Times are rough for the working class. Families are struggling. People who are willing to work hard are outraged over the abuses of the elite and have chosen now as the time to stand their ground. No, that scene is not an Occupy Wall Street demonstration, but the situation preceding the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892 at the now historic Pump House in Munhall, PA. The Pump House is an architectural reminder of the struggle of labor in the building of America.

History’s value partially comes from its ability to contextualize current events, but each story requires a storyteller, and musician Tom Breiding’s work gives a voice to the steelworkers and coalminers who helped make this region what it is today.  While Tom typically performs in schools and stages across the region, this collaboration with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PCN) brings him to the small screen in your living room.

Taking the ‘stage’ at the historic Pump House, managed by the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area this past June, Tom Breiding recorded the PHC’s Humanities on the Road episode Steeltowns, Coalfield and the Unbroken Circle, which airs this weekend. (Watch a video clip & find your PCN-TV channel.)

For the 15 Gateway to the Arts’ teaching artists who worked with Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Summer Dreamers Academy this year, the positive impact on the campers they taught continues to resonate. From the children’s embrace of new media and artistic concepts, to the development of warm relationships, Gateway’s teaching artists were inspired and rewarded by the children’s enthusiastic response to their new experiences in and with the arts.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Summer Dreamers Academy is a five-week day camp designed to engage students in reading, math and exploration during the summer recess. Working with a host of organizations across the city in the second year of the program, this year Gateway had five different camp programs running at four locations.

If you haven’t noticed, cello rock quartet Cello Fury is hot right now…sometimes quite literally. While we all have experienced the weather extremes recently, this June has been a flurry of activity for them, from the release of their video for “Infinity Rises” which got 1000+ YouTube views in its first week, to performances in a variety of venues locally. We had an opportunity to catch up with them at the Three Rivers Arts Festival on a very humid Thursday afternoon.

“Extreme heat is always difficult to deal with,” said cellist and spokeswoman Nicole Myers.  “The cellos do not react very well.  When it is 92 degrees at a lunch time show like at the Arts Festival, the cello strings drop in pitch as it gets hotter.  Re-tuning is a constant battle!”

 Over 150 people were in attendance. See more images.

Month of the Young Child is Year of the Young Child if you're talking to us!

On Saturday, April 16, Gateway participated in a Month of the Young Child family event at the Homewood YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh. Teaching artist Celeta Hickman got parents and children up and moving together in an engaging activity based in African music and dance. Kids also had the chance to make and take their own musical shakers - but these activities are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Gateway to the Arts' early childhood programming.

The scope of Gateway's work in the early childhood arena is vast. From one-day arts-based workshops in the community like this one to seven-week residencies in early childhood classrooms, the foundation is the same: Integrating the arts into the curriculum helps young learners master basic skills. Drama, music and movement experiences not only support physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development, they create active, joyful, child-centered learning environments.

The students and teachers at Nicely Elementary in Greensburg, PA will experience a special treat this April, when international storyteller Antonio Rocha visits the school. His performance program Crossroads is the central focus of a unit of study that integrates the work of Nicely educators, students and Gateway to the Arts.

Gateway to the Arts teaching artist and Greensburg resident, Christina Farrell has been working hard to expand our work deeper into Westmoreland County. In the past year she has done select workshops for individual teachers at Nicely Elementary, mounted a student-written musical and a four-week, role-playing residency in a social studies class.

Every year for President’s Day, we receive a number of requests for early childhood professional development trainings…and we are happy to oblige with developmentally appropriate arts-based strategies designed to enliven teaching, engage children and enrich the classroom.

This year, Gateway teaching artists provided in-service trainings for staff at Riverview Children’s Center in Verona and Carriage House Children’s Center in Squirrel Hill, in addition to two sessions hosted by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in their education center and one at Smart Kids CC and Learning Center in Washington, PA hosted by The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children.