" I pulled over to the side of the road after seeing their art. And I walked over and took it in. I immediately started asking questions. I have worked with children and youth and families for 40 years. And I understand trauma from this experience. I wanted to thank you.

Art brings out trauma and eases some of the pain and it gives an avenue of expression of the good bad and ugly, until eventually the tears start to heal. As I took on the art, I thought about all the children like the one in Sef's painting. I thought how awesome this is because we can all relate to random moments in our lives when maybe we were inspired through pain, to overcome it. I want to thank you. Hip Hip Hooray please stay! "

-Terry Gilmore -Braddock resident

CREATING LEGENDS

Creating Legends: Graffiti Writers of the Past, Present and Future is presented by Rivers of Steel in partnership with Hemispheric Conversations Urban Arts Project (HCUAP).

brings together select local, national and internationally-renowned graffiti artists for a weeklong residency and community workshop series celebrating the origins of the graffiti movement and its influence across generations. The project was envisioned to connect Mon Valley communities and other neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh area with the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark through projects that celebrate graffiti muralism. Visiting artists include pioneers of style- writing Mike 171 and Henry 161, some of the first graffiti artist to be written about in the New York Times in 1971. Known globally as The Boys from the Heights, their style-writing helped launch graffiti as a cultural phenomenon that eventually took over the world.

Creating Legends is part of Rivers of Steel’s ongoing community learning initiative that centerscommunity collaboration and learning as core to its mission. Creative Legends manifests this approach by creating new bridges between artistic mediums and bringing together national and international artists with local artists and communities.

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