Carnegie Museum of Art has presented its International since 1896—just a year after the first Venice Biennale. Inaugurated by museum founder, Andrew Carnegie, to inspire local audiences and artists, the exhibition was intended to position Pittsburgh as a center of not only industry but modern culture. The 57th iteration of the exhibition is organized by Ingrid Schaffner, a curatorial innovator—and Pittsburgh native—known for her intensely researched and widely accessible exhibitions.

The Guide imparts rich and varied information for traveling through the exhibition, the museum and the city of Pittsburgh through both fact and legend. A series of five commissioned travelogues opens the process of Schaffner's research for the exhibition as she embarked with her curatorial companions on journeys across the globe.