Pop Filter Hot Pick: Get Unblurred By Art Along Penn Avenue

Art world wanderings: If it's the first Friday of the month, it's time take an eclectic evening along the Penn Avenue Arts District.

Spanning the East End nabes of Friendship, Garfield and East Liberty, the popular crawl serves as a showcase for the area's many arts destinations. From well-established cultural institutions like The Pittsburgh Glass Center and Dance Alloy, to the latest coffeehouse and music venues, Unblurred unveils a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the kind of transformation that the arts can incite along a city's commercial corridor.

Step into the Glass Lofts to see new green units transformed by local designers, and then cross Penn to turn those dingy tees into sassy reusable totes at The Cotton Factory. Help create a community art installation and raise funds for India's Kullu Valley Bike Project at 4810 Penn, and select summer reading material at Awesome Books.

At ImageBox, check out powerful photographs from the 1961 Freedom Riders Civil Rights Bus Rides, while over at ModernFormations, explore Deaf and Death, new works by artists Crystala Armagost and Ashley Andrykovitch.

Wind down your culture crawling at East Lib hotspot The Waffle Shop, where it's time for another episode of the always humorous, always informative Unemployment Show. Host David English will serve up musings about unemployment, interviews with special guests, comedy skits, and tips for the job-seeking masses.

Ready to hit the dance floor after all of that culture jamming? Discover the music and dance of Argentina at 5005 Penn, and groove to global beats at Brilobox's Pandemic.

Open to the public, the family-friendly event runs from 6p.m. to 2a.m. Most events are free and some establishments offer food and drink discounts.

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