Nanci Goldberg: Ketchup City Creative
As an art teacher for almost thirty-two years, Nanci Goldberg has a deep appreciation for art. A self-declared artist, Nanci has spent her whole life surrounded by art and became an art teacher to combine her passion for art with her strengths and skill sets. Spending over three decades in the Fox Chapel School District, outside of Pittsburgh, Nanci fostered a connection with the nearby community of Sharpsburg. In an effort to combine her love of art and community, Nanci opened Ketchup City Creative, also known as KCC, with her husband Christian Kahle in 2018.
Ketchup City Creative is a creative space for emerging and underserved artists and community members. Nanci and Christian created an environment that fosters continuous education and networking and offers opportunities to learn and grow from each other. KCC also offers classes, workshops, and lectures for artists and the community. Beyond helping artists as they build their careers, KCC also provides a space for those in the surrounding communities to gather and develop a sense of togetherness. By providing events for the local community, KCC serves as a community-building force, showing the important connection between art and community.
KCC was founded with community development in mind. The art space was opened on Main Street in a storefront that had been vacant for eight years. Nanci and Christian renovated the space while also staying true to the historical characteristics of the building, highlighting the original tin ceiling. By preserving the unique details of the building while updating the storefront for modern needs, Nanci provided a meeting place for locals that feels distinctly of this community but also contemporary enough to fulfill the community’s current needs and wants. One of those current needs is the revitalization of their business district.
The establishment of KCC in Sharpsburg gave this district a multipurpose art space that has become a destination for the community while also creating a direct economic and social impact on the people of Sharpsburg. Art shows, workshops, and other events at KCC draw people from other communities, providing education about the area and its history and promoting community involvement. As Nanci likes to say, art is place-making and place-keeping, meaning art is created by the experiences of a place and also informs the continued experience of that place. By creating KCC, Nanci is using art and community to revitalize Sharpsburg and support its people.
If you would like to learn more about Ketchup City Creative and check out any of their space and in-person events, click the link below!