Unblurred + GA/GI = Supersized First Friday

There's always a host of venues open and fun activities on First Fridays along Penn Ave for the monthly Unblurred series. April brings with it the GA/GI (Geek Art/Green Innovator) festival. In addition to the usual venues participating in Unblurred, Penn Ave will be amping it up with more presenters, activities and showcases.

GA/GI sets the tone for Unblurred with its central theme of green and renewable technologies. Some of the Galleries along the Penn Ave arts district feature artists that work with found materials and new technologies. For instance, Studio 5013 is featuring OZMA instruments: Guitars made of found and reclaimed materials by Jeffrey Schreckengost. At the other end of the spectrum, Edge Studios will present Robotics Artist, Donald Jones from CMU's High Point Project.

There's more than art happening during the festival. Optimus Technologies will be talking about how the next generation bio fuel systems actually works. Plumb Media is having a meet-and greet of some of the co-authors from Baker Leadership's latest book. Empowered in Pittsburgh encourages young adults to extend their handprint and get involved in their communities. Stop by to find out more!

April Unblurred also sees the return of The Clay Penn. Awesome Books, as you might know, is transforming to Amazing Books on April 3. The original location of Awesome Books on Penn Ave is already closed and is making its transformation to The Clay Penn. Stop in and reacquaint yourself with Laura McLaughlin's great ceramic works.



Of special note, I want to mention that I, along with Jean McClung, John Morris and Laurie Trok, will be exhibiting at ModernFormations. An extra special note: the opening reception is on Friday, April 5 from 7-10PM.

This is far, far from a comprehensive list of what is happening on April's first Friday, nor is it meant to be a Best of... preview. A list of events for Unblurred is available on their page and GA/GI's two-day calendar is posted here.