Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

  The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will hold an online artist March 9 talk with Michelle Vitali, a working forensic artist and professor of art at Edinboro University.             Vitali was teaching human anatomy, scientific illustration, painting and commercial illustration at Edinboro when she was asked to serve as the court sketch artist for the federal criminal trial of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the defendant in the widely known “Collar Bomb” or “Pizza Bomb” robbery of a PNC Bank in Erie.  That experience whetted her interest in the area of forensic art, specializing in facial reconstruction.             Vitali has worked with historic remains ranging from 1,500-year-old Mayan remains to those of Civil War soldiers. Her work in this area has included using three-dimensional digital scans and improving methods of using those to create approxi...

                Ebo Barton, a spoken-word artist from Seattle  BRADFORD, Pa. – While many activities have been canceled by the pandemic this year, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s popular annual One World Cultural Festival will go on celebrating the rich and diverse cultures of the campus just has it has for more than 20 years. This year, however, it will take place online.             Organizers said they never considered canceling the annual festival, which will take place Saturday. There’s even a chance for the public to partake in online concerts, demonstrations and lectures.             “We know that the Cultural Festival has always been popular with the Bradford community,” said festival co-chair Amy Bilezikian, director of student engagement and assessment. “We made sure we found ways that members of the...

  Dr. Donald Ulin, associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, has edited and annotated a book of letters from a 19th-century Quaker woman living on the Ohio frontier to her family in England, including Mary Howitt, one of the most popular writers of her day.             “Writing Home: A Quaker Immigrant on the Ohio Frontier,” published by Bucknell University Press covers five years of letters from Emma Alderson, ranging from messages of longing for her family written while still docked off Liverpool, England, to descriptions of ante-bellum Cincinnati, where she and her husband settled after a journey by canal to Pittsburgh and a posh steamship trip down the Ohio River.             The letters, Ulin said, describe in depth many of the experiences of immigrants at the time – a two-month voyage by sailing ship, the challenges of winter, first impressions of a new land and people, the trials o...

  -- For the first time, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s award-winning literary magazine, Baily’s Beads, will be published online.             The 2021 edition will be unveiled at an online event at 7 p.m. Feb. 3. The event will include the Baily’s Beads tradition of an open mic. For login details, email Dr. Nancy McCabe, professor of writing and Baily’s Beads adviser, at ngm4@pitt.edu .             Additionally, the event will celebrate the awarding of first place with special merit by the American Scholastic Press Association to Baily’s Beads 2020 edition edited by 2020 graduate Taylor Tarahteeff, which focused on local and regional history, including historical photographs. The magazine also received an award for outstanding theme.             McCabe said the magazine staff had to make two m...

Saw them last night in Bradford. AMAZING!

http://wesb.com/liveline-ondemand/

Beth Ann Fennelly, poet laureate of Mississippi, will speak March 19 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.             Her talk, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons, is free and open to the public. The presentation is part of the university’s Spectrum arts series as well as programming for Women’s History Month.             “I am really excited about being able to bring Beth Ann to campus,” said Dr. Nancy McCabe, professor of writing and director of the writing program.             “I read one of her poems 20 years ago and was so bowled over by it that I’ve followed her career closely ever since. My students have loved the work of hers that I’ve assigned in class. I’ve heard her speak and found her riveting, with a wicked sense of hu...

Bradford Landmark Society photo Calling all armchair historians! The 2020 edition of Baily’s Beads, the award-winning literary magazine created by University of Pittsburgh Bradford students, is seeking submissions for a writing contest. Editor Taylor Tarahteeff, an interdisciplinary arts major from Bradford, selected the theme of “Past, Present, and Future” for the 2020 issue and hopes to represent the rich local history of McKean County. “Bradford is a city built on a complex and fantastic heritage! Everyone you meet has a story to tell about the glitz and glamor of this bustling oil town,” Tarahteeff said. “We wanted to recognize the writers in our community and represent the pride and legacy of the area.” The guidelines for the contest are as follows: Create a piece of prose, poetry or artwork in any genre, focusing on McKean county history. Suggestions for topics include oil history, natural disasters, family occupations, Bradford during prohibition, architecture, railroa...

