About the Trust

Cultural Trust Image Collage

 

Performing Arts. Visual Arts. Festivals. Arts Education. Urban Development.

Since 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, a non-profit arts organization, has worked to make the Steel City a place where the arts can flourish. Our efforts have focused on the cultural and economic development of the Cultural District, a 14-square-block area of downtown Pittsburgh. What was once a downtrodden red light district now thrives as a vibrant center for culture, art, food, and community. Pittsburgh’s Cultural District stands as a nationwide model for how the arts can play a pivotal role in urban revitalization.

Each year, millions of people visit the Cultural District to expand their horizons in our theaters, galleries, and public art environments. Patrons enjoy thousands of world-class performing arts events and visual arts exhibitions. Pittsburgh residents of all ages connect and learn with the Trust’s comprehensive education and community engagement opportunities. Local arts organizations collaborate to build a stronger cultural community through the power of partnerships.

The Cultural District acts as the anchor for all of that work. The Trust’s superior venues and gallery spaces allow resident companies, community organizations, artists, and promoters to reach audiences large and small. In total, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust manages more than one million square feet of real estate in the District. Step outside those buildings to find numerous public art installations that beautify Pittsburgh's largest arts neighborhood.

Lauded as “the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh because of its spirit of reinvention” by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Trust strives every day to enrich the city of Pittsburgh’s vibrancy, diversity, and prosperity.