PGH Photo Fair and Next Level launch

The fine art of photography is taking center stage in Pittsburgh this week during a two-day celebration of the medium. After debuting in East Liberty in April 2012, the first-of-its-kind PGH Photo Fair returns with a bigger and better event at Unsmoke Systems Artspace in Braddock. Free and open to the public, PGH Photo Fair runs Sat. May 18th from noon to 6 p.m. and Sun. May 19th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The second annual installment will feature 12 internationally recognized dealers, a reading room, book signings, and refreshments. Showcasing museum-quality prints and photo-based art, works span the rich history of the medium--from 19-century vintage prints and contemporary photography, to photographic books and photo-based magazines. With an expanded scope of exhibitors and a greater international breadth, this year's fair includes Stephen Bulger Gallery (Canada), Next Level Projects (London) and Only Photography (Berlin). Returning are Gitterman Gallery and L. Parker Stephenson, who specialize in classic and mid-century work.

Also new is the event's strong focus on top contemporary photography, such as New York-based Higher Pictures and Sasha Wolf Gallery. Showcasing 19th-century works will be DC-based Gary Edwards Gallery and Winter Works on Paper--considered to be a leader in vernacular photography. Rounding out the roster with an impressive selection of books, limited edition prints and magazines exploring contemporary work are fair newcomers Blind Spot and returning exhibitors Aperture Foundation from NYC and Lawrenceville-based Spaces Corners.

Looking for the right piece for that bare bedroom room, office or studio wall? Designed to appeal to novices and experienced collectors alike, the PGH Photo Fair invites the public to browse original works, shop for affordable and rare prints and learn about the history and significance of photography from noteworthy experts. Prices range from $20 to $20,000, with many works available in the $500 to 2,500 range.

The PGH Photo Fair kicks off early on Thursday, May 16th at The Beauty Shoppe (6101 Penn Avenue) from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Teaming up with UK-based Next Level magazine--which recently published its Pittsburgh edition--PGH Photo Fair invites the public to this free launch of the weekend's festivities. Hosted by Next Level editor and founder Sheyi Bankale, Thursday's "Thank You Pittsburgh" celebration will include light bites from Salt of the Earth, libations from Clique Vodka and Penn Brewery and sounds spun by DJ Soy Sos.

View a complete list of PGH Photo Fair vendors and activities.

Downtown galleries: Thad Kellstadt, Memento Mori, Adult Arcade

In case you missed the Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District on April 26th, you still have time to catch several new exhibitions at Downtown arts venues.

On Friday, May 17th at SPACE, don't miss the opening of the new exhibition, On the Glass Surf, featuring work by Iowa City-based multimedia artist Thad Kellstadt. The opening reception, which runs from 5:30 to 11 p.m., will also include a DJ set by Jim Lingo and live music by Lost Realms.

Kellstadt, who has exhibited at numerous Pittsburgh museums and galleries, works in a wide variety of mediums--including painting, video, installation, digital prints, sound, and sculpture--and all will be represented in On the Glass Surf. The majority of his work at SPACE is new and is being exhibited for the first time. On the Glass Surf will be on view at SPACE through June 30th.

Creating paintings that seem to recall the lush color fields and expressive qualities of iconic 20th-century painters such as Richard Diebenkorn, Clyfford Still or Barnett Newman--while also incorporating and recontextualizing contemporary pop culture references such as graffiti, fractured video game screens, cartoon imagery, mass produced signage, and street fashion--Kellstadt's artistic practice seems to hover in a thoughtful place between stillness and noise that is at once foreboding and whimsical.

The new exhibition will display Kellstadt's prolific output in terms of breadth, media and a conceptual approach that seems to embrace both handmade and manufactured elements as well as explore themes of memory and fabrication. His artistic statement discusses an interest in exploring "rural fantasy, psychedelia and the subcultures through dark humor, irony and juxtaposition." Next up for Kellstadt is a video exhibition and performance at Cincinnati's Third Party Gallery on May 25th.

