Category: 2019

Excursion: New York City

December 2019

Walking the streets in NYC. Image by Heather Mull.

A group of 40 AEU crew members took a long weekend trip to New York City. The community decided on what sites to visit during the planning process.

Read stories about the trip from AEU crew members! Click here for their stories. This trip was made possible by the Heinz Endowments and the Opportunity Fund.

Walking through Central Park. Image by Heather Mull.
Checking out Times Square. Image by Heather Mull.

We took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, explored the 9/11 Memorial, had a tour and workshop at the Guggenheim, and toured MoMA on our own. In between our visits, we explored the city and the festive magic of NYC at the holidays.

Taking the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Image by Heather Mull.
Riding the subway. Image by Heather Mull.

Public Art: Hazelwood Community Garden

In October 2019, we celebrated the opening of the Hazelwood Community Garden, a neighborhood Play Stop in collaboration with artist Dylan Rooke!

Almost 100 residents joined a rainy, costumed parade from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh—Hazelwood to the Hazelwood Community Garden accompanied by Colonel Eagleburger’s Highstepping Goodtime Band. We celebrated the opening of the new Play Stop with music, food, and games with our partners the Family Center of Hazelwood, the Hazelwood Initiative, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and Trying Together. 

Public Art: Time Travelers

We unveiled a new mural on Elizabeth Street, Time Travelers, that highlights Hazelwood’s path from the past to the future in October 2019. The Candy Land inspired mural features two Hazelwood residents, Odyssey and Homer, and traces our development as a community.

Image by Heather Mull.

Thanks to everyone involved for making this project shine! Special thanks to artist Sandy Kessler Kaminski for her work on painting the mural.

Image by Heather Mull.

The mural, with a small park beside it, has been the talk of the neighborhood. The first thing people say when you ask them about the ripples of art-making in the neighborhood is, “Have you seen the mural?”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 28, 2019, “Art as an agent of social change, in which the public is co-creator”

Read about the project in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Public Art: Dylamato’s Market

In partnership with Trying Together and in collaboration with Hazelwood artist Dylan Rooke, we completed an interactive Play Stop at local grocery store Dylamato’s Market.

Hazelwood residents participated in the process by drawing and thinking about what they eat. We painted the facade of Dylamato’s and installed an interactive mural about “What You Eat.”

The work includes movable food and a flip book of recipes.

Find images of the Playstop installations and process at the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative.

Excursion: Grandparents’ Day

September 2019

We hosted a party, including dinner and dancing, for our grandparents on Sunday, September 8th at the Rivers of Steel Pumphouse.

Awards were handed out to the following community members:

  • Grace Taylor for Volunteer of the Year
  • Geraldine Massey for Grandparent of the Year
  • Hazelwood Presbyterian Church for Community Partner of the Year
Handing out awards to community members.

Plus! Councilman Corey O’Connor presented Mary Ann McHarg of our Hazelwood library a declaration of her own Pittsburgh day.  

Excursion: Moraine State Park

Swimming in the lake. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.
The whole group at the park. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

We had a day of fun in the sun at Moraine State Park! We swam, played, and had a picnic!

Picnic at the park. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.