Creativity

16 groups are the first Pittsburgh’s Cultural Treasures honorees 

A full-length ballet set to traditional African music. A comic about Pittsburgh’s “Black Golden Age cartoonists.” A woodworking studio. These are just some of the efforts being supported by the latest series of Advancing Black

Includes operating, planning and individual artist support

Over the past year we’ve witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic transform the usual bustling streets of the Cultural District into vacant theaters and galleries. But thanks to several pivotal Downtown performing arts organizations, the Cultural District

Public art has become a way for artists to showcase their talents and for Pittsburghers to feel more connected to the city around them. Over the years, there have been more calls for artists to

The Heinz Endowments recently announced the launch of Pittsburgh’s Cultural Treasures, the southwestern Pennsylvania program that is part of America’s Cultural Treasures, a national initiative by the Ford Foundation to boost support to arts groups

Pittsburgh is among seven U.S. metropolitan areas set to get a multimillion-dollar infusion to support arts and cultural groups that represent people of color.

Program part of national initiative to promote diverse arts and culture organizations 

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is distributing $2.74 billion to 286 organizations deemed impactful in addressing historic inequities, and Pittsburgh is set to receive a $2 million piece of that pie.

At least two Pittsburgh organizations are on the list of nearly 300 getting billions from MacKenzie Scott.

The Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative has a new high-profile patron and $2 million to spend on its mission of supporting Black artists and creating a more vibrant cultural life in the region.

The Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative is on a list of nearly 300 organizations that will receive part of $2.74 billion in funding from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist wrote in a blog post

The Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh initiative – a joint program of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments – will receive $2 million in the latest round of grants by novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie

The portrayal of Black bodies on the news often has been connected to violence and death, but a Highland Park-based artist is trying to change that.

The August Wilson House announced Friday that Syd Rushing of San Marcos, Texas, has been chosen as its first Visiting Playwright Fellow.

Last week, Heinz Endowments approved almost $10 million to help development programs in the Pittsburgh area, and $3 million will go to reopening art venues.

Dogtown Dance Theatre, like most performing arts organizations and venues, shut its doors during March 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been an extremely challenging year, maneuvering through new restrictions and government

The Ohio County Public Library’s weekly Lunch with Books Livestream will feature Cameron Barnett as part of the Wheeling Poetry Series.

Middle school is a tough gig — just ask singer/songwriter Jill Sobule.

Six years ago, Shikeith Cathey, a Phil­a­del­phia-born art­ist, wanted to make a film and do his first solo ex­hi­bi­tion of pho­to­graphs.

37 organizations receive $5.75 million in arts and creative learning funding

The Heinz Endowments has awarded $5.75 million in funding to 37 arts organizations in Pittsburgh.

For months, Pearlann Porter had been mulling over an idea for a new dance piece for her company, The Pillow Project. Then the pandemic hit, and live performances came to a halt. She thought this one

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a joint program of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, has awarded $456,000 to individual artists and art programs for the initiative’s 2020 grant-making cycle. 

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a joint venture of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments,  awarded $456,000 to Pittsburgh artists and programs, including 79 grants of $500 each to ensure that all artist applicants

Kyle Holbrook has been creating and coordinating large-scale public murals in Pittsburgh for two decades. He’s done them around the U.S. and around the world. But seldom has the area native’s work seemed more visible

Drivers on Westmoreland County highways are encouraged to take their eyes off the road — carefully — to look for new billboards offering messages of hope and healing.

The Heinz Endowments will share in $35 million that the Ford Foundation is distributing to 10 regional foundations nationwide to help sustain Black, Latino, Asian and other minority arts and cultural groups that have seen

“America’s Cultural Treasures” initiative will provide multi-year grants to sustain vital organizations in the face of COVID-19 pandemic

As Janet Sarbaugh walked through the vacant Upper Lawrenceville building last year, she, too, was struck by its potential. Before it was vacated, the white, plain, low-slung building housed a manufacturer of trophies and plaques.

