THE ART INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH ANNOUNCES PLANS TO WELCOME VISITORS DURING G-20 SUMMIT TO THE U.S. PREMIERE OF HOT SPOTS: WHAT COMES AFTER OIL September 14 through 30, 2009

“Young artists and designers have a vital role to play in imagining their own future. Their voices and visions are presented for the G-20, whose core mission is ‘to promote open and constructive exchanges between advanced and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability and growth.’ Their images and imaginings are a reminder and a call to the G-20 of who they serve.”    – Ann Rosenthal, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH --- August 11, 2009 --- The Art Institute of Pittsburgh announced plans today to welcome visitors during the G-20 Summit through an art exhibition at their Downtown Gallery.  Featured will be the U.S. premiere of Hot Spots: What Comes After Oil? ---  a multi-national dialogue and exploration of the past, present and future of oil, communicated through the medium of art and design.

Hot Spots will be on exhibition in The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Gallery from September 14 through 30.

The Hot Spots Principal Team of artists Elizabeth Monoian (American University in Dubai), Ann Rosenthal (The Art Institute of Pittsburgh), and Karin Bergoldt (Munich) have developed two primary formats for Hot Spots: an international poster exchange between college students that will grow over the coming year, and installations in abandoned gas stations to take place in the summer of 2010.

Students attending The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, The American University   Dubai, and Zayed University in United Arab Emirates have designed posters for the international exchange that express a collection of visions of a world beyond fuel dependency. The meeting of the G20 in Pittsburgh provides an ideal context for the U.S. premiere of the Hot Spots student poster exchange.

“We have initiated a poster exchange amongst international college and university students as an opportunity to participate in a dialogue on the social, political, economic, and environmental ramifications of the impending 21st century transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of clean energy,” said Elizabeth Monoian.

According to Rosenthal, today’s students are the first generation to face a future of rising oil prices, serious oil shortages, and possibly, the end of oil in their lifetimes.  “They have inherited a global economy based on oil, which makes possible the exchange of goods around the world and many of the products that are ubiquitous in our daily lives,” said Rosenthal. A critical goal of Hot Spots, according to Rosenthal, is to understand, and thus not repeat, building our world on what has turned out to be an unsustainable foundation. The project intends to make visible the hopes and fears of a generation, and challenge them to design a more sustainable and humane world.

The Hot Spots poster exchange exhibition will also open in September at thejamjar, an exhibition space in the industrial heart of Dubai with a mission of extending contemporary art from emerging local talent and international artists as a link to the community. German students will join the exchange in January for an exhibition through the University of Applied Science Munich.

Posters will be simultaneously displayed in galleries and online in an ever-expanding web of participation. “I’m thrilled by the potential that this exchange has to become something that could travel to any city and any university and maintain relevance,” said Monoian. “It offers a real opportunity for students to engage a topic that confronts every person in the world.”
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Gallery is located in Downtown Pittsburgh on the Boulevard of the Allies between Smithfield and Grant Streets. The gallery is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (gallery accessibility between September 23 and 25 is undetermined at this time.)
 
About The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is a community comprised of approximately 3000 students who pursue degrees at its historic Downtown Pittsburgh location and approximately 10,000 students taking courses available through the college’s online division. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh offers 14 bachelor’s degree programs in the areas of design, media arts culinary and fashion.

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s mission is to provide distinctive creative and collegiate education, based on a foundation of exemplary learning-centered practices, endowing graduates with skills, abilities, and competencies that enable them to achieve personal and professional success in an evolving global market. Since 1921, more than 55,000 graduates have emerged from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and made significant contributions to American culture in design, advertising, motion picture, business, news, retail, health care, entertainment, fashion and culinary industries.

For more information, contact the college at 1-800-275-2470 or visit artinstitutes.edu/Pittsburgh.

Participating Professors in Dubai
Elizabeth Monoian, Assistant Professor, American University in Dubai
Tina Sleiman, Assistant Professor, Zayed University
Yunsun Chung-Shin, Assistant Professor, Zayed University
Dina Faour, Assistant Professor, American University in Dubai
Participating Professors in Pittsburgh
Ann Rosenthal, Artist and Faculty, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
 
STUDENT DESIGN STATEMENTS: 
 
Asma Al Shamsi of Zayed University, Dubai
“My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel,” said his highness sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, may peace be upon him. Sheikh Rashid Reflects his concern that Dubai’s oil will run out in a decade or two. He was the first visionary of modern U.A.E. During his rule Dubai grew from a small trading town into a major city.

Sara Coffey of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Hot Spots: Reinvent the Wheel
Bike -riding could be the answer to many of the world’s problems. It is far less expensive than buying, fixing, and fueling an automobile. When riding a bike, one is promoting a cleaner, more beautiful world. Bicycles do not release harmful gases into the atmosphere like cars do. Pollution in the air we breathe would soon be eliminated. Daily exercise, through bike riding, would provide humans with a chance to become healthier. Constant fresh air will be a dominating factor in a healthy lifestyle. This poster was designed to create awareness and suggest a solution to the problems associated with oil.

Anika Marya of American University in Dubai, Dubai, UAE
OVERPOWERED AND SCARRED
Hotspots – they are scars on the face of the Earth, and are created by our fervor to advance in technology and creation. It is only once we stop pointing fingers and view the matter from another perspective that we realize that indeed, we are at the root of this scarring. Our technological progression is so overpowering that it ends up extracting our natural resources to the extent of destroying them. Therefore, we need to take the first step to understand that it is us behind the scars, and that every new hotspot discovered almost creates a blemish on the Earth that is much more deep-seated than it seems.