On view through June 16th at SPACE's sister venue Wood Street Galleries is Memento Mori. Inside the gallery, artist Gregory Barsamian invites viewers to step into a strobe lit room, where a giant kinetic sculpture spins rapidly on an armature featuring images based on recordings of the artist's own dreams. Low-tech and accessible, Barsamian's immersive contraption features steel, wood, bronze, acrylic medium, paper, strobe, and motors, as it shifts between conscious and unconscious states that play with the role of the artist and viewer. A native of Chicago and now based in Brooklyn, Barsamian received his BA from the University of Wisconsin. Barsamian, whose works have been exhibited across the U.S. and worldwide, is the recipient of a 2007 Platform International Animation Festival Grand Prix, 2011 MIT/Leonardo New Horizons Award and a 2005 New York State Fellowship for the Arts, Sculpture.

Before it closes on May 17th, continue your exploration of multi-sensory artworks at Adult Arcade, on view at 707 Penn Gallery. Featuring new multimedia installations by Marc Burgess, Adult Arcade is comprised of immersive light- and sound-based works that are designed to directly and actively engage the public in highly visceral ways. At times disorienting, Burgess' installation challenges the powers and limitations of human perception via a variety of textured paintings, massive geometric sculptures, robotic lasers, and soundscapes.

Go here for all gallery hours.

Sound scene: Pop Filter music roundup

This week's edition of the semi-regular Pop Filter music roundup includes everything from a performative book reading to a star-studded CD release concert.

Start on Friday, May 17th at Lili Cafe, which is hosting a special early performance by indie music icon Calvin Johnson. A founding member of influential bands from the 1980s and 1990s, such as Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Halo Benders, Johnson has long been at the helm of the pioneering label K Records, which helped to put Olympia, WA on the international map in terms of  independent and underground music. A guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and DJ known and beloved for his signature low vocal style, charismatic stage presence and fierce DIY aesthetic, Johnson has worked as a producer with Modest Mouse, Beck, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jens Lekman, and Built to Spill. 6 p.m.; $5 suggested donation.

Johnson is on the road with fellow music icon Ian Svenonius, who will lead a reading and Q&A at Pittsburgh Filmmakers that same night at 8 p.m. Heralded in the underground music scene as the singer of pivotal 1980s Wash., D.C.-based punk band Nation of Ulysses, Svenonius is also a published author, an online talk show host with VBS.tv, and has released some 15 albums as part of The Make-Up, Weird War and Chain and The Gang. Friday's reading will center around Svenonius latest book, Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock 'n' Roll group (Akashic Books, 2013), which led him to "conduct a seance to communicate with deceased rock stars about their philosophies on rock's consumerism and culture, and their motivations to start a rock and roll band." Any appearance involving Svenonius is packed with energy, wit and eccentricity, so don't miss this rare chance to see him in action as he shares what are sure to be compelling rock and roll ruminations from realms beyond. Free and open to the public.

For some soulful melody-infused indie pop, head to Garfield Artworks to hear Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. Performing on Friday, May 17th, Lady Lamb (aka 23 year-old singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro) is on the road supporting her new album, Ripely Pine, released in February on Ba Da Bing. Originally releasing home recordings at Bullmoose Record Store and Bart & Greg's DVD Explosion in her hometown of Brunswick, Maine, Spaltro went on to be named 2010's Folk Artist of the Year by the Boston Music Awards. With Xenia Rubinos and Midge Crickett. 8 p.m.

Fan of contemporary indie folk music won't want to miss Faun Fables at Thunderbird Cafe on Friday, May 17th. The Oakland, California-based duo featuring multi-talented artists Dawn McCarthy and Nils Frykdah, Faun Fables will bring their distinct ensemble inspired by European folklore, gypsy and circus culture and performance-theater to the Lawrenceville club. With an eclectic and unique vision that draws on diverse influences--from Scandinavian, Appalachian and Eastern European music, to opera, travel and pagan cultures, Faun Fable performance are also known to be visceral affairs featuring elements of theater, dance and puppetry. With The Turpentiners; 9 p.m.; $10, 12.

