Mayor Celebrates Artistic Talent in Pittsburgh

Leona Frankowski, who is the Art Education Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh’s Parks and Recreation Department, has been coordinating their Annual National Arts Program® Exhibit entitled ARTWorks since it began eighteen years ago. Le commented that, “the program continues to be highly valued by the Mayor’s Administration and by city employees. It is a rare opportunity to celebrate the creativity within our workforce.” As is tradition in Pittsburgh the Mayor, William Peduto, and the Director of Parks and Recreation, Jim Griffin, were both in attendance at the awards reception along with many other representatives including; Guy Costa, Chief of Operations, James Hill, Special Assistant to the Mayor, and Jamie Beechey, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation. They gathered at the April 4th event to honor all of the participating artists. It makes such an impact on the employees to know that their Mayor supports them not only at work, but honors their talents and interests outside of the workplace as well. The exhibit is also an opportunity to include family members in something really special each and every year.

As usual Le and the Parks and Recreation Department made sure the reception was an exceptional event. Not only were so many officials present but the ceremony had a Parisian theme highlighted by a twelve foot Eiffel Tower that was the backdrop for the presentation of awards. During the celebration guests were also invited to participate in an interactive large scale canvas project setup by Paint Monkey. Over 250 guests joined Mayor Peduto and came to enjoy the activities and to take in 147 amazing pieces of art that were on display!