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Derek Scalzott | Senior Director of Communications | Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
scalzott@trustarts.org | 412-471-8715
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
CAPSTONE $10 MILLION GRANT FROM THE RICHARD KING MELLON FOUNDATION
LIFTS ARTS LANDING TO FUNDRAISING GOAL
The historic grant serves as the largest single gift and final financial puzzle piece covering construction costs and supporting operation of the transformative $31M Cultural District civic space.
PITTSBURGH, PA, June 1, 2025: A new $10M grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation – among the largest philanthropic gifts to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in its four-decade-history – has helped the non-profit arts organization to complete its capital funding stack to cover construction costs of Arts Landing. Additionally, the generous grant will support ongoing operations, programming, maintenance, and security for the four-acre civic space once it opens to the public in 2026.
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is profoundly grateful to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for this capstone contribution that helps ensure our shared vision for Arts Landing becomes a reality for our community,” said Kendra Whitlock Ingram, President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “This is a defining moment for the Cultural District and Downtown Revitalization Vision—made possible by immense generosity and leadership from philanthropic and civic partners.”
Said Sam Reiman, Director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation: “Pittsburgh’s first Renaissance officially began 75 years ago, in May 1950. Then, and ever since, the Richard King Mellon Foundation has helped to lead Pittsburgh’s ongoing strategies to achieve greater prosperity for the people of our beloved city. Our Trustees wanted to demonstrate that leadership again for Arts Landing. This $10 million grant will provide the capital necessary to complete construction. And, just as importantly, it will help to ensure the Cultural Trust has the means to maintain and operate Arts Landing as a safe and desirable destination for many years to come.”
The Richard King Mellon Foundation’s support for Arts Landing predates this landmark grant. Formerly known as the Cultural District’s “8th Street Block,” the now four-acre construction site was long seen as a prime location for strategic redevelopment. With funding from the Foundation for land acquisitions, the Cultural Trust gradually assembled the site, now designed to serve Cultural District visitors and downtown’s growing residential community with a variety of amenities.
Arts Landing is a creatively designed, community-focused, and sustainably operated civic space that will host festivals and performances, exhibit public art, and provide opportunities for everyday recreation. Its Great Lawn, bandshell, garden walk, family play area, flexible event space, and public restrooms will serve an evolving downtown for years to come.
Arts Landing is a key component of the Downtown Revitalization Vision announced in 2024 by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, and Urban Redevelopment Authority as well as Governor Josh Shapiro’s 10-year $600-million-dollar plan to rejuvenate Downtown Pittsburgh.
Additional funding for the construction and operation of Arts Landing is generously provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District, BNY, Buhl Foundation, Burke Family Foundation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Colcom Foundation, Dollar Bank, Eden Hall Foundation, Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation, The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Henry L. Hillman Foundation. Additional funders are expected to join in support of the project to further enhance its features and ensure its long-term financial sustainability.
For more information and to sign up for email updates about Arts Landing, visit TrustArts.org/ArtsLanding.
For previous press releases and renderings of Arts Landing, visit TrustArts.org/Press.
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About the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust | The Cultural Trust is one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in Pittsburgh, having overseen one of the city’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 Cultural Trust presents an array of quality performing and visual arts, provides comprehensive educational experiences, and stewards Pittsburgh’s Cultural District as a national model of economic revitalization through the arts. Lauded as “the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh,” the Cultural Trust has worked to make Pittsburgh a place where the arts can flourish. The 14-block Cultural District, a project of the Cultural Trust, has become a vibrant center for culture, art, food, and community in downtown Pittsburgh, providing a home for a broad range of performance groups and resident companies. More than one million people visit the Cultural District each year, generating more than $300M in economic impact for the region.
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About the Richard King Mellon Foundation | Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s 2024 year-end net assets were $3.1 billion, and its Trustees in 2024 disbursed more than $155 million in grants and program-related investments. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan