Gateway to the Arts & Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announce Merger

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Gateway to the Arts announced that Gateway to the Arts will merge with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust effective July 1, 2015. The merger will provide a greater opportunity to advance the mission-and promote the core values-of Gateway to the Arts within the Pittsburgh community and surrounding regions. The merger joins Gateway to the Arts and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Education Department.

"This is a win-win situation, a merger of strengths, as Gateway to the Arts' brand, quality of programming, teaching artists and their affiliation with Wolf Trap and Young Audiences Inc. combines with the artistic mission and powerful infrastructure of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust," shared Ann Felter and Stacey Davis, Co-Chairs of the Gateway to the Arts Board. "We are confident that it will significantly advance the mission of both organizations in a most meaningful, impactful way. This merger will leverage resources and be a new, innovative ways for arts organizations to work together to maximize the value each brings to the community."

J. Kevin McMahon, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust commented, "Gateway to the Arts has a long standing history of providing arts education and artist training to the region. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to provide a platform that can broaden the impact of that work. The Trust is excited about the new and immersive experiences that will be made available to audiences of all ages and backgrounds."

Since 1957, Gateway to the Arts has nurtured successful relationships between students, educators, artists and families in 15 counties within Western Pennsylvania. The organization is known for its diverse roster of teaching artists and arts integration models for K-12 settings. In recent years, Gateway to the Arts worked closely with the Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Education Program ("ECEP") and in August 2008 the organization became the only Pennsylvania affiliate of the prestigious Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning in the Arts.

The value of the arts in education and in the lives of children will remain the focus and efforts to support those values will be sustained more efficiently through the merger.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has managed four other successful mergers during its thirty year history, including Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh International Children's Theater Series, and Highmark First Night Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
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. For more information, visit TrustArts.org.

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