14 December 2017

Fox Way Murals - South Side Community Mural Project by multiple artists

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The South Side Community Council initiated a plan in partnership with South Side Flats residents to create 10 murals celebrating the history of the neighborhood. The first four murals completed in the South Side Community Murals Project were done along the 2000 block of Fox Way in the fall of 2017.

Prior to this project, this alley was pretty much an eyesore. Garbage cans and graffiti made an unwelcoming atmosphere. One of the objectives of filling this passage with art is to create an inviting route for people to explore the neighborhood on foot or bike. Another was simply to reduce offensive graffiti and embrace some of our tallented, local artists, giving them an “authorized” canvas to display their art on.

The first of the four murals here was actually completed earlier in the year with a helping hand from the Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project. In Apr 2017, artists KIF, Orion (Orion Ramirez) and WES (J. Weslly Manrique) from León, Mexico were in town for Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project at the Carrie Furnace. The South Side's Graffiti Watch group was offered the opportunity to have these artists create something for them. A collage of images from Pittsburgh's history - done with a bit of a Latin American flavor - became the first authorized mural for the new South Side mural project. This first attempt at sprucing up the Fox Way alley made a big impact, and helped inspire the community to expand on the idea.


In October there was an all out assault on the remaining walls along Fox Way. Three intriguing murals were done by local artists. The four murals running from West to East along the block are:

Untitled by Michael Walsh. Photo by Steve Root.


Untitled by J. Weslly Manrique, Orion Ramirez, and KIF. Photo by Kelly Carter.


“Dollar Store Daydream” by Matt Spahr.  Photo by Kelly Carter.

“Summer Snow in the Sugar Mine Mirror” by Cameron Clayton.  Photo by Kelly Carter.









01 August 2017

Welcome to Troy Hill by James Simon

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We've been waiting and waiting to see this mosaic that welcomes people to the Troy Hill neighborhood. In 2013 we had heard it might finally be installed, so we put up the placeholder on our map with a guestimate for the location based on some articles and what artist James Simon had been told. Then in 2014 we saw this Post Gazette article explaining why it still sat in Mr Simon’s basement. 2015 looked promising since the road work on Rt28 was completed. The new bike/pedestrian trail along the road opened and yet still nothing. FINALLY we discovered that it was installed in 2017! So happy this one has finally gotten to see the light of day.

This is the third neighborhood in the area lucky enough to have a welcome sign done by Mr Simon.