NEW CASTLE Art institute to showcase Depression-era program

A beer tasting and band will be part of the festivities.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts will present the exhibit "WPA: Reminiscing America," Aug. 1 through Sept. 22.
Collections of posters, prints and paintings serve as examples of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's mass work-relief program known simply as the WPA, which stands for Works Progress Administration. Begun in 1935, the WPA employed thousands of jobless individuals through the Great Depression to not only build bridges, roads, dams and walls for the public good, but to improve quality of life with education, gardens, art and music.
Evidence of these projects can be readily seen in the Youngstown-New Castle area.
The Hoyt exhibit, however, focuses on the artists employed to promote and record democratic American values in print, on canvas, and the walls of public buildings.
On display
Thirty-two posters from the U.S. Library of Congress served as the basis of building the exhibit. While some two million were produced, only about 2,500 survived. They represent a variety of New Deal topics including public health, minority cultures, education, wildlife preservation, public housing, safety and more. What united them is the underlying idea of responsibility for one's self and others, a genuine understanding of ethnic minorities, and the dignity of blue collar labor.
It is the blue collar that sets the tone for the preview party at 7 p.m. Saturday.
"I always remember stories of my grandfather taking a shot and a beer after work on payday," said Executive Director Kimberly Koller-Jones. "We couldn't celebrate the WPA without a shot and a beer."
Great Lakes Brewing Co. of Cleveland will provide a beer tasting featuring six varieties. A cash bar for shots and cocktails will also be on site, as well as coffee and food.
Pittsburgh's critically-acclaimed Jumboland will provide a mix of Chicago blues, Memphis soul, storefront church gospel and traditional country music.
The exhibit also features a collection of hand-pulled prints from the Cleveland Public Library and paintings from the Steidle Collection at Penn State University's Earth, Mineral & amp; Sciences Museum. "These are important because, outside of New York City, Cleveland and Pittsburgh were two of the largest centers of WPA artistic production in the country," said Koller-Jones.
Tickets for the preview party are $55 and $45 for current Hoyt members. To purchase, call the Hoyt at (724) 652-2882.