a Party for Barbara

a Party for Barbara
Thursday, September 13, 2018
6 - 10pm
Mattress Factory
500 Sampsonia Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Tickets to the event are a "Pay What You Will" model and will be available at the door. 

Barbara Luderowski said that what she desired most was a community.

In 1975, she purchased the abandoned Stearns & Foster mattress warehouse at 500 Sampsonia Way. A sculptor herself, she hoped to create a place for creative and intellectual exchange. Over four decades under Barbara's leadership, the museum purchased and rehabilitated nine dilapidated buildings, converting them into artist residences, gallery spaces, administrative offices, an education studio, garden and museum parking lot. The museum's presence on the North Side – Barbara's presence – changed the neighborhood, and changed Pittsburgh. The Mattress Factory stands tall as a leading example of artistic force and creative output, as a champion of artists and a pioneer of installation art. The Mattress Factory has supported over 750 artists from all around the world, and impacts the lives of over 100,000 visitors and 30,000 children annually.

Barbara created her community, and you are a part of it.

We welcome you to celebrate Barbara's life's work with us on September 13, 2018 from 6-10pm at the Mattress Factory. There will be friends, food, drinks, entertainment, and of course, drag queens. Please join us as we raise a glass to Barbara's life and legacy!

Tickets

"I don't want any gooey, sentimental memorial service. I want some huge celebration as a fund-raiser for the Mattress Factory with a big ticket. It will be for my friends and my enemies, who will like to celebrate my termination."

- Barbara Luderowski, "The house that moxie built: Barbara Luderowski and her Mattress Factory," Cristina Rouvalis, Post-Gazette, 2002.

Tickets to the event are a "Pay What You Will" model and will be available at the door. 

Legacy

If you are unable to attend the event and would like to make a gift in honor of Barbara Luderowski, you may make a donation online, mail a check addressed to the Mattress Factory, or contact Caitlin Harpster, Director of Development, at caitlin@mattress.org or 412.231.3169.