Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council announces end of Art on the Walls program
The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council announces the forthcoming end of Art on the Walls, a professional development program providing exhibition opportunities for emerging and mid-career visual artists.
Art on the Walls will conclude after the completion of its last two remaining exhibits: Allegheny Conference on Community Development, located at 11 Stanwix Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, will close at the end of June; Turner Construction, located at 600 Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, will close at the end of August.
“The Arts Council expresses gratitude to the artists, host sites, and staff members who made Art on the Walls so impactful over the years,” says Arts Council CEO Patrick Fisher. “The program was initially created to serve a need in a specific moment. Through our current strategic plan, we identified other community assets that have since launched programs addressing similar needs.”
The Arts Council encourages support of the following similar programs or services:
The Art Supply Co., the art consulting arm at Casey Droege Cultural Productions, connecting developers, architects, and interior designers with living, local artists
Offroute Art, a volunteer-run organization helping artists ages 16-24 to display and sell their art
Greater Pittsburgh Paints Project, a community arts initiative from Pittsburgh’s First Lady, Michelle Gainey, celebrating the city’s diversity in a rotating art exhibition inside the Mayor’s Executive Conference Room, the Mayor’s Office, and the Chief of Staff’s office
Renee Piechocki, a Pittsburgh-based artist who also provides arts consulting services
Commercial art galleries in Allegheny County, which facilitate connections between artists and spaces, such as ZYNKA Gallery and James Gallery
“A big part of our art consulting work with The Art Supply Co. is educating people on why art in your everyday spaces matters, and how thoughtful art placement can make or break an experience for visitors, employees, and passersby,” says Executive Director Casey Droege. “I'm grateful for the work of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Art on the Walls program and the impact it's had on so many companies and people in showing them the importance of art in their daily lives.”
Art on the Walls launched in 2010 as a way to exhibit rotating artwork within the organization’s office space. It later expanded to include non-traditional exhibition spaces, with a focus on corporate environments and municipal offices including the Mayor’s Office, Visit Pittsburgh, Dormont Borough Building in partnership with Dormont Arts, and more.
The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council wishes to extend its sincere appreciation to former Art on the Walls coordinators Christiane Dolores and Erin O’Neill for their unwavering support of artists, which helped ensure the longtime success of the program.
All work in the exhibits was available for sale, with artists receiving 80% of each purchase. Over the years, Art on the Walls has provided more than $65,000 in income to artists living and working in the region.
Participating artists also were provided with first-hand knowledge and experience pertaining to areas such as art selection processes, professional networking, building a client base, and reviewing and executing contracts.
As the Arts Council has discovered during its ongoing strategic planning process, continuing programs that are in direct competition with other community assets diverts resources, public attention, and social capital away from those programs that are already meeting the needs of artists and arts organizations in the region.
Those interested in viewing and purchasing artwork included in the two remaining Art on the Walls exhibits are encouraged to schedule an appointment by contacting Patrick Fisher at pfisher@pittsburghartscouncil.org.
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