User:Claudinezapfriedberg/sandbox

Carolla Zap (August 12, 1973-July 3, 2004) was an abstract artist who lived and worked in Pittsburgh, PA. Carolla was educated at Walden New Lincoln High School in Manhattan, and lived in walking distance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She then attended Carnegie Mellon University from 1990-1994.

Carolla met fellow artist Andi Irwin in 1988 while in high school, and the two began to collaborate artistically. The two continued their art partnership as undergraduate art majors at Carnegie Mellon.

While in school, the two started a nonprofit, The Alternative Art Space, from 1991-1993, which was partially funded by a SURG Grant from Carnegie Mellon.

After college, the two artists and designers co-founded the Blue Rider Design Studio in Pittsburgh's Strip District, and focused on fusing art, technology and business. The two were recognized for being young entrepreneurs in the steel town. They won the 2000 Pennsylvania Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award from the Small Business Administration, and MTV interviewed them for its "E-Tour" show. They ran Blue Rider from 1998-2002.

Personal
Carolla was an avid motorcycle rider. In the early 1990s, she rode across country to visit her sister, Claudine Zap, a journalist who lives in San Francisco. Carolla recounted her adventure for the podcast B-Side.