The Pittsburgh Humanities Festival kicks off this week and will feature an array of free online events supporting meaningful dialogue about today’s society. Each event will be streamed on the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. The events include live-streamed interviews with artists, academics, and intellectual innovators exploring a range of topics— a youthful take on gun violence prevention, baking cookies for social justice, restoration of Homewood’s National Negro Opera House, and perceptions of Black women in popular music history.
Take a look at the schedule below:
The National Negro Opera House with Jonnet Solomon
Interviewed by Graham Fandrei
Wednesday, April 7, 2021| 7 p.m. EST
Jonnet Solomon will discuss the rich history of the National Negro Opera House located in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood and the effort she is leading to restore it to its former glory. The house which welcomed significant figures such as Lena Horne, Joe Louis, Roberto Clemente, Count Basie, Ahmad Jamal, and Sarah Vaughan was recently named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of 11 Most Endangered Places.
Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound with Daphne A. Brooks
Interviewed by Terri Bell
Wednesday, April 14, 2021| 7 p.m. EST
Daphne A. Brooks, Yale professor and award winning black feminist music critic, takes us on an epic journey through radical sound from Bessie Smith to Beyoncé as she discuss her new book Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound.
Cookie Activism: Using Sugar as a Platform for Social Justice with Jasmine Cho
Interviewed by Sara Tang
Wednesday, April 21, 2021| 7 p.m. EST
Jasmine Cho will discuss her work as a baker based in Pittsburgh and how she uses the art of cookie making and decorating as a therapy and to promote Asian American representation. She creates intricate, hand-drawn cookie portraits of Asian American figures as a way to increase representation and raise awareness of Asian American history and identity. Her work has been featured internationally on various media outlets and she is currently working toward developing a research-based bake therapy program rooted in the field of art therapy.
Gun Violence Prevention: A Discussion with Young Community Leaders
Wednesday, April 28, 2021| 7 p.m. EST
Not My Generation, founded by college student Kathryn Fleisher after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, prioritizes coalition-building and the bringing together of diverse communities to create meaningful, sustainable change. This panel includes Fleisher and members of Not My Generation discussing how to overcome the community’s unique struggle with gun violence and how youth can achieve effective agency.
The Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presented by Citizens Bank, first launched in 2015, is a gathering of internationally-renowned academics, artists, and intellectual innovators in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The sixth Festival, April 2021, will offer intimate conversations, interviews, and performances focused on art, literature, music, science, policy, politics, and more—all helping us to explore what it means to be human.