(Pittsburgh, PA) – The Pittsburgh Biennial, a signature exhibition for Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts since 1994, will expand in scope and location in 2011.  Setting a new precedent of collaboration among major art institutions in Pittsburgh, the exhibit will be co-presented and co-curated by The Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, and Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PF/PCA).

“This unique collaboration among these organizations builds on the open exchange of ideas as well as the collaborative atmosphere PF/PCA cultivates,” says Laura Domencic, Director of Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. “These organizations have stepped outside of their regular programming to focus on the creative energy of Pittsburgh artists.  They bring their valuable perspectives and resources, as well as a heightened recognition of our region’s most compelling visual artists.”

The Biennial will consist of distinct exhibitions which reflect each curator’s and partner institution’s engagement with artists working in Pittsburgh.  The curatorial team is comprised of Eric Shiner, The Milton Fine Curator of Art at The Warhol; Dan Byers, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Carnegie Museum of Art; Astria Suparak, Curator and Director of The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University; and Adam Welch, Curator of Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Starting next summer, the 2011 Pittsburgh Biennial will have monthly receptions that will revolve to each of the partner institutions. The Pittsburgh Biennial will open at Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts on June 10 and be on view through October 23.  It will open at Carnegie Museum of Art in June and be on view through mid-September.  The second half of the Biennial will open in the fall at the Miller Gallery at CMU and at The Warhol.

“I am very much looking forward to working with my colleagues at some of the city’s finest art venues.  It is nothing less than exciting to work with so many talented contemporary artists that live and work—or once did—in Pittsburgh,” says Eric Shiner of The Warhol. “We are quickly becoming one of the most dynamic art communities in America, and the Pittsburgh Biennial is going to prove that Pittsburgh is a place that cherishes and supports the arts.”

About the Pittsburgh Biennial 2011 partnering institutions:

The Andy Warhol Museum

Media contact: Rick Armstrong; armstrongr@warhol.org

117 Sandusky Street on the North Shore.

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol’s birth, The Warhol is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Information: 412-237-8300; www.warhol.org.

Carnegie Museum of Art

Media contact: Ellen James; jamese@carnegiemuseums.org

4400 Forbes Avenue in Oakland.

Carnegie Museum of Art was founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, it is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the 16th century to the present. Information: 412-622-3131; www.cmoa.org.

The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University

Media contact: Eric Sloss; ecs@andrew.cmu.edu

5000 Forbes Avenue in Oakland (in the Purnell Center for the Arts).

The Miller Gallery is Carnegie Mellon University’s contemporary art gallery, founded in 2000 by Regina Gouger Miller, artist, educator, businesswoman, and arts patron. The Miller Gallery produces exhibitions, projects, events and publications, with a focus on social issues. Information: 412-268-3618; www.cmu.edu/millergallery.

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

Media contact: Carol O’Sullivan; carolo@pghfilmmakers.org

6300 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside.

Founded in 1945, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is a non-profit community arts campus that offers arts education programs and contemporary art exhibitions, providing services and resources for individual artists throughout Western Pennsylvania. The Center is where the community can create, see, support, and learn about visual arts. Information: 412-361-0873; www.pittsburgharts.org.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers

Media contact: Carol O’Sullivan; carolo@pghfilmmakers.org

477 Melwood Avenue in Oakland.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers is one of the largest and oldest independent media arts centers in the country. Founded in 1971 to provide media-making tools to artists, Pittsburgh Filmmakers serves everyone from emerging artists to established artists to fellow non-profit organizations and students. Information: 412-681-5449; www.pghfilmmakers.org.

Carnegie Museum of Art

Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art was founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, it is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the 16th century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to enhancing understanding of the physical environment through its exhibitions, collections, and public programs. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site at www.cmoa.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Gaugler
412.688.8690
gauglerj@carnegiemuseums.org