal situation, you’d be "breaking the rules" - to play, make loud noises and touch a piece of art in a museum. He calls the circus a Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ). Creating a TAZ is a socio-political tactic of creating temporary spaces that elude formal structures of control andhave been know to spark change throughout the world.

If you gave yourself permission to put on a fun mask, break some of your own internal rules of behavior, play and perform in a new way for a little while, perhaps you’ll discover something you could try differently in the way you move about the world.

Come play with us! ARTLab is free with your museum admission and is open to all ages.