The following information is excerpted from The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Overview Brochure
(posted @ http://issuu.com/culturaltrust/docs/cultural_trust_overview )
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Its mission is the development and promotion of the downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District.
• Arts activity in the Cultural District led by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has an annual economic impact of $250 million.
A Bold Idea
In 1984 the pioneering visionary HJ “Jack” Heinz II and his “Band of Dreamers” introduced a bold idea: to transform a seedy, downtrodden 14-block section of downtown into a Cultural District. Jack Heinz took a critical first step towards realizing this noble vision by establishing the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The Cultural Trust would serve as the driving catalyst behind the Cultural District’s creation and ongoing development. The vision for a world-class destination for arts and entertainment in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh continues to take shape in exciting creative ways through the dedication, hard work and curatorial style of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “My father in law and his ‘Band of Dreamers’ unleashed a great idea, and we, as a community, must have the wisdom to understand it and the courage to see it through. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is our assurance that despite all of our successes in the Cultural District, we will continue to see it through as if the dream had just been unleashed.”
Teresa Heinz, Chairman, The Heinz Endowments
• The Cultural District attracts more than 2,000,000 people downtown annually.
Performing Arts Presenter
Presenting programming that is diverse balanced and of the highest quality is central to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s mission. To attract the broadest audiences the Cultural Trust presents an exceptional variety of performing arts and entertainment in the Cultural District, including the best of Broadway, contemporary dance, music, comedy, musical theater, family friendly and ethnic programs, arts festivals and everything in between. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents more than 1,500 events and programs annually in the Cultural District.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Presents:
• PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh Dance Council
• Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Series
• Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater & Festival
• Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
• High Mark First Night Pittsburgh
• Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District
• Wednesday Wine Flights
• Craft Beer School
• CD Live!
• BNY Mellon Jazz Presents JazzLive
• Pittsburgh Festival of Lights
• Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival
• Trust Guest Attractions
• Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts
• Cultural Festivals
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Owns and Operates:
• Agnes R. Katz Plaza
• Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
• Harris Theater
• O’Reilly Theater
• Trust Arts Education Center
• Theater Square:
• Cabaret at Theater Square
• Cultural District Box Office
• Carolyn M. Byham WQED fm89.3 Studio
• Parking Garage
• Backstage Bar
• Meat and Potatoes Gastropub
Curating an Arts Neighborhood
“What’s unique and exciting about our Cultural Trust is that it’s really a design district as much as it is a performing arts destination. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust sets the stage for civic design excellence.”
Renee Piechocki, Director of Public Art, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council & City of Pittsburgh The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has cleared a critical path for a visually exciting urban arts neighborhood in downtown Pittsburgh. With curatorial prowess, the Cultural Trust demands the highest quality for visual arts galleries, public art, urban design and amenities of distinction throughout the Cultural District.
Founding President and CEO Carol R. Brown explains that “What has distinguished the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust from the beginning is our holistic approach in the Cultural District, focusing not only on performing arts facilities and programming, but also enhancing streetscapes and architecture, and by incorporating art galleries, public parks and plazas. The goal was to create a downtown Pittsburgh neighborhood that was eminently attractive and inviting.” The Cultural Trust’s stewardship has led to the creation and cultivation of a downtown Pittsburgh arts scene by opening art galleries and public spaces that presents bold directions in contemporary art.
Making the Arts Accessible
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust provides a welcoming platform for people of all ages and interests to explore the arts. From student matinees and master classes with visiting artists to performing artists and visual arts workshops and classes, the Cultural Trust creates opportunities for the artist in everyone. The Cultural Trust reaches and serves more than 110,000 students, educators and community members in Western Pennsylvania each year.
Local Arts Cultivator and Collaborator
The Cultural Trust sets the stage for performing resident arts companies, small arts organizations and individual performance and visual artists by providing its Cultural District theaters, galleries and art spaces at highly subsidized rates. The Cultural Trust supports more than 900 area artists and arts organizations by providing performance space at highly subsidized rates, promoting Cultural District performances and building local audiences. Collaboration is increasingly important for sustaining the arts. Since 2000, the Cultural Trust has pioneered Shared Services, a consortium of Cultural District arts organizations:
• August Wilson Center for African American Culture,
• Pittsburgh Ballet Theater,
• Pittsburgh CLO,
• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust,
• Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Shared Services facilitates the collective sourcing of goods and services and promotion of the Cultural District. Long term cost savings allow these organizations to direct more financial resources toward artistic endeavors. Since its inception, Shared Services cumulative savings have exceeded $8.6 Million.
Building Upon a Vision
Managing more than one million square feet of real estate, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is one of downtown’s leading landowners. Unique to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s mission is its catalytic role as a downtown real estate developer. Guided by a holistic vision to transform a blighted 14 block section of downtown Pittsburgh, the Cultural Trust resolutely acquires and restores historic theaters, purchases commercial and residential properties and has built new facilities in the Cultural District, paving the way for private developers to leverage opportunities in downtown Pittsburgh.
The Cultural Trust’s real estate successes have led to other key developments, including a resurgence of downtown living options, the renovation of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the expansion of Point Park University and the development of riverfront property along the North Shore.
“Had it not been for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Rugby Realty never would have invested in the Cultural District. The Cultural Trust’s success as a real estate developer was a critical path to what you see today downtown, and that is why Rugby Realty is bullish on the Cultural District.”
Aaron D. Stauber, Esq., Principal and President, Rugby Realty Co, Inc.
Sustain the Cultural District
Since it was established in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has consistently managed a balanced operating budget through the strictest adherence to fiducially sound business practices.
Support the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
The Cultural Trust is grateful to the foundations, corporations, volunteers and thousands of individuals whose contributions make everything the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust does in the Cultural District possible. Your support directly helps to create and maintain a world-class destination for arts and entertainment and elevates Pittsburgh’s quality of life. There are many ways to be part of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District:
• Become a member of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Volunteer in the Cultural District
• Subscribe to a Performance Series
• Patronize Cultural District Events Visit TrustArts.org/Support or call 412-456-6666 for more information. Thank you.