A new grant-maker wants to help arts-and-culture groups in the region not simply survive the coronavirus pandemic, but emerge from it stronger, more diverse, and more equitable.

In response to the ongoing impacts of the covid-19 pandemic, a group of 15 foundations and a private Pittsburgh-area donor have announced the Arts|Equity|Reimagined Fundto help regional arts and cultural organizations weather the effects of

In a time when live performances have been put on hold or moved online, Pearlann Porter of The Pillow Project realized her modern dance company could still bring one work to the public — Thought

Rachel Mica Weiss, a willowy woman wearing a black mask and purple gloves, rubs sandpaper across a dramatically curved sculpture that resembles an undulating bed. Her strokes soften the shades of pink, black, orange and

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council is accepting applications for funds to support artists of color affected by the covid-19 epidemic.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council announced it received $50,000 for its Emergency Fund for Artists via contributions from The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowments and The Opportunity Fund.

Awards include $100,000 for emergency relief, COVID-related projects

More than 50 Western Pennsylvania arts groups already reeling from COVID-19 revenue losses have received another financial blow: They will not receive new state grants or be reimbursed for money they already spent for grants

A belly dancer, a guitarist and a puppeteer are among 285 Western Pennsylvania artists who have received $500 emergency relief funds from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. 

In late summer of 1606, one of the liveliest theater seasons London, England, had known was abruptly shut down by the sudden onset of bubonic plague. When public entertainments were allowed to resume almost two

The furnaces at Pittsburgh Glass Center have gone cold. It’s a small but poignant metaphor for an arts scene in almost complete shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

A key element that has long been missing from the grand spaces of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center is coming in the fall.

The day she became CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Janis Burley Wilson walked through the Downtown Pittsburgh building’s reflective glass doors to find its interior completely empty.

The Heinz Endowments has announced the first cohort of grant recipients for its new Just Arts program, an initiative that supports artists, organizations and communities who use the arts “to respond to social issues affecting

County highways will take on a new look this fall as the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition’s Diversity Billboard Art Project begins to blossom.

Endowments’ Just Arts program will distribute grants to artists, communities, organizations for art that responds to critical social challenges, injustices

With the belief that art can affect change, The Heinz Endowments announced the first group of grant recipients for its new Just Arts Program on Thursday, awarding $434,750 to artists across the Pittsburgh area whose

The Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards stands out from the crowd by celebrating not just institutions and organizations that support the arts, but the individual artists. 

For the first time since their revival, in 2012, the Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards have gone to a pair of artists whose medium is words.

Two local writers with insightful worldviews are being recognized for their literary contributions. Adriana Ramirez and Cameron Barnett are the winners of this year’s Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards.

M.J. Farkas credits the Industrial Arts Co-op with changing his life. Growing up poor in Appalachia, he welded old cars out of necessity, never thinking it could turn into a career.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 11, 2019 –Pittsburgh-based writers – Adriana Ramirez, an acclaimed Mexican-Colombian literary artist with a national reputation for slam poetry and nonfiction writing, and Cameron Barnett, an African American poet and educator whose work

Julie Sokolow first encountered writer and activist Mark Baumer the way most people who’d heard of him did: through the quirky online videos he posted of his quest to walk barefoot across America to fight

Mark Baumer was a sensitive soul — with very tough soles.

Thinking outside the box is what artists do, but a growing trend in public art is to have regular folks think with them. Art as an agent of social change takes the studio to the

The words “There Are Black People in the Future” was blazoned on a rooftop billboard in East Liberty last year, confusing and even offending some. 

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, a joint program of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, has awarded $388,000 to individual artists and art programs for the initiative’s fall 2019 grantmaking cycle.

Today is a big day for Style Week Pittsburgh (SWP). First, after a one-year hiatus, the event returns for its sixth year tonight, with festivities beginning at 6 p.m. at the Indigo Hotel. Influencers in fashion,

Local artist Ricardo Iamuuri Robinson will work to give veterans a voice with a new public art residency. 

A local foundation is sharpening its focus on promoting art that addresses social issues.

