Program areas at Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Facilities management & real estate development: through public and private partnerships, a critical mission of The Trust is to transform downtown Pittsburgh. What was once a downtrodden area lined with noxious establishments is now a dynamic 14-block hub for arts, entertainment, business & urban living. The Trust steadily upgrades The district's physical look, feel & experience through projects such as improving streetscapes, building restoration, and establishing public parks and plazas, as well as outdoor art space. This mission was never more important than during The pandemic when The Trust's management, maintenance and support of over 1,300,000 square feet of property, such as: The benedum center; byham, o'reilly, & harris theaters; theater square; and arts education center among other downtown galleries & properties preserved, maintained and made public health and safety enhancements to these venues in anticipation of The public's return to these magnificient regional assets. As a result of The covid-19 pandemic, venue programming from all users of these facilities was impacted significantly affecting rental revenue, ticket sales and bringing The overall revenue down. Maintenance of all The facilities in addition to costs associated with The provision of shared services to resident companies were incurred without corresponding revenue.
Education, community outreach & arts services: The Trust offers a range of educational events & activities for students, educators & underserved populations of all ages & backgrounds to develop diverse & vibrant arts audiences for The future. Annually, The Trust serves over 100,000 students, educators & community members in western Pennsylvania & supports more than 1,000 area artists & arts organizations. During The pandemic, The Trust's marketing and technology teams developed virtual art market place and virtual content to continue its educational purpose. That allowed The Trust to reach its audience and deliver The programming even during The pandemic. The Trust is also a world leader in arts collaboration among performing arts organizations. Through its shared services department, The Trust increases efficiencies and decreases costs for six Cultural district organizations. Further, The Trust helps arts organizations with highly subsidized rates for performances/office space, allowing them to invest more Resources into their core artistic missions. This work continued throughout The pandemic.
Presenting and programming: The Trust brings The world's finest performances and visual arts to western pa. each year, over 1,700 events, programs & exhibitions occur in Trust facilities & throughout The Cultural district, attracting over two million visitors. The Trust presents & supports diverse performing art, including pnc broadway across america - Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh dance council, Trust presents, Pittsburgh international children's theater & festival, first night, and three rivers arts festival among others. As a result of covid and state closure mandates, The Trust continued to present and connect The public to The arts through digital medium. The free programming exposed The arts to many first time visitors. The Trust's ability to pivot to virtual programming was critically important to The health, well-being and education of The region's citizenry.the Trust is also a proud exhibitor of cutting-edge art & The creator of contemporary art galleries: wood street galleries, space; 707 penn; The lantern gallery, and carnegie mellon university's student-run future tenant. While many of these venues were shuttered during The year, The team turned its focus to limited digital programming and future artistic planning.