New York punk queen and poet Patti Smith collides with Sam Shepard in 1972 Greenwich Village. The result is a cyclone of creativity that marked the second half of the 20th century. From squaller to iconic status, their paths are tracked through song and story. A special presentation in conjunction with Women’s History Month. A play with music by Dana Marks. Musical Direction by William Dawson. Produced by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern. HORSES March 5, 2019 Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall FREE

Students and faculty will present “The Vagina Monologues” next week at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The shows will take place at 8 p.m. Feb. 19 and 20 in the Studio Theater in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets are $3 each for the public, $2 for faculty and staff, free for Pitt-Bradford students and $1 for other students. Proceeds from the show benefit the Bradford YWCA and V-Day, an organization that promotes ending violence against women and girls through performances of Eve Ensler’s Tony Award-winning show. Ensler interviewed more than 200 women of various races, ages, and sexual orientations, discussing their experiences as women and their perspectives of stigmas surrounding topics such as abuse, rape and the LGBTQ+ community. Her interviews became the basis for “The Vagina Monologues,” which debuted in 1994 in New York City. Both empowering and educational, the production challenged the heavily conservative, patriarchal narrative commonly unaddressed by society. It encou...

A still photo from the documentary “Man on Fire” about racism in Grand Saline, Texas, and a 79-year-old minister who set himself on fire to draw attention to it. The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will present the award-winning documentary “Man on Fire” next week along with a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. The documentary is part of the On Screen/In Person tour, a program of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts. It is also being presented in conjunction with Black History Month events.             “Man on Fire” is about Charles Moore, a 79 year-old Methodist minister from Grand Saline, Texas, who committed his life to being a social justice warrior. He defended gay rights, promoted racial equality, and overall strived to help those who were marginalized. His...

Artist Monica Haller The Veterans Book Project, an art collaboration by Monica Haller, opens at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford this week. The exhibition will be up Feb. 7 through March 14 in the KOA Art Gallery inside Blaisdell Hall on campus. An opening reception and gallery talk will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 7. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. The Veterans Book Project consists of 50 books, each written by individuals with firsthand experience of the current American wars. Most of the bookmakers are veterans; some are family members of soldiers, and others are Iraqi or Afghan civilian refugees. Haller’s aim in creating the Veterans Book Project has been to provide a framework for veterans and others to talk about their memories of war, and to offer exhibitions of the project as quiet spaces for contemplation and thoughtful di...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will hold its popular annual One World Cultural Festival Feb. 24. The festival celebrates the many different cultures represented by the Pitt-Bradford student body, faculty and staff and the surrounding community. This year’s celebration will feature the band Erie-based band One World Tribe and the theme “We are one.” Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. Food from four regions (Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America) will be served at tasting stations with authentic recipes coming from student members of the Cultural Festival planning committee. Between bites, festival goers can visit international displays and booths with activities for all ages, including creating dream catchers with Pitt-Bradford Habitat for Humanity; “Be a Traveler, not a Tourist” with the Hospitality Organization of Students at Pitt-Bradford; henna designs and bubble tea with the Asian Culture Association; drum circle sponsored by the Pitt-...

Baily’s Beads, the literary magazine of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and student writer Shahada Thomas have both received awards from the American Scholastic Press Association for the magazine’s 2017 issue. For the fifth time, the association named Baily’s Beads the Most Outstanding Literary Arts Magazine, awarding it a near-perfect score and First Place with Special Merit. Editors of the 2017 issue were writing majors Colin Almeida of North Wales and Stephanie McFall of Smethport, and Amy Gaberseck of Smethport, an interdisciplinary arts major who served as the head editor of layout and design. Faculty advisor Dr. Nancy McCabe, professor of writing and director of the writing program, said, “These awards are due to contributions from the entire staff, but I especially would like to credit designer Amy Gaberseck, whose hard work, talent and high professional standards brought this issue to the highest level it’s ever been, in my opi...

