Welcome to the second edition of our Trust Spotlight newsletter.

There’s so much happening at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust right now, and not all of it fits neatly into a press release, event, or headline. That’s why we created this space.

Trust Spotlight is where we share a leadership perspective on our work, our progress, and the role the arts continue to play in shaping a stronger Downtown Pittsburgh.

A woman in a light-colored suit smiles and stands next to a large, colorful ARTS LANDING PGH sign. The base reads PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST. There are trees and a fence in the background.

Photo Credit: Kirk Lawrence

Because the spotlight may catch big moments, but it rarely tells the whole story. Thank you for being part of this community.

A message from President & CEO Kendra Whitlock Ingram

Arts Landing Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, April 17, 2026

Welcome to Arts Landing!

Last month, we celebrated the opening of Arts Landing – and wow, what a way to begin. More than 700 people joined us for the ribbon cutting event, and thousands more have visited in the weeks since.

Arts Landing is a once-in-a-generation transformation for Downtown and a defining milestone in the Cultural Trust’s history. For more than 40 years, the Cultural Trust has demonstrated the power of arts-driven revitalization in Downtown Pittsburgh, and Arts Landing builds on that legacy.

Our first major event, the Pitt Block Party during NFL Draft weekend, gave us a great opportunity to introduce the space and test our operational plans while welcoming thousands of visitors into the Cultural District. The response exceeded expectations and gave us a preview of what this space can become.

Since then, the perimeter fencing has come down, and we’ve entered a soft opening period while final touches continue across the site. Next is the official grand opening during the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 5–7 and June 11–14, as the festival debuts its new permanent home at Arts Landing.

A group of young children holding hands walk in a line outdoors, led by an adult, near a modern playground with climbing structures and several adults in the background. The scene is set in an urban park.

The Grable Playground at Arts Landing

Arts Landing was designed to serve Downtown for decades to come. And we’re just getting started.

This new civic space is meant to bring people together. We hope to see downtown residents and visitors come to hang out, experience something new, and return often. Spaces like this help create the kind of Downtown where people want to be.

This week we announced more than 70 days of summer activities designed to keep Arts Landing active, welcoming, and full of energy throughout the summer. Live music. Fitness classes. Food trucks. Movie nights. Family activities. Plus, several larger Downtown events that will incorporate Arts Landing in exciting new ways. And next year, Arts Landing will be available, rent-free, to community partners whose programming will complement the Cultural Trust’s ongoing schedule of events.

Aerial view of Arts Landing with a small amphitheater, two yellow bridges crossing the river, and city buildings and hills in the background.

Photo Credit: Darin DiNapoli | Arts Landing and Pittsburgh’s Three Sister Bridges

I’m so optimistic about what Arts Landing can become for Pittsburgh.

As Arts Landing grows into a destination for residents and visitors alike, it will reflect the very best of what the Cultural Trust has always worked to do: bring people together and help shape the future of our city.

We’re excited to welcome Pittsburgh to Arts Landing this summer.

- Kendra Whitlock Ingram

Lineup Announced for Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival

Purple and cream graphic for Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival at Arts Landing, featuring stylized trees, clouds, raindrops, and an abstract city skyline.

The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is set to debut in its new long-term home at Arts Landing! Join us for our Grand Opening and seven days of free music and art in the Cultural District, June 5-7 and 11-14.

Enjoy free headline concerts on the Dollar Bank Stage by Spin Doctors, The Pharcyde, Joan Osborne, The War and Treaty, Trousdale, and many more. Must-see spectacles include performances by vertical dance company, BANDALOOP, and a world premiere interactive performance by the beloved Squonk. The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is free and open to the public, and you won’t want to miss a moment!

A city park with a large green lawn and landscaped plants in the foreground, surrounded by tall office buildings and apartments in the background.

Arts Landing is the next chapter in the Trust’s commitment to arts-driven revitalization in Downtown Pittsburgh.

A colorful sculpture displays the words ARTS LANDING PGH in large yellow and purple letters, with PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST written on the base. Outdoor setting with trees and fencing in the background.

A park at sunset with a white open-air pavilion, grassy lawn, silhouetted trees, and people walking under a colorful sky with blue, pink, and orange clouds.

In the News

Check out these recent headlines covering the Cultural Trust’s impact in the community:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | “Pittsburgh’s ‘new backyard’: Construction Wraps up in Arts Landing”

Pittsburgh Business Times | “Arts Landing Ribbon Cutting Celebrates First Major Milestone of $600M Revitalization Effort”

WPXI-TV (Our Region’s Business) | Arts Landing Interview with Kendra Whitlock Ingram

Wallpaper* | Does This…Civic Space Have the Power to Transform Downtown Pittsburgh?

New York Times | “The Artist Whose Work Is as ‘Boundless’ as Water” | Q&A with Shikeith whose sculpture, “Hold,” is in Arts Landing

TRIB | “[Dollar Bank] Three Rivers Arts Festival…Kicks Off with Spin Doctors”