Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh Artist Open House
Welcome Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh Participants!
Join us for an Open House at Hillman Library, Third Floor
Wednesday, September 9 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Artists and community members from the University of Pittsburgh and beyond are invited to visit the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Hillman Library to see rare collections from Archives & Special Collections and the Frick Fine Arts Library, learn about our current exhibits, and participate in creative activities at the library’s makerspaces (collaborations with the Center for Creativity and the University Center for Teaching and Learning). Join us to find support and inspiration as you explore this year’s Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh theme of “home”!
No library, archives, or makerspace experience required!
This event is free and open to all!
At the open house, you will be able to:
- View collections from the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Archives & Special Collections and Frick Fine Arts Library connected to the theme of "home." (3rd Floor)
- View exhibits in the Hyland Gallery on Pittsburgh photographers, horror literature, August Wilson, and more! (3rd Floor)
- Try your hand at letterpress printmaking and collage as you create postcards to and from home. (Note: the Text & conText Lab will only be open until 6 pm) (3rd Floor)
- Make buttons in the library’s Open Lab. (1st Floor)
Hillman Library is located at 3960 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Metered on-street parking is available on various streets surrounding the library. Free street parking after 6:00 p.m. Paid parking is also available at Soldiers & Sailors Parking Garage (.2 miles from the library). Hillman is also accessible by public transportation. See the Pittsburgh Regional Transit website for planning your trip.
Please email uls-events@pitt.edu with any questions or accessibility accommodation requests.
Interested in learning more about these resources?
Archives & Special Collections
Archives & Special Collections is the archives, manuscripts, and rare books department of the University of Pittsburgh Library System. Our mission is to collect, describe, and preserve our ever-growing collections in order to make them available and accessible to the Pitt community and beyond. In our collections, you’ll find historic documents, photographs, maps, rare books, newspapers, audio and video recordings, and much more.
Learn more about Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System: https://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Frick Fine Arts Library
The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Library is devoted to the study of images, objects, and texts in all their material forms. We value creative discovery and center this in our work with students, faculty, staff, and members of local, regional, and international communities. Here you can explore our collection of artists' books, art comics, zines, local and regional exhibition catalogs, how-to studio arts books, current art magazines and journals, and much more!
Learn more about the Frick Fine Arts Library at the University of Pittsburgh Library System: https://library.pitt.edu/frick-fine-arts-library
Open Lab @ Hillman Library
Open Lab @ Hillman is a collaboration between the University Center for Teaching & Learning and the University Library System. Through workshops, class sessions, consultations and trainings, we aim to connect the Pitt community with technology for hands-on making and experiential learning. Experience virtual reality, learn to 3D print and 3D scan, use a vinyl cutter, or laser cut onto virtually any material.
Learn more about the Open Lab @ Hillman: https://library.pitt.edu/open-lab
Text & conText @ Hillman Library
The Text & conText Lab, a Center for Creativity and University Library System partnership, provides an active environment for the creation, manipulation, and/or disassembly of text. Experience print making, papermaking, marbling, bookbinding, and more!
Learn more about the Text & conText: https://www.creative.pitt.edu/spaces/text-context-lab
More on the call
Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh is a call for art that aims to bring together a diverse group of emerging and experienced artists to depict their visions of justice, equality, and community resilience. This year’s theme, Home, invites artists and partners to explore what it means to belong, to feel grounded, and to imagine Pittsburgh as a place where everyone can live and thrive.
Across Carnegie Museums, conversations about home are already unfolding through exhibitions, programs, and partnerships that consider belonging, memory, and return. This Call for Art extends that inquiry outward, centering community voices and lived experience across the region.
This year, we invite artists to respond to Home as both a question and a practice.
Further details on awards categories and submission criteria can be found here. Submissions close on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh is a collaboration between the Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, 1Hood Media, and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