The 2018 edition of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s award-winning literary magazine will feature online components, such as musical compositions or audio renditions of performance poems. The staff of Baily’s Beads will unveil this year’s issue at the Annual Literary Magazine Celebration at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons at Pitt-Bradford. Edited by three writing majors, Isaac Payne, a sophomore from Kane, Jayden Pire, a senior from Oswayo, and Shahada Thomas, a sophomore from Chester, the 2018 volume incorporates a variety of work. That work included an immersion journalism piece, a play, a screenplay, poetry, literary fiction and genre fiction. Readers will also be able to use web links or QR codes to hear original musical compositions and performance poetry read by the artist. In addition, the issue contains original digital photography and winners of a Seven Word Contest, for which a...

A writing student at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has recently been recognized and published online. Isaac Payne, a sophomore English and writing major from Kane, attended the Alpha Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Writing Workshop in Greensburg in August. During the 11 days that he was there, he met with critically acclaimed speculative fiction authors Tamora Pierce, Alyssa Wong, Daniel Jose Older, E. C. Myers, and worked with other staff members invested in the field. The purpose of this workshop was to develop writing skills for improving speculative short stories, and to gain feedback from peers and staff. Payne used the knowledge gained at Alpha in order to earn an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Writer’s of the Future Award for his short story “The Pursuit of Luck,” which also appears in the 2018 edition of Baily’s Beads. He also has flash fiction forthcoming from The Corvid Review. “Isaac is an inventive writer with impressive initiative,” said D...

Sarah Dessen, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels for teens, will speak April 11 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Dessen will share stories about writing and her books, read, and sign books at 7 p.m. in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel. The program is free and open to the public. The Pitt-Bradford hospitality management program will provide refreshments. A community forum will be held at 5 p.m. in the chapel to discuss how young adult novels can spark conversations about adolescent development and common concerns faced by teenagers. The interactive discussion, “Talking about the World of Teenagers Using Novels They Read,” will be led by Dr. Rebecca McHugh, assistant professor of psychology. Teens, parents, teachers and anyone else interested may attend. McHugh will be joined by Mary Anne Polucci-Sherman, a psychologist at Bradford Regional Medical Center, and Suzy Meyer-Page, a counselor at Deerfield Behavioral Health. Earlier this year, ...

As a tribute to the renowned opera star and Bradford native, Marilyn Horne, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford changed the name of its six-story downtown property from the Seneca Building to Marilyn Horne Hall. The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees approved the name change Friday in Pittsburgh. In May Pitt-Bradford will open a 3,400 square-foot museum in the hall dedicated to Horne, who donated her archives to the University of Pittsburgh. “Ms. Horne is beside herself with joy and excitement that a building in the place of her birth is being named in her honor,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. “She is truly humbled by the honor and looks forward to joining us on May 6 for the dedication and opening of the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center in Marilyn Horne Hall.” Horne, who is Bradford’s most famous native daughter, was born in 1934. Her father, Bentz Horne, encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. She moved with her family to L...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and One Book Bradford are teaming up to bring “Orphan Train” author Christina Baker Kline to Bradford this fall. Kline will visit Pitt-Bradford at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, when she will give a talk that will be open to the public in the Bromeley Family Theater of Blaisdell Hall. Her best-selling novel “Orphan Train” will be used as a common reader in freshman seminar and creative writing classes on campus. Community members are encouraged to read the book and attend as well. One Book Bradford is a collaborative venture under the auspices of the Bradford Area Public Library that annually chooses a book for the community to read together. Its annual events culminate with a visit to Bradford from the author. Pat Shinaberger, chairwoman of One Book Bradford, said, “Our committee is very excited to join Pitt-Bradford in bringing an author of Kline’s caliber to Bradford. We are hopeful this is just the beginning of something great ...