This year, our Squonk in the Neighborhood program included the debut performance of Brouhaha as well as the final local performances of Hand to Hand. Our outreach also included hands-on STEAM workshops, backstage tours, and interactive play with our 25-foot inflatable hands. All right here in our hometown of Pittsburgh.
9 neighborhoods
8 community partners
24 events
15,000 kids and adults
Brouhaha Photo: Heather Mull
Workshops and Events
Through our workshops and events, we reached the following Pittsburgh area neighborhoods:
Downtown
Garfield
Lawrenceville
New Kensington
North Shore
Sharpsburg
Vandergrift
Wilkingsburg
Wilmerding
We composed the music for Brouhaha in a studio at Westinghouse Arts Academy in Wilmerding, sharing our process with the students.
Photos: Susan Wallace
And we brought our giant purple hands to the neighborhood during Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Open Air event at the school.
We brought our mixed media workshop to a camp for self-identifying girls, as well as trans and non-binary people, in 4th-8th grades through our continuing relationship with Assemble in Garfield.
Squonk's ongoing partnerships with Wilkinsburg organizations expanded to include the wonderful kids at the out-of-school program at Ethnan Temple Church, a relationship we hope to develop into the future.
“The OpenStreetsPGH team always looks forward to working with SQUONK. Guests are continuously in awe of the creativity and scale of SQUONK’s art, as well as the friendliness of their team. We especially love to see the interactions between the SQUONK team and the children at our event. You can see the positive impact it has on the kids, not only as a catalyst to their imagination and creativity, but also as an educational piece of engineering. SQUONK is a true asset to our event and to the community at large.”
“I just wanted to thank you for everything! My daughter absolutely loved it! She’s been talking about it the last few days so I just wanted you to know you make such a difference. Your patience and kindness is beyond appreciated.”
Brouhaha
For Brouhaha, our collaborative process benefited from the addition of new BIPOC and non-binary voices, and we were thrilled to employ dozens of Pittsburgh artists, technicians, and musicians in the adventure that is DIY ensemble creation. Deep in an abandoned Alcoa test mill with 35-foot ceilings, we started building everything for the new production from scratch. And after working with our team for most of a year, we invited the public to come see our messy, joyous process. It was a festive and noisy Brouhaha!
Photo: Susan Wallace
We also took up the challenge to unite diverse citizens into communities of the imagination by inviting them to play music with us on the Squonkcordion, our giant foghorn organ. Many voices, one song!
Brouhaha is even more immersive and participatory, so we had new free programming to offer our many local community partners.
Brouhaha Photo: David S. Rubin
“It is always great to see what their creative minds come up with, and it is awesome that the audience gets to try out the giant bellows themselves!”
Brouhaha debuted over Labor Day weekend at Acrisure Field Kickoff and Rib Festival with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Through this new show, we will continue to break down cultural, economic, and geographic barriers by delivering free engagements that welcome children and non-traditional arts audiences and create a vibrant public life.
Brouhaha Photo: David S. Rubin
“The venerable, Pittsburgh-based art-rock group with a penchant for wacky humor and custom-built, mechanical props debuts its new show this weekend. Still, like all Squonk shows over the past three decades, “Brouhaha” will feel tactile and handmade. The scissor lifts, for instance, are cranked by hand. And audience members, with guidance from Squonk, will really get to play along with the band.”
““Once again, the show was fantastic and
delightful! Thank you for bringing your creativity and wonder back to TRAF. Can’t wait to see what yinz cook up next!”
“It was the greatest show I’ve seen in
a long time.”
Brouhaha Photo: David S. Rubin
