The Endowments has a long-held belief in the power of high-quality arts, vibrant creativity-focused organizations, and well-designed and welcoming public spaces. A healthy arts and culture landscape reflects the richly diverse population that calls southwestern Pennsylvania home and brings with it a sense of community and belonging.
Our work in the arts and culture sector celebrates creative risks and spurs innovation with the aim of making our region indispensable to both emerging and established creatives. We are not afraid of supporting big artistic chances, understanding that they can spur innovation, robust conversation and increased arts-focused visits to the communities we serve.
We embrace the importance of reliable region-wide data in understanding how Pittsburgh and its surrounding communities value, engage and understand the arts.
We believe well designed, sustainable public spaces are critical to the long-term success of our region and provide not only inspiration and joy but also places to gather, share and learn.
The Endowments played an early role in the 1970s transformation of what is now known as Heinz Hall into the premier home of the internationally respected Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. From our mid-1980’s support of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which has been instrumental in transforming a then-struggling 14-block area of downtown into a thriving Cultural District to the upcoming Arts Landing outdoor performance space and arts-centered park, we have been honored to be a partner in bringing many of our region’s most beloved public spaces to life.
The arts cannot exist without artists, and the Endowments has a deep history of supporting artists and the arts organizations that serve them. We support individual artists through the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh and Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards initiatives, as well as through grants to art-centered collectives that foster and uplift our region’s creatives.
We welcome partners who share our three primary Arts & Culture priorities: innovative capacity building for creativity-focused organizations, audience-centered engagement, and supportive infrastructure for our region’s arts ecosystem.