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Artists get creative with Hays proposal
Admission: Free
Where: Artspace 303 at 303 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead.
Details: (412) 818-8415
Bob Karlovits can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7852.
The three are looking at plans by Beaver County developer C.J. Betters to develop the 635-acre tract on the southern side of the Monongahela River in the Hays section that borders Baldwin Borough. Betters envisions the site to have a horse-racing track and slots parlor; businesses; a hotel; and housing.
"It is an art to look at these issues in that it is creative and imaginative," said Connie Merriman, of Elizabeth, who is part of "Confluence: People, Places, Change."
The public-discussion series of the Monongahela Conference will wrap up a month of talks Friday night in Homestead.
Merriman is joined in the project by her husband, Tom -- both of whom have taken artistic looks at socio-political issues for the past 20 years -- and Laurie Palmer, of Chicago, who has done similar projects in the Midwest.
Palmer said the discussion series has aimed to "raise implications" about the use of the land that will "stir questions, interrogation and consideration."
"We are just trying to create public dialogue," said Tom Merriman, explaining that the site, once owned by J&L Steel Corp., has become a de-facto park and recreational area for residents.
Use of land in a post-industrial setting is the purpose of the Monongahela Conference, which was spurred by 3 Rivers 2nd Nature, a five-year project by Carnegie Mellon University in Oakland that has examined such growth.
The project began in October with several days of discussing issues, said Robin Hewlett, outreach coordinator for the Monongahela Conference. This the second phase of the project. The third phase will begin in January, when artistic looks at the sites will be presented at CMU.
Other projects that have raised issues and are being examined are:
Tom Merriman said artists can provide different ways of looking at social issues by providing new images of them. For instance, he said, the group's overhead photograph of Hays shows the great size of the area, which is bigger than Schenley and Frick parks combined. The two parks encompass several East End neighborhoods.
Palmer said she is building a model of the Hays site on which the hills can be removed to show how it would look if mined and flattened.
"We're trying to present new ways communities can look at change," she said.
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