By Madison Stokes/Pittsburgh Media Partnership intern

What does the word “art” mean to you? The Three Rivers Arts Festival was the perfect time to reflect upon art in all of its shapes and forms.

The festival, which concluded its 10-day run on June 11, was created through the support of the Carnegie Institute of Art in 1960 to show the community that art can stretch beyond the barriers of museum walls. This remains true to this day.

This year, the festival brought together over 400 artists and a lineup of musicians. Corinne Bailey Rae, KT Tunstall, Galactic, The Taj Mahal Quartet, Rising Appalachia Lizz Wright and The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra were some of the many names that made an appearance during the festival.

Along with browsing art booths and jamming to various musicians, festival attendees enjoyed food trucks, the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone, public art exhibits within the cultural district and other interactive shows dispersed throughout the city of Pittsburgh.

Kimberly Joya was one of many artists who participated as a vendor at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. She is a new blossoming artist who began her art journey in 2020, the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Joya is from Columbus, Ohio, but she has lived in Pittsburgh for four years. She is drawn to painting as a way to de-stress while using a soft neutral color palette. Painting is a creative outlet for Joya and her way to let free while creating what comes to mind. 

Joya’s inspiration for her paintings stems from her mom, who enjoys florals and botanicals, which brings a family connection to her work.

Joya is thankful and grateful to have received an Emerging Artist Scholarship, which supports eight to nine new and aspiring artists to participate in the festival.

“Art is your style in your own way,” Joya said when asked to explain what the word “art” means to her. “[It is] a way of expressing who you are in a non-physical way.”

Joya shares inspiration for new artists saying, “Do not be intimidated. Just pick a point and keep going and you never know where you will go.”

Heather Dickens and Jason Rodriguez are natives of New Orleans, but they are not strangers to the Pittsburgh area. They have participated in the Three Rivers Arts Festival for three years. Their art mainly pulls inspiration from elements of nature, biology and anatomy.

They both began drawing and creating art at a very young age. “It is something that we continued to come back to no matter what our job was,’” Dickens said.

Dickens and Rodriguez decided to turn their passion to profession 11 years ago and never turned back. “We love it,” Dickens said. “We get to travel and meet new people.”

Rodriguez said people are surrounded by [art] even though they may not think about it. “There is art in everything,” he said. “Everything is art.”

Sarah Goodyear is also familiar with the Pittsburgh area and traveled from southern West Virginia to participate in this year’s festival. Goodyear happily shared she is excited when visiting the Pittsburgh area.

Her work is inspired by the human form, more specifically the female form, and exploring color.

Goodyear said her love for art comes from the ability to freely express herself, and she enjoys receiving positive feedback from others about her work.

She has been creating work since her childhood and began her professional art journey about 12 years ago. To Goodyear, art is “something that someone makes that they declare to be art.”

While Goodyear came from neighboring West Virginia to display her work, Thomas Williams traveled a bit further — from Chicago, to be precise.

Williams found a love for art at the age of 12 while reading comic books. He enjoyed both the story and illustrations. In high school, he found an interest in commercial art and experimented with painting and airbrushing.

Thomas pulls his inspiration for his art from life, portraying African American experiences, and history. He dabbles in various art topics including historical interpretations, music, current events and Black empowerment.

Another artist displaying her work during the festival is Heather Connolly. A Pittsburgh native, Connolly’s love for art blossomed at a very young age.

She is continually inspired by the patterns, styles and architecture throughout Pittsburgh, which is portrayed on many of her ceramic pieces.

Connolly started her business, Fort Pitt Clay Works, along with her husband about 12 years ago. Their business is a team effort; Heather makes the bowls and mugs while her husband creates the illustrations and prints.

Connolly said there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to art. “Art can be anything that is sparked from inside of the mind that is new, innovative or inspiring to someone else,” she said. “It can be anything.”

Attendees of the Three Rivers Arts Festival travel from near and far. Christy Mihealsick and Mathew Allyn are from Phoenix, and while visiting family they decided to explore the festival for the first time this year.

“We enjoy looking at the artists and the different interpretations of ideas,” Mihealsick said.

To Mihealsick, art means “not just creating, appreciating, feeling but all of the above. Art can be how the artist feels creating art or how others feel viewing it. It is something that evolves feeling.”

To Allyn, art means “expressing an interpretation of something or a feeling.”

Jaedynn Hogan has been spending time with her family at the Three Rivers Art Festival since she was a child, enjoying both the food and art. To her, art can be described as something unique.

Melissa Redding has been attending the festival since she was 3 or 4 years old. “It has been something I look forward to every summer,” Redding said.

Her favorite part of the festival is walking around and seeing many talented artists have a space to showcase their art.  “I love how there are a bunch of different types of art and there is something for everyone: from magnets, painted canvases, ceramics, to puzzles,” Redding said. 

“There used to be a vendor who sold didgeridoos as well, so there is always something unique to find or see.”

To Redding, art means “being expressive, conveying a message to your audience, be it negative or positive, or creating something that can be enjoyed by many.”

Art and music go hand in hand. Throughout the duration of the Three Rivers Arts Festival various musicians, orchestras and bands were highlighted. On June 5, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed on the Dollar Bank Main Stage with the guidance of conductor Jacob Joyce.

Joyce started playing the violin at the age of 3 after being inspired by watching a movie about a violin player. “I was enamored with the sound of the violin, so I asked [my parents] to put me in violin lessons,” said Joyce. From there, he fell in love with the violin.

Joyce began his conducting career at 18 years old. He led and conducted his first orchestra in college and has been professionally conducting for about seven years.

Joyce loves many aspects of music. While performing, Joyce said he enjoys the “communal bond that you form with all of your fellow musicians.”

“There is something music can say that nothing else can say in the same way,” Joyce said. “It is always a great experience to perform with other people because you look them in the eye and without actually saying anything you both know what you want to say musically and that sometimes is the most powerful.

“Art with a capital A is the ability to abstract some element of the human experience and make it even more of a powerful message. Music to me feels like a language that no one has been able to define [which provides] a variety of interpretation amongst every single person who listens.”

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is a place to become inspired, learn from artwork and reflect on how you view art in everyday life. What does the word “art” mean to you?