Start your week off on a musical note on Monday, May 20 at WYEP's Live & Direct Volume 15 Release Party. Taking place at Downtown's elegant Byham Theater, the event makes the launch party of WYEP's Live & Direct Volume 15 CD,
a compilation featuring the top live studio sessions recorded at the South Side radio station over the past year. The latest CD installment features Andrew Bird, The Punch Brothers, Rufus Wainwright, The Wallflowers, Dr. Dog, The Walkmen, Rusted Root, and more. Monday's launch celebration features acclaimed singer-songwriter Josh Ritter, who will perform as part of the special benefit concert. Also performing on May 20th is special local guest Bill Deasy. 8 p.m.

It's hip to be square: 8 x 8 photo party

Look around and you will notice people snapping photos left and right--on city streets, out of car windows, at bus stops,
and everywhere in between. While many are using smartphones to document daily life and share them via social media, many others are embracing and rediscovering vintage analogue equipment--such as Lomo and Polaroid cameras--or developing new cutting-edge technologies such as photo apps and editing software.

Capturing this shutterbug spirit, Silver Eye Center for Photography is celebrating the world's widespread love affair with photography in a very unique way. On Friday, May 17th, the South Side-based gallery is hosting a first-of-its-kind 8 x 8 Photo Party, covering its walls with hundreds of square shaped images submitted by the public.

Culled from the gallery's free and open call for submissions, the project has attracted the attention and curiosity of shutterbugs from all over the globe. An impressive 372 photographs from around the world--including images from 13 different countries, 30 different states, and 200 from the Pittsburgh region alone--were submitted to the unique project.

The crowd-sourced project culminates with Friday's 8 x 8 Photo Party, where gallery-goers can peruse and purchase images for their homes, offices and studios--all at the affordable price of $20 per piece. Celebrating the artist in all of us, the 8 x 8 bash will also feature local brews, bites and cocktails, jams spun by DJ Nate Da Phat Barber, a vintage photo booth, and more.

Attendees can purchase original work from the 8 x 8 exhibition at $20 per photograph. All proceeds from 8 x 8 will benefit Silver Eye.

Venture Outdoors Festival in Point State Park

Now that the May freeze is over, it is time to get back outside and get active. The best place to take in the region's top recreational amenities this weekend is at the Venture Outdoors Festival. Turning Downtown's recently upgraded Point State Park into a giant urban playground, the free family-friendly festival features daylong activities, sports, games, and workshops for toddlers, adventurer enthusiasts and seniors alike.

Put down that weed wacker, pick up a paddle and prepare to channel your inner urban adventurer from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Test your skills at everything from kayaking, fishing and hiking, to yoga, biking and climbing. Step into a harness, strap on a helmet and secure your carabiner as you summit the event's Climbing Wall. Next learn the sacred fast-paced sport of Brazilian martial arts with Unção Capoeira, developed by African slaves 500 years ago.

Ready to hit the waters? Step on board the RiverQuest Explorer, the world's first green boat built for river education, to learn about the importance of river transportion and make a watershed badge. Learn to paddle in unison to the beat of a drum during Dragon Boating trips led by Three Rivers Rowing Association, and take out a flat bottomed kayak on the Allegheny--one of the best way to see the city's charms.

How did the region's residents stay active 200 years ago? Stop by the Fort Pitt Museum to try out 18th-century outdoor activities and games that were popular in Pittsburgh. Need a breather? Take a break and practice your sun salute during 25-minute outdoor sessions led by some of the city's top yoga instructors.

National Geographic has called Pittsburgh a "top urban adventure city," now see for yourself why the region has emerged as a hub for outdoor recreation. Ditch the car and head Downtown by bike, bus or T.