PITT ARTS Reaches More Than 32,000 Participants This Year

PITTSBURGH-As PITT ARTS wraps up its 10th anniversary year, it announces that it had already introduced 32,545 Pitt students, faculty, and staff to one or more cultural event, from September through March. That's a 14 percent increase over last year.

More than 15,500 students took advantage of PITT ARTS' Free Museum Visits Program, and a new milestone was reached-10,000 tickets sold from the PITT ARTS office this year-in the Cheap Seats Program, which offers Pitt faculty, staff, and students discounted tickets to the symphony, ballet, theater, and other performances.

PITT ARTS director Annabelle Clippinger directly attributes the overall increase to student interest in the "Chihuly at Phipps: Gardens and Glass" exhibition at Phipps Conservatory, and to the increased number of participants in the Cheap Seats Program.

"Additionally," says Clippinger, "the five programs that we planned and implemented around the "Bodies" exhibition, including two at the Carnegie Science Center, and one each at the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History; and the six independent films that we added to our lineup this year made our 10th anniversary very special indeed. Our dedication to diversifying PITT ARTS offerings is ongoing and reaching new heights."

PITT ARTS remains committed to exposing students to a variety of talent. This year's performances included poet Terrance Hayes, the dance group Urban Bushwomen, the band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Ballet Folklorico. There were 116 total on- and off-campus performances, with more than one-third of them multicultural offerings.

Some of these were through PITT ARTS' Free Arts Encounter program, which provides an expanded experience at the symphony, opera, ballet, theater, concert, art gallery, or film screening. Students receive free transportation, event tickets, attendance at a catered reception, and an educational component that could include e-mailed essays, discussions with artists, or hands-on workshops. Students also participated in Artful Wednesdays in the lower level of the William Pitt Union, to hear a poet or a musician and enjoy a free lunch.

PITT ARTS, founded in 1997, is funded through various grants and support from the Office of the Provost.

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4/24/08/tmw