Working Thought — A Celebration!

Please join us on April 21 from 6–8:30 p.m. for a celebratory evening of Working Thought!
In the spirit of May Day (International Workers Day) please join artists, docents, and curators throughout the exhibition for conversations about the artworks, and in the Hall of Architecture for contemporary interpretations of work songs and sounds by regional musicians.

This event is free and museum admission is included with registration. When you arrive at the museum, to receive your free museum admission ticket, show the visitor services attendant your email receipt, which you will receive when you register for this event online.

Schedule of events:

• 6 p.m. — Opening and Soundscape of Labor presented by Ricardo iamuuri Robinson, Hall of Architecture
  Meet docents for Art Chat conversations throughout the exhibition.
• 7-7:30 p.m. — Welcome with Eric Crosby, Henry J. Heinz II Director and Kiki Teshome, Margaret Powell Curatorial Fellow
  Work Songs reinterpreted by Clara Kent, Kelsey Robinson, and members of the Pittsburgh Labor Choir.
• 7:40 p.m. — Soundscape presented by Ricardo iamuuri Robinson
  Meet docents for Art Chat conversations throughout the exhibition.

About the Artists:

Ricardo iamuuri Robinson

Ricardo iamuuri Robinson is an interdisciplinary conceptual sound recordist, composer, and visual artist whose work explores acoustic ecologies: a discipline studying the relationship between human beings and their environment, mediated through sound. His work activates and responds to his own personal mantra, “The listener is always the composer.” Humans encounter sound through bias filtrations, navigating the world and its multifaceted harmonics as who they are–through experience and positionality. Sound is site-specific, yet planetary—if not experienced through the ear, then through the hum and resonance in the body. Robinson’s work utilizes his unique knowledge of the medium in order to (re)tell the story of sound. The exposure to sound is mediated through our environmental relations. Each pocket of Earth holds its own soundscape, which exists in an entangled relationship with authoritarian systems that be. Employing research, field recordings, archiving, media archeology, filmmaking, performance art, and creative listening engagements, Robinson invites listeners to cultivate a deeper understanding of the ways in which we inform our sense of place and awareness, while exposing the listener to the sociopolitical dimensions of sound to encourage a heightened engagement with systems of power.

Clara Kent

Clara Kent is an Afro-Indigenous singer-songwriter and emcee from Homewood, a Pittsburgh neighborhood known for its talented people. Clara is a self-proclaimed Multidimensional Artistic Individual for very valid reasons. Clara Kent’s integrity and range in creating music, visual art, events, and connections within the community have made her well known amongst peers, the music community, and many organizations in Pittsburgh.

Clara is a wearer of many hats! Most known for her professional music sombrero, Clara Kent has graced many notable stages across the country. Tempo Networks Grammy Broadcast at BBKings in Times Square, Opener for Wyclef Jean at SXSW, WYEP Summerfest 2019, Comcast’s Light Up Night 2018 and 2019, a 2019 Sofar Sounds Tour, Return the Heart Foundation Broadcast with Mac DeMarco, and many more. Kent also earned a cover feature in the Pittsburgh City Paper in April 2018, was named “Person of the Year: Music” 2019, and most recently landed an international feature in Photo Vogue Italia May 2021.

Kelsey Robinson

Kelsey Robinson is a multidisciplinary artist based in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn. She’s been honored to perform at world-renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, MoMA, The Studio Museum of Harlem, and The Shed, and grateful to have worked with many well-celebrated Pittsburgh theater companies including Quantum Theater, Bricolage Production Company, Carnegie Mellon University Drama, Pittsburgh CLO, and the New Hazlett. Her project Talking with Ghosts About Freedom, which traverses the nation by bicycle in search of regional Black and Indigenous history, has been produced in residence with Kelly Strayhorn Theater and received the support of The Opportunity Fund, Advancing Black Arts, Cultural Trust, and #notwhitecollective. Kelsey recently choreographed for her alma mater Point Park University where she studied Musical Theater. She’s currently a proud recipient of the SCALE Fellowship granted to Black femme musicians in Pittsburgh and is ecstatic to be touring North America with lifelong idols, Squonk.

Pittsburgh Labor Choir

Preserving, performing, and showing up for labor movements throughout the region, the Pittsburgh Labor Choir is a volunteer group that welcomes all to use their voice as part of the movement!

Registration