By SHARON EBERSON
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s inaugural Annual Community Meeting on Wednesday, billed as “a new signature event highlighting the transformative role of the arts in Downtown Pittsburgh,” provided a shared stage among the arts leaders of not only the Trust, but also a platform for showcasing what’s happening among its Cultural District neighbors at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera and the Confluence Theater of Pittsburgh.
Among the newsiest information revealed at the meeting: Katz Plaza, at the corner of Penn Avenue and 7th Street, and the Byham Theater are getting glow-ups, the August Wilson Center’s tech upgrades continue indoors, and the Dollar Bank Stage at Arts Landing will be free to community artists for future shows.
Attended by Mayor Corey O’Connor, County Executive Sara Innamorato, Pittsburgh Pirates president and Trust Board of Trustees executive committee member Travis Williams, among other city dignitaries, the event included a panel led by Trust president and CEO Kendra Whitlock Ingram, with interim Confluence Theater leader Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford, PBT’s Nick Dragga, Pittsburgh Opera’s Bill Powers, PSO’s Melia Tourangeau, and the August Wilson Center’s Janis Burley.
The August Wilson Center recently unveiled its outdoor Lights on Liberty installation, designed by Rainbow Serpent to bring the building’s “distinctive sail-like architecture to life through programmable light, with artistic sequences inspired by August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
At the Wednesday gathering, Burley said to expect more technological boosts indoors, at the galleries and throughout The Writer’s Landscape exhibition, dedicated to Wilson and his work.
The PSO’s Melia Tourangeau highlighted the PSO’s triumphant recent European Tour, where the “NFL of Orchestras” — only two are native Pittsburghers — was the sole American orchestra invited to perform at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. She also said that movies accompanied by the full orchestra attract the largest audiences to Heinz Hall for classical music.
Dragga touted the new elements to PBT’s Nutcracker, including deeper dives into Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Squirrel Hill and Polish Hill.
On Friday (reschedule from Thursday), Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Confluence, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, are joining together for A Landing Ovation, a free 90-minute season-preview performance, starting at 6 p.m.
In a Regional Impact Report, the Trust highlighted its economic impact, estimating $175 million “driven largely by community activity,” and “nearly $1 billion” since the pandemic shutdown. The numbers attracted to Arts Landing since it opened in time for the NFL Draft were measured in the tens of thousands.
The invitation-only meeting for supporters and stakeholders at the O’Reilly Theater began with Thembelihle Cele, Rafiki in the North American Tour of The Lion King — currently at the Benedum Center — singing Circle of Life.
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