The Heinz Endowments will offer grants ranging from $1,000 to $150,000 to artists who create work that reflects social challenges and incidents of injustice in the Pittsburgh region.

The Heinz Endowments is launching a grant-making initiative that will support art that responds to social issues facing the Pittsburgh area. The foundation expects to award $500,000 in grants over the next two years to

For longtime Sharpsburg resident and business owner Evelyn Shoop, it wasn’t always easy being a lady in the Pittsburgh business scene.

Mural artist Kyle Holbrook has done more than 200 public art projects around Pittsburgh, including a collaborative 2005 Martin Luther King mural at Wood Street and Franklin Avenue and “We Fall Down But We Get

Cameron Barnett can continue to pen poetry — and get paid for it. The 29-year-old from Garfield is one of 15 artists chosen to receive grant money from “Investing in Professional Artists,” a shared program

Foundations invest $169,000 in Pittsburgh-based professional artists

Two local foundations have awarded a total of $169,000 in grants to 15 local artists so they can produce new work.

The next two murals in Sharpsburg’s “Beyond the Ceiling” project will be unveiled on June 15. The five-part series is aimed at honoring a group of unsung female heroes in the borough, all nominated by residents

Among the many recommendations for building the scene in last year’s Pittsburgh Music Ecosystem study was the creation of a Love Pittsburgh Music Month along with a website listing gigs by local bands and artists.

Few businesses are riskier than starting a theater company, so you’d better love what you are doing.

Pittsburgh artist Alisha Wormsley and the Downtown-based Office of Public Art have announced an eclectic roster of awardees to participate in the latest iteration of her ongoing “There Are Black People in the Future” public art

Every first Friday of the month, the myriad art galleries on Penn Avenue in Garfield burst to life. Artists of all sorts fill seemingly any available space with paintings, sketches, photographs, sculptures, and much more.

Congress looks very different from 2018, the last time Pittsburgh’s arts advocates hit the hallways of Capitol Hill for Arts Advocacy Day. There are 93 new House Members in the 116^th Congress, of which 34 are

The newly renovated Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks will have its grand opening on May 10 with an open house show by British funk band The New Mastersounds.

Carnegie Mellon University will host the orchestral debut of “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice,” a classical music piece focusing on Africans who were enslaved on Lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations, at 7

How do you get to the Lower Hill? Go out Sixth Avenue and turn left on Centre? The storied, traditionally African-American neighborhood has long since been replaced by the Civic Arena at the dawn of

The phrase “There Are Black People In The Future” has a new future. The words sparked public debate last year when a landlord ordered them removed from a billboard art project in East Liberty, leading to

There is public art in the future. On Jan. 10, The Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Office of Public Art announced a new artwork-in-residency program that will be managed by Pittsburgh-based artist Alisha Wormsley.

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh has awarded grants totaling more than $427,000 to advance individual and institutional projects and help with organizations with operating costs during 2019.

It might seem merely serendipitous that both democracy as we know it and theater as we know it arose in roughly the same place and time: Athens, Greece, in the late 6th century BCE. To Oskar

The talk is free and open to the public; seating is limited.

Pittsburgh’s most prolific set designer and the artist who created the “There Are Black People In The Future” billboard have been chosen as the 2018 Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Award winners.

Acclaimed designer of 500+ sets, local artist who reminded nation that "There are Black People in the Future" honored on December 10

Pittsburgh, PA…September 13, 2018…The Office of Public Art, in collaboration with Rethink Vets and The Heinz Endowments, will bring back the exhibition Rethink Perception for ten days beginning on September 21, and concluding on

A thin blue line passes through Millvale’s business district, extending from Riverfront Park under the 40th Street Bridge to Grant Avenue’s Pocket Park. It travels in swirled and jagged ribbons along sidewalks, brick facades and

To people of a certain age and time, August Wilson was more than just a name—he was palpable, a peer, a family member, a person that Pittsburgh could interact with.

