2024 ORIGINS Exhibition

The ORIGINS Exhibition is a multi-layered event that celebrates the imagination and strength of the ORIGINS network. The exhibition will highlight and elevate the creative work of Black creatives in the region. Because the creative practices of the ORIGINS network vary, the ORIGINS Exhibition will feature participants in three ways - the curated exhibition, a maker market, and monthly activities that highlight creative practices and products from April through July.

Hay Street Gallery | Wilkinsburg Train Station

901 Hay Street | Wilkinsburg, PA 15221 | Lower Level

  • Opening Reception & Artisan Market on Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.
  • Closing Ceremony on June 15, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.

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Four Years in the Making

New and Emerging Creatives

In April 2024, we will open the doors of Bridgeway Capital’s Hay Street Gallery at the Historic Wilkinsburg Train Station for the second ORIGINS Exhibition. The inaugural ORIGINS Exhibition took place in March 2022 at Concept Art Gallery. It featured innovative and expressive work from the region’s top emerging and established Black makers, designers, artists, and craftspeople. The exhibition elevated and celebrated a range of products and processes. Attendees were encouraged to attend and support Black voices and aesthetics in the creative economy and ecosystem. We look forward to showcasing again ORIGINS’ growing network of Black creatives.

2024 ORIGINS Exhibition

Hay Street Gallery | Wilkinsburg Train Station

901 Hay Street | Wilkinsburg, PA 15221 | Lower Level

 

Opening Reception & Artisan Market on Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.
Closing Ceremony on June 15, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.

RSVP HERE

Featured Creatives

  • Alecia Young

  • Emmanuelle Wambach

  • Alphonso Sloan

  • Emmanuel Davis

  • Ashanté Josey

  • Janet Watkins

  • Christina Howze

  • Jaquan Brockman

  • Christopher Ross

  • Karen Womack

  • Darrin Milliner

  • LaVerne Kemp

  • DaShaun Burgess

  • Ramone Patterson

  • Deavron Dailey

  • Rell Rushin

  • Edie Smith

  • Ruth Bedeian

Curated Exhibition:

  • ORIGINS network creatives prioritized
  • Curated by renowned local creatives
  • Gallery hours every Friday until close
  • Food trucks in the courtyard
  • Five-to-seven Black artists display two-to-three pieces
  • 70% of sales proceeds go to artists
  • Application open December 1, 2026
  • Applications close February 2, 2026
  • Selectee notification on March 1, 2026
  • Artwork delivery April 5, 2026
  • Opening reception April 20, 2026
  • Artwork picked up on June 16, 2026

Artisan Markets:

  • ORIGINS network creatives prioritized
  • 70% of sales proceeds go to artists
  • Courtyard of the Historic Wilkinsburg Train Station
  • Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.
  • The market will feature up to seven Black creatives
  • Participants report sales numbers of impact
  • Support to help participants maximize experience
  • Application open December 1, 2026
  • Applications close February 2, 2026
  • Selectees notification on March 1, 2026
  • Runs April 20, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m.
    • Set up at 10:30 a.m.
    • Tear down by 5 p.m.

Community Activities:

  • ORIGINS Network creatives prioritized
  • Artist Talks and Workshops will take place inside or outside the Hay Street Gallery
  • Include programming and demonstrations with arts ecosystem partners

Exhibition Curators

Baron Batch

Baron Batch is a revolutionary multidimensional artist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, designer, and community architect based in Pittsburgh. Being a full-time creative powerhouse in the last decade, his artistic practice continues to reach many unique forms of expression and collaboration, both locally and internationally. Baron has created unparalleled art through a multi-disciplinary mindset, accruing generational collectors who closely follow the flow of new art pieces and creative endeavors. His art can be found in curated spaces globally.

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Ariette Bahta

Ariette A. Bahta is a Pittsburgh native and holder of a Studio Art BA degree with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As the manager of The Whitaker Group’s 38a Art Gallery, Ariette is committed to providing free arts education programming and curatorial projects, with a particular emphasis on the interests of POC. Additionally, Ariette brings specialized skills in visual art direction, oral history research, screen printing, and freelance artwork spanning over six years.

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Tacumba Turner

Tacumba Turner is a self-taught lensman, DJ, curator, creative director, and the visionary founder of The Future Is Black Art Collective. With eight years of grassroots community Afro-ecology work, Tacumba transcends the role of creator to become a steward, sowing seeds in the urban landscape to nurture a haven for forward-thinking BIPOC artists. The Future Is Black Art Collective showcases and empowers BIPOC artists and actively contributes to the cultivation of a more art scene in Pittsburgh.

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Hay Street Gallery

A Venue of the Past & Future

The ORIGINS Exhibition will take place on the lower level of the Historic Wilkinsburg Train Station. In 2023, Bridgeway renovated part of the building into a 2000-square-foot space to better serve its clients in the surrounding communities. The project was part of the overall renovation by the Wilkinsburg CDC. Bridgeway’s space features the Hay Street Gallery and a community courtyard that are ideal settings for an art exhibition and maker market. The project demonstrates Bridgeway’s commitment to the regional creative economy and better serving the communities where its social impact investments are made.

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Ready for ORIGINS?

If you are a Black creative in Southwestern Pennsylvania interested in participating ORIGINS click below to inquire.

jOIN NETWORK