Public art unveiled at Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh officials and artists on Friday unveiled new art installations at the Fern Hollow Bridge in Frick Park.

Pittsburgh-based artists John Peña and Carin Mincemoyer designed artwork on the span and under the bridge at Tranquil Trail, respectively.

The new Fern Hollow Bridge was built less than a year after the prior span had collapsed in Jan. 2022. Officials declared an emergency declaration for an expedited construction process. Some residents and art commissioners voiced concerns that without including an artistic element, the span would be an eyesore.

Sallyann Kluz, executive director of the city’s Office for Public Art, said the installations unveiled Friday were part of the effort to alleviate those concerns.

“I think the elements that are in the bridge right now begin to create human-scale relationships with it,” she said.

She said the artwork was included through a collaborative effort between various city, state and federal entities, as well as local community groups, residents, artists and fabricators.

“This is what makes our city a great city — our ability to be able to come together,” Mayor Ed Gainey said, touting efforts to collaborate on adding an art component to the bridge after hearing community support for such artwork.

One percent of the project’s overall budget — or about $250,000 — was set aside for the art installations, Kluz said.

The effort should be a “new standard for what can be accomplished when we engage artists in infrastructure projects,” she said.

Peña said he researched the geological record and the history of water-related events in the area for inspiration when crafting the artwork on the bridge. His installation, dubbed 400 Million Years of Water, includes placards on the railings that provide information and sketches about various historical water-related moments, ranging from the present Fern Hollow creek to the Pittsburgh River, or Ancestral Monongahela, that covered the area in ancient times.

The installation also includes artwork on the cement barriers dividing pedestrian sidewalks from vehicle traffic.

Peña said he’s excited to see the artwork in his community and pass by his own installation while walking his dog along the bridge. Though he said it means a lot to him personally, Peña acknowledged working on such a major project has also been a boost to his professional career.

“I feel like it’s really fostering my own professional development as an independent artist in the city of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Underneath the bridge, Mincemoyer built an installation called Trail Meander along the Tranquil Trail, which people use for walking and cycling.

The artwork consists of various boulder- and driftwood-shaped seating elements along the pathway and on the embankments.

“This project was personally meaningful for me because I lived in this neighborhood for many years and spent many hours in Frick Park,” Mincemoyer said.

Jason Zang, PennDOT District 11 executive, said the priority on the Fern Hollow Bridge project was to simply get the road reopened again as quickly as possible. He applauded the collaborative effort that allowed officials to not only build a new bridge in under a year, but to also listen to community feedback and integrate the public art residents wanted.

“The focus was to get it open again, but somehow we managed to bring art into this,” he said.

Related:

• Completed Fern Hollow Bridge unveiled in advance of Friday reopening

• Pittsburgh's Art Commission wants more public input on Fern Hollow Bridge rebuild

• Fern Hollow Bridge to get new artwork along trails beneath span