It’s helpful Sharpsburg Municipal Building and the borough’s volunteer fire department sit adjacent to each other, as councilwoman Karen Pastor often finds herself bouncing between the two.

A documentary about the August Wilson Center, a performance art installation inspired by the writings of Octavia Butler and a residency for a composer working with a local music ensemble are among the latest projects

A documentary about Downtown’s August Wilson Center is among the latest projects to receive funding from the Investing in Professional Artists program, the shared commitment of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments.

A locally produced comic book series, a holistic healing guide coupled with therapeutic workshops for African American youth, and a series of documentaries that highlight the lives of homegrown jazz legends are all projects

Her latest exhibit, Edged Out, includes works that visualizes scientific research as it pertains to amphibian conservation efforts and their ecology. Think of it as data viz for the art world.

 you’re wondering about the origin of those enormous, funky globes that appeared downtown last month, the answer lies with a Jewish environmentalist from Chicago who is passionate about promoting local solutions to climate change...

Most theater companies have an artistic director – the guiding force behind what goes on stage. But Pittsburgh’s City Theatre did without one for about a year following the resignation of Tracy Brigden, who’d held

A Google search turned Heather Hopson into a crusader for single black mothers.

Whenever she picks up a mic, Melanie Carter performs as Blak Rapp Madusa. But to call that handle her “stage name” is to sell it a bit short.

In the last year, 24 million people in the region attended an arts event at one of 200 arts organizations. That kind of attendance is driving the $2.4 billion in economic impact from the arts

Each year, 218 arts groups in Greater Pittsburgh compete for grants. A new report released Tuesday by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council shows some stark, historic inequity in the awarding of that money.

Disparities persist in the number of arts grants, total amounts of funds and average amount of grant dollars received by organizations of color, compared to white, non-Hispanic groups.

There’s a colorful island in the middle of Market Square. It’s actually the 2018 Market Square Public Art Installation, “Other Side of the World,” which makes its official debut Thursday.  The work, created by the internationally lauded Ball-Nogues

Pittsburghers bet on whether it will rain during all 10 days of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival the way other people bet on sports. But whether it rains or not, this beloved event

Pittsburghers bet on whether it will rain during all 10 days of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival the way other people bet on sports. But whether it rains or not, this beloved event

Inclusivity and expansiveness are reflected in the lineup announced Monday for the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. The 59th summer fest, which runs June 1-10, will be held in Point State Park, Gateway Center and the

Resonance Works Pittsburgh will closes its fifth season with a fully staged production of Dvorák's opera, “Rusalka.”

Last fall, the city’s Office of Nighttime Economy joined forces with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and 91.3 WYEP to form the Pittsburgh Music Ecosystem Project. With guidance from Sound Music Cities founder Don Pitts, an

At one point during the Tuesday evening session, Dave Wheeler, who has toured far and wide as the frontman for the acclaimed Pittsburgh bands Carousel Outside/Inside, put it out there bluntly.

What does the typical work day for the head of a major arts organization look like? According to Janis Burley Wilson, it’s unpredictable. Burley Wilson is the newly appointed President and CEO of the August

Janis Burley Wilson describes her job as leader of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Downtown, as “building a plane while we are flying.” Some of the pieces are already in place, and

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Follow the thin blue line. Those who do will discover the nooks and crannies of Millvale, a small community just outside Pittsburgh. The public art project, conceived by Ann Tarantino, aims

In October, WYEP-FM, The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the City of Pittsburgh Office of Nighttime Economy announced the Pittsburgh Music Ecosystem Project with the goal of finding ways to enhance the local music scene...

Bill Shannon’s artistry can vary movement to movement, even moment to moment. He glides, he skates, he dances. He choreographs and performs for theater and on the street. He breaks boundaries with video installations...

