Welcome Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh Participants!

The University of Pittsburgh Library System, the University Center for Teaching & Learning, and the Center for Creativity are excited to provide support to you as you create your submissions for Envisioning A Just Pittsburgh.

Join us for an artist open house at

Hillman Library, Third Floor on Friday, September 26 from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

To support and inspire artists interested in submitting to the third annual Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh call for diverse art—themed this year around archives—the University of Pittsburgh Library System is holding an open house at Hillman Library on Friday, September 26th from 3-7pm.

Artists and community members from the University of Pittsburgh and beyond are invited to visit the library to see collections, learn about current exhibits, participate in creative activities at the library’s makerspaces, and see art from past Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh winners.

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 themes of Pittsburgh artists, social justice, and how artists in the past have been inspired by libraries and archives.
• Hear gallery talks by the curators of the exhibit “We Humans” at 70: Educating Pittsburgh on Race in the 1950s, which shares the story of a historic, anti-racist initiative in Pittsburgh. Talks will start at: 3:15, 4:15, 5:15, and 6:15.
• View other exhibits on poetry books, bias in the history of global mapmaking, horror films, and more!
• Make buttons in the library’s Open Lab.
• Try your hand at letterpress printmaking and engage in a collage activity inspired by the August Wilson Papers in the Text & conText Lab. (Note: the Text & contText Lab will only be open until 6pm.)

Light snacks will be served.

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
  • Welcome to Archives & Special Collections, 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 hand-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, the call invites community members to submit creative works that are prompted by how libraries, archives, and material histories—institutional, personal, or communal—can serve as conduits for envisioning and realizing a more equitable and just Pittsburgh. The call encourages artists to express themselves boldly and authentically and use their work to encourage, challenge, and educate others. Further details on awards categories and submission criteria can be found here. Submissions close on Sunday, November 2, 2025.

Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh is a collaboration between the Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, 1Hood Media, and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.