Writers, musicians and artists in Wilkinsburg are coming together to celebrate creativity at Wilkinsburg Dream City Art this weekend. The event provides a space for artists to get together and share their work with the community.
Joey Behrens, a Wilkinsburg artist, said the event began last year when two artists wondered who else was doing work in the city. She said the initial idea was for Wilkinsburg artists to get to know one another.
“We realized there’s some really, really amazing work happening,” Behrens said. “And we wanted to show it off.”
Over 45 artists will be displaying their work this weekend, and it ranges from visual art and music to dance and readings.
“It’s really a very wide scope of work that’s being shown,” Behrens said.
Jason McKoy, another Wilkinsburg artist, said artists are drawn to Wilkinsburg by the affordable housing. He moved to Wilkinsburg from Brooklyn, New York.
“You can afford to work on your art while eating,” McKoy said. “That’s the whole reason I moved there.”
McKoy will display a piece called “The Wolf of Wilkinsburg.” He said it originated from a conversation with friends about local myths like the Jersey Devil and the Mothman.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if Wilkinsburg had something?” McKoy said.
He designed a creature that he’s screenprinting on over 14 t-shirts.
“When you break the t-shirts apart you take a part of the art with you,” McKoy said. “And you become part of the wolf pack.”
Herman “Soy Sos” Pearl is debuting an audio piece that was made by recording and mixing the sounds of a letterpress at Tip Type in Wilkinsburg. His wife will be showing a video of a dance piece.
Behren said they have aimed to keep Dream City Art an artist centered event. Everyone at the show lives and works in Wilkinsburg, and they range from emerging to successful artists.
McKoy said community engagement is really important to the artistic community in Wilkinsburg.
“We live in this community,” he said. “(And) it allows us to directly engage everyone around us, as well as communicate with each other as artists.”
Both Behrens and McKoy said events like the school closing and the mass shooting have led to inaccurate perceptions of Wilkinsburg. Dream City Art is a chance to show off positive aspects of the community.
“There is more to Wilkinsburg than what you see in the news,” McKoy said. “You should create your own narrative by going to Wilkinsburg and experiencing it yourself.”
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