Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is the leadership and management team behind turning a once downtrodden area of downtown Pittsburgh into a renowned, cutting-edge cultural district that stands as a national model of urban revitalization through the arts. The Trust has lead the Cultural District’s economic and social development for over three decades by managing the district and its real estate, programming and presenting year-round performances, curating the public spaces, and providing education and community engagement programs.

Located within 14-square blocks in downtown Pittsburgh, the Cultural District contains 90 retail shops, 50 restaurants, seven theatres, eight public parks and art installations, and a dozen art galleries. The district attracts over 2 million visitors annually and has a multitude of choices for live entertainment, contemporary music, modern dance, visual art and theatre, opera, ballet, classical music, and film.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust with its $60 million annual operating budget, has been lauded as “the greatest creative force in Pittsburgh because of its spirit of reinvention” by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Along with the Trust, member companies of the Cultural District include the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Pittsburgh Symphony. The Cultural District is also home to the city’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Within the Cultural District, one can find all sorts of entertainment year-round, from district Gallery Crawls to Salsa Friday, as well as festivals like the Children’s Theater Festival, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival and the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts. In line with their focus on community engagement and education, students discounts up to 50% help keep the visitor population young and diverse.