Welcome to the Penn Avenue Arts & Commercial District – a thriving hub for Pittsburgh businesses and creative types – where you can experience shopping, dining, and art right in the heart of the East End. Penn Avenue is a commercial zipper connecting Garfield, Friendship, Bloomfield, and Lawrenceville; these neighborhoods come together to create a vibrant community along the avenue.

The Penn Avenue Arts Initiative was created in 1998 (as a joint strategy of Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation and Friendship Development Associates) to support artists in the renovation of blighted, formerly vacant buildings – and, in turn, help create an artist niche along the corridor (4800-5500 Penn Ave.).

Join us for “Unblurred: First Fridays” on Penn, Pittsburgh’s longest-running art crawl, held monthly along Penn Avenue’s 4800-5500 blocks. Since 1998, this free event has drawn people from across the region to enjoy a dynamic mix of art, dance, music, shopping, and dining. 

This is a cultural event where galleries open their doors to showcase a variety of artwork and performances across a wide range of mediums. Guests can take in new art forms and meet an eclectic array of makers – old and young, modern and classical, famous and amateur, emerging and veteran – exhibiting their work within walking distance.

The evening brings people of all backgrounds together to socialize, mingle, and enjoy the art & entertainment around them. Unblurred is not your ordinary gallery crawl. Visitors get a chance to not only discover local artists, but also witness new works being created, firsthand, and speak to the artists onsite. What started as an attempt to revitalize Penn Avenue between Negley and Mathilda has become one of the city’s hottest cultural events.

GARFIELD NIGHT MARKET

Since 2013, the Garfield Night Market has provided a opportunity for local makers to participate in the Unblurred gallery crawl.