August 11, 2013

Andy Warhol Bridge: KNIT THE BRIDGE

Pittsburgh’s Warhol Bridge set for ‘yarn bombing’

Andy Warhol Bridge: KNIT THE BRIDGE – PITTSBURGH — The Andy Warhol Bridge in Pittsburgh is set to close for nearly four days so volunteers can cover it with knitted blankets as part of an installation art “yarn bombing.”

The bridge, one of several connecting downtown with the city’s North Shore, will close from 6 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Monday. The Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh plans to use machine-knitted blankets to cover the bridge’s towering superstructure while individual blankets knitted by more than 1,200 volunteers will cover the bridge’s walkways.

The group plans to leave the blankets in place for several weeks, then wash the blankets so they can be distributed to homeless shelters, nursing homes and animal shelters.

Amanda Gross, the Pittsburgh artist leading the Knit-the-Bridge project, says, “The point is to knit stronger communities.”