When you step onto Shore Thing, you’re not just walking onto industrial steel: you’re walking on a work of art.
Spanning three of the barge sections beneath your feet, A New Wave is the signature mural of Riverlife’s new floating platform. It’s bright, bold, and joyful—just like the artist who created it: Janel Young.
Movement, Color, and Connection
Painted in Janel’s signature geometric style, A New Wave brings a vibrant energy to the riverfront. The mural echoes the motion of the water and the spirit of the people who gather along it. It’s a visual thread that ties together Shore Thing’s entire playful identity.
The artwork also connects with the platform’s 2025 theme: Pittsburgh to the Pacific: a nod to our city’s far-reaching influence and the diverse stories that converge at the water’s edge.
Janel’s work is never just decorative. Her murals are bold statements of belonging, joy, and shared experience. A New Wave brings that spirit to the surface.
Meet the Artist: Janel Young
Janel Young is a Pittsburgh native, now splitting her time between her hometown and Chicago. Her work has appeared everywhere from the U.S. Open to the coast of Australia, and now, it floats in the heart of the Sister Bridges.
Before becoming a full-time artist, Janel studied marketing at Penn State and worked in New York City as a digital content strategist. But art kept calling. In 2019, she returned to Pittsburgh to install her first mural on a basketball court in Beltzhoover—a project that led the City to declare October 23rd “Janel Young Day.”
Since then, her portfolio has exploded:
- Pathway to Joy, the largest street mural in downtown Pittsburgh
- Heroes on the Horizon, a 3D mural at Bakery Square
- Second and Seven, a 3,500 sq. ft. mural in Chicago honoring Representative Danny Davis
- Artist-in-residence roles with UrbanKind and the Westmoreland Museum
- Two separate Pittsburgh city proclamations in her honor
Janel’s work blends color, culture, and community. It’s art with intention, and it makes spaces feel alive.
A river canvas
Painting on floating barges comes with its own set of challenges. The surface shifts, the weather matters (the weather matters a lot), and the canvas moves with the current. But all of that feels right at home in A New Wave.
The mural reflects the energy of the Allegheny River and the rhythms of public space. It was designed to move, to brighten, and to welcome.
And here’s the best part: it’s meant to be walked on. Danced on. Sat on. Lived with. It’s art that’s woven into the experience of Shore Thing: not just something to look at, but something to be part of.
See it for yourself
A New Wave is on view all season long at Riverlife’s Shore Thing—and you don’t even have to set foot on the platform to catch a glimpse. The mural is visible from the Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol Sister Bridges, a signal that something unexpected and full of joy is happening on the river.
Come down to Allegheny Landing and see how art, public space, and Pittsburgh’s riverfronts are flowing in a bold new direction.
You’ll feel it the moment you step aboard.
This project was supported in part by the Fine Foundation.
