Hear stories behind Pittsburgh’s public art on new podcast

Bob Bauder
Friday, May 3, 2019 9:54 a.m. | Friday, May 3, 2019 9:54 a.m.

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Renee Piechocki, director of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Office of Public Art, applies an identification nameplate to a sculpture in Mt. Washington’s Grandview Park on October 20, 2010.

Pittsburgh is telling the story of its large public art collection through a series of podcasts featuring some of the artists that created the works.

The Public Art and Civic Design Division of the city Planning Department recorded 16 podcasts giving overviews and the stories behind about 40 percent of the city’s collection. Written versions of each podcast are available for the hearing impaired and maps show locations of all referenced artworks.

The podcasts include background on some of the city’s most famous artists, including Giuseppe Moretti, Frank Vittor, Josefa Filkosky and Thaddeus Mosley.

The series features interviews with current artists, including Mosley, Peter Calaboyias, Susan Wagner, Ben Grubb and Genevieve Barbee-Turner. Community leaders, including Ruth McCartan, Jennifer Bechak, and Audrey Iacone, were interviewed for their takes on how public art helps to define a neighborhood.

More than 170 exhibits, including monuments, war memorials and public art pieces, are scattered in neighborhoods throughout Pittsburgh.