2018 Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts Returns in September

Pittsburgh has given a lot of firsts to the world-including the first wire cable suspension bridge, the first movie theater, and Heinz ketchup.

Now, the world is about to give back in a big way as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents its fourth and most diverse Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts-an expanded showcase of never-before-seen performing and visual arts attractions.

Over the course of eight weeks this fall, Pittsburgh's Cultural District will become a hub of United States, North American, and World Premieres. These works by renowned, globally-minded artists feature a full range of arts disciplines-theater, dance, music, visual art, pieces that defy category-and take place in both traditional and unexpected spaces. From intimate experiences in galleries to physically following a story as it unfolds in an historic church, from mind-blowing outdoor light shows to a circus arts spectacle in the region's largest theater, each piece will challenge, excite, entertain, question, and leave audiences seeing the world in a new way.

The curatorial team behind the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts has traveled the globe to bring the greatest and grandest of new works to the city of Pittsburgh. Scott Shiller, Festival Producer and Vice President of Artistic Planning at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, has been a driving force behind widening the Festival's reach. He says, "Our goal with this edition of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts is to reflect the world through these unique artist's voices, and we are honored to present their extraordinary works as part of the Cultural Trust's breadth of programming." Companies and artists hail from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti; Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom; China, South Korea, Thailand; Nigeria, South Africa; India; Israel; New Zealand; Canada; and the United States.

TrustArts.org/Firsts will be updated as more programming is announced. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 412-456-6666, and at the Box Office at Theater Square (655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222).

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh's most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country's largest land masses "curated" by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation, and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh's quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

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