Jo-Anne Bates found a purpose for junk mail. She incorporates unwanted form letters, useless advertisements and uninviting fliers into her artwork. "I don't really like to get junk mail," says Bates. "But when I do

If this year’s controversy over Oakland’s Stephen Foster statue was the final big public-art news of Renee Piechocki’s tenure, it was hardly the first. Piechocki, founding director of the city’s Office of Public Art (OPA),

A documentary film about Pittsburgh's rich jazz music history will premiere on Feb. 15 on WQED-TV. The MCG Jazz program of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild has produced "We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz

Jimmy Cvetic’s poetry is rough, dark and punchy. He writes about his more than 30 years on the Allegheny County Police force, many as a homicide detective, and about his time as a boxing coach...

Films, musical and spoken word albums, photographs and sculptures are among 20 projects to receive funding from the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh program, which also includes grants for organizations’ operating costs. $287,860 was awarded this

The new Get Hip Record Store on the North Side will celebrate Black Friday weekend with a photo exhibit and another chance to see a reunion of Ploughman’s Lunch.

Event includes public program with MacArthur Fellow LaToya Ruby Frazier, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and local author, artist and educator Sandra Gould Ford

“Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown” wasn’t the only thing that stirred emotions in Pittsburgh last month. The last week of October was an eventful one for the Pittsburgh music scene, sparked by the closing of the

Brian Cohen founded The Documentary Works in 2015 as a vehicle for photographers to collaborate on projects about social and environmental issues.

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Shaunda Miles has been appointed program officer of Arts and Culture for The Heinz Endowments. Miles’ work will focus on arts and culture grantee initiatives.

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, the City of Pittsburgh and WYEP announced on Tuesday that it was looking to Austin, Texas, for a few music tips.

PITTSBURGH, PA October 19, 2017 – The Heinz Endowments today announces the appointment of Shaunda Miles as Program Officer for Arts and Culture. Ms. Miles’ work will focus on arts and culture grantee initiatives. Ms. Miles ...

Whoops and cheers went up as the credits rolled and lights came up in the Melwood screening room at Pittsburgh Filmmakers one recent evening. Everyone was standing and applauding when Tammy Thompson stepped to the

PITTSBURGH, PA September 13, 2017 – The Heinz Endowments today announced the appointment of Mac Howison as Program Officer for Creative Learning. Mr. Howison will take up his new position on October 3, 2017, and

Bowen Schmitt didn’t recognize Pittsburgh. “I feel like I came back to a new city,” says Schmitt, who moved back to his hometown after five-and-a-half years as a student at Temple University’s Tyler School of

What did Maximilian “Maxo” Vanka do? It’s a question six conservators constantly ask themselves while they work to preserve his murals in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale.

Though the board of the August Wilson Center actually interviewed 50 people during its search for a new President and CEO, one had a distinct advantage—she had essentially been doing the job for more than

It has been a rocky three years for the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. But with the appointment of Janis Burley Wilson as CEO and president last week, the AWC has a leader

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture didn’t have to go far to find its new CEO and president. After a three-year search, the boardon Thursday named Janis Burley Wilson to lead the center

Until Saturday, August Wilson was attached in name only to the Downtown building that dominates Liberty Avenue between Smithfield Street and William Penn Place.

Michael David Battle is 29. While many people might be excited about turning 30, he’s bittersweet about it.

PITTSBURGH, Pa., June 21, 2017 – A residency for a documentary filmmaker and a book-length manuscript that provides an oral history of Pittsburgh’s rapidly changing neighborhoods are just two of the projects by 13 artists

A new, $10,000 book prize for a non-fiction manuscript by a writer who has a meaningful Pittsburgh connection will be awarded by the local Creative Nonfiction Foundation in Garfield.

In December, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh received a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It was a big honor: The NEH awards only a few dozen grants annually. City of Asylum shelters writers

Three Pittsburgh foundations are providing more than $6 million in much-needed financial assistance to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. But instead of writing checks and going away, the foundations will have an important behind-the-scenes role monitoring

Natural beauty is often found in the most unexpected places. Kristin Hughes found it in an empty city lot behind her home in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 2009. After a fire left an

Three local foundations are giving $6.5 million to help the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra revise its business plan and broaden its base of donors so the nonprofit can achieve financial stability.