History

MVA VII Catalog:

The MVA VII exhibition catalog is available for $6.95 in the Heinz History Center gift shop.

(A catalog from the 2013 exhibition is available by contacting us through this website.)

MVA VII

Master Visual Artists VII: Preserving the Legacy exhibition will be on display through September 13, 2020, in the Heinz History Center’s fifth floor Barensfeld Gallery.

MVA VII Steering Committee:

Debra Platt, Chair
Adrienne Heinrich
Michael Maskarenic
Phiris Kathryn Sickels
Bob Ziller
Kathleen Cochran Zimbicki

Master Visual Artists VII is supported by:

Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD)
and the Heinz Endowments.

Master Visual Artists: Preserving the Legacy Exhibition began with a 1991 exhibit, “70+ and Still Working,” which featured the works of ten artists over 70 years old, at the Fine, Perlow Weis Gallery of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Pittsburgh. The project was initially conceived by Pittsburgh artist Donna Hollen Bolmgren, chaired by Ellie Turk Barmen of the JCC Visual Arts Committee, and supervised by Sandy Schneider, Program Director.

Current criteria to be considered for the exhibit are: a person who is 60 or older, has had a noticeable career of artistic attainment, is still creating, and has made a measurable impact on the Southwest Pennsylvania community. Subsequent exhibitions were held in 1993, 1996, and 1998 at the JCC, and in 2005 and 2013 at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. 2019 marks the seventh exhibition. The Steering Committee plans for future exhibitions to occur every five years. 

In 1993, Donna Hollen Bolmgren and Ellie Turk Barmen began interviewing and video recording each of the artists working in their studios. In subsequent years, Jerry Caplan joined Donna in the video documentation process. Several of the artists were interviewed and recorded by crews from WQED who generously volunteered their time and talents. In 2013, the staff of Pittsburgh Filmmakers produced ten artist videos. The entire collection of featured artists’ stories and videos are documented and preserved for future generations in the History Center’s Detre Library & Archives.

Donna Hollen Bolmgren
Seeking Peace