112th Annual Exhibition: Near Here

The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh 112th Annual Exhibition: Near Here opens on September 11, 2026 at the Media Art Gallery at Robert Morris University. The exhibition spans a network of university galleries throughout Western Pennsylvania in the cultural orbit of Pittsburgh: the Media Arts Gallery at Robert Morris University, the Martha Gault Gallery at Slippery Rock University, the Kipp Gallery at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the Harlan and Jodee Harris Galleries at Seton Hill University. 

Juried and curated by Allison Lacher, the 112th Annual has a theme of nearness and invites viewers to consider what it means to be near and the conditions through which nearness is formed. With this theme, all 4 locations have a throughline connecting one to another, making a multi-show exhibition feel as a whole. As it is one, each location also holds its own theme as part of nearness; Reach:  Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Hold: Robert Morris University, Suspend: Slippery Rock University, and Return: Seton Hill.

Artists:
Young Ah Ahn, Theresa Antonellis, Pati Beachley, Maggie Bjorklund, Christopher Boring, Lauren Braun, Bill Brunken, Deanna Chilian, Brian Cohen, Marcia Comer, Kathleen DePasse, Catherine Drabkin, Norman Ed, April Friges, Henry Winslow Hallett, Lori Hepner, Lisa Marie Jakab, Alejandro Jimenez, Joel Kranich, R. M. Lange, Scott Lanway, Kristen Letts Kovak, Cara Livorio, James Louks, Branda C. Maholtz, Katherine J. McLean, Dennis P. Moran, Brent Nakamoto, James Parlin, Robert Raczka, Michele Randall, Paul Rosenblatt, Michele Rothert, Sara Jean Ruiz, Nick Sardo, Samira Shaheen, Carol Skinger, Gregory Smith, Carrie Smith Libman, Kara Snyder, John Tronsor, Scott Turri, Gerald Van Scyoc, Mark E. Weleski, and Bradley Weyandt

Artist at Media Arts Gallery, Robert Morris University:
Pati Beachley, Lauren Braun, Lori Hepner, Alejandro Jimenez, Scott Lanway, Brent Nakamoto, James Parlin, Michele Randall, Sara Jean Ruiz, Carrie Smith Libman, and Mark E. Weleski

Artists at Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania:
Christopher Boring, Brian Cohen, Marcia Comer, Kathleen Depasse, Norman Ed, R. M. Lange, Cara Livorio, Samira Shaheen, and Henry Winslow Hallett

Artist at Martha Gault Gallery, Slippery Rock University:
Maggie Bjorklund, Christopher Boring, Bill Brunken, Deanna Chilian, April Friges, Lias Marie Jakab, Kristen Letts Kovak, Robert Raczka, Nick Sardo, John Tronsor, Scott Turri, Gerald Van Scyoc, and Bradley Weyandt

Harlan and Jodee Harris Galleries, Seton Hill University:
Young Ah Ahn, Theresa Antonellis, Lauren Braun, Bill Brunken, Catherine Drabkin, Lori Hepner, Joel Kranich, James Louks, Branda C. Maholtz, Katherine J. McLean, Dennis P. Moran, Robert Raczka, Paul Rosenblatt, Michele Rothert, Carol Skinger, Gregory Smith, Kara Snyder, John Tronsor, and Scott Turri

Exhibition Dates

Programming

  • Opening Reception
    Friday, September 11, 5-8pm
    Media Arts Gallery, Robert Morris University

  • Artist panel
    Saturday, September 26, 12-4pm
    Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

  • Juror Tour
    Saturday, October 24, 12-4pm
    Martha Gault Gallery, Slippery Rock University

  • Closing Reception
    Friday, November 21, 6-9pm
    Harlan and Jodee Harris Galleries, Seton Hill University

Locations

Media Arts Gallery, Robert Morris University
410 Pennsylvania Ave, Moon Township, PA 15108
Located in the Wheatley Center

 

Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
470 South 11th Street, Indiana, PA 15705-1044
Located in Sprowls Hall

 

Martha Gault Gallery, Slippery Rock University
108 Maltby Ave, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Located in Maltby Center

 

Harlan and Jodee Harris Galleries
201 W Otterman St, Greensburg, PA 15601
Located in the Seton Hill Art Center

 

Meet the Juror: Allison Lacher

Allison Lacher is a curator, visual artist, and arts administrator whose work operates across institutional and independent contexts. She serves as Director of the Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield, where she leads a contemporary art program committed to ambitious, artist-centered exhibitions and public engagement. She is also Co-Director of STNDRD Exhibitions, an independent platform for site-responsive contemporary art that invites artists to approach architecture, industrial history, and surrounding landscapes as conditions that guide new work.

Lacher has curated exhibitions and public projects with institutions and organizations that include the Illinois State Museum, Chicago Artists Coalition, Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, and Kidzeum: Children’s Museum of Health and Science. She co-organized three iterations of the Terrain Biennial: Outpost at Enos Park, a dispersed public art exhibition presenting site-specific work across homes, yards, and public spaces throughout Springfield’s historic Lincoln-era Enos Park neighborhood. A longstanding commitment to artist-run and alternative exhibition models is reflected in her role as co-founder of DEMO Project and Monaco, both artist-led exhibition platforms, as well as her continued investment in collaborative and experimental exhibition frameworks.

As an artist, Lacher’s work has been exhibited nationally in museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces. She is a two-time recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award and has been awarded residencies with Ox-Bow, Vermont Studio Center, ACRE, Signal Fire, the Ellis Beauregard Foundation, The Luminary, and Pedantic Arts Residency in her hometown of Pittsburgh. She has been a visiting artist and curator at institutions that include the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis. Her work and curatorial projects have been featured in Newcity Art, New Art Examiner, Sixty Inches from Center, NPR Illinois, and From Here to There (Princeton Architectural Press). She holds an MFA from Indiana University.

ABOUT THE ANNUAL EXHIBITION

The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Annual Exhibition is one of the nation's longest-running juried exhibitions. Established to celebrate and highlight the diverse creative talents within the region, the first Annual Exhibition opened in 1910 at the Grand Old Opera House in downtown Pittsburgh. Over the years, the Annual has been hosted at esteemed art institutions such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Moreover, throughout its history, the Annual Exhibition has showcased numerous Pittsburgh artists who have achieved both national and international acclaim, including Mary Cassatt, Henry Osawa Tanner, Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Mel Bochner, Henry Koerner, Aaronel deRoy Gruber, and Thaddeus Mosley. The Annual Exhibition is a juried show that welcomes artists over the age of 18 residing in or maintaining a studio within a 150-mile radius of Pittsburgh.

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