New Sun Rising

Fire and Arts. Two things that have been around since the dawn of mankind will take center stage on April 28th at the Historic Pumphouse at the Waterfront (Munhall). New Sun Rising is pleased to announce fiscal sponsorship of a generous grant from Grable Foundation in support of Pyrotopia.

Pyrotopia will occur on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at The Historic Pump House & Water Tower, 880 E. Waterfront Drive, Munhall, located at Pittsburgh’s Waterfront. The one-day event is FREE and open to the public. It will be the East Coast’s first-ever festival dedicated entirely to fire arts, presenting fire’s diversity of use by artists and celebrating humankind’s primal fascination with fire. VIEW MAP

Pyrotopia will entertain, enchant and introduce attendees to the use of fire, as well as electricity and light, as artistic media by showcasing artists employing these elements in many ways.

Programming throughout the day and night will appeal to a wide range of interests and ages. Workshops, demonstrations, and other fire-related programming will take place during the day on Saturday, with live fire art and events on Saturday night. All day and early evening activities will be appropriate for children and families.

Festival installations and performers will include:

• Flaming Simon, a fire-driven version of the electronic game "Simon" created by Pittsburgh artist and Pyrotopia founder Eric Singer.

• Fiery Flamenco Dancing by Carolina Loyola-Garcia, with live musical accompaniment by Jon Bañuelos, James Bond, Luke Savage and Barb York.

• Fire spinners and dancers from Steel Town Fire, Pittsburgh’s premiere fire performance troupe.

• Megavolt Tesla Coil, a six-foot tall Tesla coil created by Pittsburgh engineer Mark Barlow.

• A special ground-effects fireworks show by New Castle’s Pyrotecnico, which orchestrated the dazzling fireworks display at the 2011 Three Rivers Regatta.

• Live demonstrations of fire-related arts, including glassblowing, pewter casting, and plasma torch cutting.

And more ...

Carrie Blast Furnace Lighting
In conjunction with the festival, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area will illuminate the Carrie Blast Furnace complex across the river from the pump house later in the evening, providing a dramatic backdrop for the event.

Children’s Events on Saturday Afternoon
On Saturday afternoon from noon until 5pm, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Science Center will present special programming for families, including hands-on art projects with Black Light Spin Art and LED Lanterns, and demonstrations showing the science of fire and how fireworks get their color.

The evening will be co-hosted by jazz chanteuse Phat Man Dee and performance artist Andrew the Impaled. DJ Zombo will play special sets of fire-themed music throughout the night.

Pyrotopia is being organized and produced by a group of Pittsburgh artists experienced in working with fire in art and performance, producing large scale events and spectacles, and teaching fire arts skills. As artists, we love the medium of fire in its wide variety of applications, and we wish to ignite the public’s imagination and appreciation too.

Pittsburgh has a growing community of artists and performers in all disciplines working with fire as a medium. Pyrotopia was created to give those artists dedicated performance and exhibition opportunities. We aim to inspire the creation of new work; exploration of materials, creative processes and collaborations among artists using fire; and to foster a unique regional brand of fire art related to Pittsburgh’s industrial history and artisan heritage. By producing Pyrotopia as an annual festival, we aim to legitimize and promote fire art and performance and to make these disciplines accessible to a wide audience.

Fresh off artist Sam Perry's "Welcome to SamSamland", comes "Paper News: I Am the Printing Press", an interactive, cocreative, and ecologically sentient art project exploring the issue of media consumption and shifting cultures. It includes a monthly zine, a live improv news variety show, a qr code experiment, discussion groups, musical performances, community events, and a 3 week long art exhibit opening July of 2012 at Assemble.

The show will close with a community event in which Pittsburgh citizens--as well as those who want to participate from a distance--will be able to write down or draw their fears, issues, and hopes for the future, releasing them into the skies in the form of Chinese sky lanterns.  Support this effort through Kickstarter. After randomly seeing one flying in the night sky above Schenley park a few weeks ago, we will certainly be there.  It's a magical sight.

Check out the Paper News website to see the many goings on with the project, and how to submit your thoughts and/or work for inclusion in the publication.

We're pleased to announce that we recently welcomed Redd Up Thread Up as a project under New Sun Rising's fiscal sponsorship! 

Redd Up Thread Up is a non-incorporated bi-annual event, which is held in different locations throughout Pittsburgh with a different benefiting organization each time the event is held. 100% of the proceeds of Redd Up Thread Up is donated to the benefiting organization. Funds are collected when participants sift through the collection of donated goods and “shop” using a Redd Up Thread Up tote bag which can be purchased for $5-$10, depending on prior donation. 

Community members are urged to donate gently used clothing items for the scheduled Redd Up Thread Up clothing swap ahead of time for ease of sorting and organization prior to the event by volunteers. Those who donate clothing ahead of time will fill out a voucher to receive one discounted tote bag to fill with clothing the day of the event.

Anyone is welcome to purchase tote bag(s) to fill with donated clothing at the event. 

 The next Redd Up Thread Up will be held November 12-13 at Assemble, 5125 Penn Ave from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. both days and will benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Visit http://reddupthreadup.com for more information!  

Redd Up Thread Up, a community clothing swap, is a bi-annual event that was started in 2010 by Jennie Roth*. Each Redd Up Thread Up benefits a different Pittsburgh-based human services organization and 100% of the proceeds go to the designated organization. Redd Up Thread Up is not a partner project of any one specific organization; a different partner is sought for each event. Event tote bags have been printed and donated via the generous support of local companies.

 *Jennie Roth is a New Sun Rising Board Member

Individuals gave to the region's nonprofit organizations on Tuesday October 4th in record amounts, with $5.9 million raised including a $750,000 match from local Foundations.  This amazing effort could not have happened without the amazing efforts of The Pittsburgh Foundation and their regional partners, who continue to help make Pittsburgh a special place to live, work, and play.  To those of you who found New Sun Rising worthy of your hard earned money, we sincerely appreciate your faith in our mission and sponsored projects.