SUNSTAR Festival
KST Presents
EVENT DETAILS
Friday–Saturday, March 1 – March 2
See Times Below / Kelly Strayhorn Theater
5941 Penn Ave
“The annual celebration of the vast creative contributions of women in the arts, entrepreneurship and community has been busy making waves across and beyond East Liberty.” —Next Pittsburgh
10th Edition
The SUNSTAR Festival celebrates the power and diversity of women in art and creativity. SUNSTAR highlights independent women artists who offer inspiration and encouragement. With enlivening performances, and opportunities to make new friends, the festival has offered career development and coaching, community forums, and creative networking. Past programs have featured Grammy Award-winning group the Carolina Chocolate Drops, author Rebecca Walker, New York composer Samita Sinha, and local artists and leaders, Tania Grubbs, Staycee Pearl and Anqwenique Wingfield, among many others.
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REGISTER NOW!
Or click on the event links below for individual event registration. Passes and events are all “Pay What Makes You Happy!”
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SUNSTAR Breakfast :: Art of Creative Leadership – A Conversation
Friday, March 1,
9:00am – 11:00am / KST’s Alloy Studios
5530 Penn Ave
Join janera Solomon, Executive Director of Kelly Strayhorn Theater for inspiring breakfast conversation on the creative art of leadership, with Yvonne Campos, founder and President of the Next Act Fund, and Ingrid Schaffner, curator, 57th Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, as we share our leadership journeys — the challenges and the glory! Bridging Pittsburgh’s diverse creative sectors, SUNSTAR conversations create powerful and inspiring spaces for women to gather, share, connect and grow.
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SUNSTAR :: Invest in You – Making Ideas Happen with Leigh Solomon Pugliano
Friday, March 1,
1:30pm – 3:30pm / KST Alloy Studios / Kelly Strayhorn Theater
5530 Penn Ave
Join us for an intimate workshop with Leigh Solomon Pugliano, Director of Opportunity for New Sun Rising as she leads an interactive planning session that includes best practiced methods in business planning and current available resources. Leigh has helped to scale established social businesses, creative entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations. Leigh provides business development support through consulting and programs designed to help individuals, community projects, and organizations increase their impact and move towards sustainability. Additionally, Leigh leads the implementation of Vibrant Communities, the organization’s framework for regenerative community development built upon equity, entrepreneurship, and place. Core Vibrant Community strategies include culture, sustainability, and opportunity, created through planning, resources, and connectivity, in order to create an authentic community identity that directs comprehensive strategies for change.
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Amanda Johnston :: Empathy in Craft Workshop
Saturday, March 2,
1:30pm – 4:00pm / KST’s Alloy Studios
5530 Penn Ave
Poet and performer Amanda Johnston offers an interactive workshop that invites everyone to discover the power of writing as a tool for empathy in their craft. Johnston explores successful examples—and some that fall short—of writing about, and through, public tragedies. Open to creatives of all disciplines, participants generate new writing and to share with others in active dialogue. Johnston’s methodology provides room for improvisation, breathing, and more. Named one of Blavity’s “13 Black Poets You Should Know,” Johnston is a co-founder of Black Poets Speak Out, and Founder/Executive Director of Torch Literary Arts.
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Charenée Wade :: Music of Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
Saturday, March 2,
8:00pm / Kelly Strayhorn Theater
5941 Penn Ave
Presented in Partnership with Kente Arts Alliance
New York based, award-winning, vocalist and educator Charenée Wadepays tribute to renowned poet and artist Gil Scott-Heron with “Offering,” the first full-length album tribute to Scott-Heron and his musical collaborator Brian Jackson. Produced by Grammy-nominated music industry veteran and Sirius XM personality Mark Ruffin, the recording features notable guest stars and is arresting in just how timely Scott-Heron’s messages are today. Wade made a name for herself as runner-up to Cecilé McLorin Salvant in the 2010 Thelonious Monk competition, demonstrating a vocal capability that made her the perfect candidate to deliver Scott-Heron’s music from the female perspective.
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