Shattering Expectations: A Crystal Clear Vision for the Future of Pittsburgh Glass Center

pittsburgh glass center

we believe in the transformational power of art.

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20 years

glowing strong Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) has grown to be one of the premier glassmaking studios in the U.S., a vibrant contributor to Pittsburgh’s thriving cultural landscape, and an integral member of the East End neighborhood. This year we are proud to celebrate 20 years glowing strong!

Local glass artists Kathleen Mulcahy and the late Ron Desmett shared a vision in the early 1990s to create an innovative glass art center that would cultivate community, foster economic growth, and change the city.

After 12 years their dream became a reality. Pittsburgh Glass Center opened in 2001. Our mission continues to guide us: Glass Art: We teach it. We create it.

We promote it. We support those who make it.

Pittsburgh Glass Center cultivates an inclusive and

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P th GC l e e Fo u n M nde rs ulc ahy Ron Desmet t and o p. workin g in the hot sh

welcoming environment that encourages everyone,

from the casually curious to the master artist, to learn, create, and be inspired by glass. We share our passion for glass locally and globally to advance a more diverse, vibrant, and accessible glass art community.

We believe in the transformational power of art. Artists

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synthesize and communicate societal ideals and ask important questions about the world. The pandemic and other issues

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impacting our community over the last year have shown us d Ho tion e firsthand the power of art to bring peace and healing in times of crisis. th ibi of ex h s r t de firs And because of that, our first priority is always to ensure that our mission fun e r, n o u r l u a remains strong. The recent challenges and uncertainty have reinforced our no an D Randi and V e ribbo h t at PGC, cut commitment to this community and to our vision for the future.

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we are molding the next generation of glass students, instructors, artists, and enthusiasts.

gathering the details

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, PGC is poised to truly realize our potential as a center for artistic excellence and a driver of economic opportunity through a major expansion of our facilities.

Pittsburgh’s glass art community will grow and thrive with PGC as we expand our vision, our work, and our facilities. By providing opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to be connected to making, we are molding the next generation of glass students, instructors, artists, and enthusiasts. Our work fuels an ecosystem of people, facilities and innovative programming that together help shape our region’s creative economy.

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This expansion project, funded through a $13 million capital campaign, will allow PGC to create more studio space, grow our unique tech apprentice program, create a retail store, and allow space for more community programming. We are investing $13 million, but the return on that investment for the community will be much greater:

• expanded employment opportunities for artists and makers • free access to glass art and creative experiences for youth and adults • a diverse community of artists who call Pittsburgh home • a vibrant Penn Avenue for visitors, consumers, and art patrons • affordable exhibition space, meeting rooms, and artist housing Our current, 16,000 square foot facility, at 5472 Penn Avenue, will be renovated to improve functionality and expanded by an additional 11,000 square feet. PGC recently purchased a second, 6,500 square foot building two blocks from our current facility, at the corner of North Graham Street and Penn Avenue. This, along with our currently available artist housing, will create much needed additional accommodations for PGC’s tech apprentices and visiting artists, and a gallery space with street frontage that can host community programming.

FOOD/DRINK SHOPPING/SERVICES EXISTING PGC FACILITIES NEW PGC FACILITIES

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PGC is bursting at the seams.

We have grown significantly, educating more people than ever through tours, classes, in-school residencies, summer intensives, and Make-It-Now experiences. We have gone from serving 187 students in 2002 to serving over 8,300 students in 2019. On average that is more than 200% growth year over year. This growth led to PGC’s record of strong earned revenue levels as a percentage of our total budget.

In 2019...

PGC open to the public 82 hours a week— more than 4,000 hours throughout the year

38,000 visitors attended public tours, teen programs, classes, open houses, and community events

350+ classes and workshops 8,300+ students from

36 states and countries from around the world

4,800+ hours

of artist studio time

22 artist residencies Hot Wheels, our mobile glass studio, rolled out to 29 events, sharing glassblowing with over 160,000 people

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Feedback from artists, students, visitors, and other stakeholders confirms that we cannot continue to serve all of our various audiences in our current building. One participant in a focus group said, “Right now, the entire space is cramped. In all of the classes I have taken, there has never been enough room to work without getting in someone else’s way.” Artists can’t find availability to rent studios at PGC due to our busy class and workshop schedule.

This is especially concerning as the number of artists PGC has attracted to live and work in Pittsburgh has grown to over 50, not to mention the hundreds of local artists that we have trained and developed. In order to keep up with the increasing demand for our

programming, we need to expand our physical space.

a year like none other. When the pandemic hit in March, our focus logically turned to the health and well-being of our staff, artists, students, patrons and friends. We made the difficult decision to temporarily close our facility, cancel or postpone our classes and events, turn off our furnaces and partially furlough our entire team. As safety protocols were put in place and more became known about the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, we were able to reopen and find new ways to offer handson glass experiences like our Glass-To-Go kits. Pivoting to new earned income opportunities has been critical as earned income typically comprises at least 50% of our total revenue.

During the pandemic, the number of individuals that we reached in person decreased drastically; however, new opportunities were created that once again exposed our lack of space. Even with the studios closed and no visitors in the building, we found it difficult to find space to fulfill the growing demand for our new Glass-To-Go kits. We have added flexible space to our new building plans that will allow us to accommodate innovative activities like this one as well as others we have yet to imagine.

A history of smart financial management helped PGC weather the many challenges of 2020. While it hasn’t been easy, we are moving forward confidently and with a greater awareness of the transformational power of art.

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lighting the

fire

Our expansion will be transformational for the Pittsburgh Glass Center, the East End of Pittsburgh, the constituents we serve, and the wider international glass art community.

in the last five years PGC hosted...

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BIPOC artists in residence

13 exhibitions featuring BIPOC artists

2 solo

exhibitions

by BIPOC 8

Fostering More Diverse Voices in Glass

inclusion

PGC recognizes the lack of representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) artists in the glass field across the country. To counteract this trend, we prioritize selecting artists who represent diverse voices and backgrounds to teach classes and participate in our Artist Residencies & Exhibitions, often introducing non-glass artists of color to the medium through our Idea Furnace Residency. Over the last five years, we have hosted 20 BIPOC artists-in-residence and 13 exhibitions featuring BIPOC artists, 2 of which were solo exhibitions. Increased studio space and artist housing will attract more artists of all backgrounds and allow PGC to continue prioritizing BIPOC artists.

We create a continuum of engagement by encouraging youth artists from our surrounding community to develop an interest in glass, offering them opportunities for classes and workshops as high school and college students, engaging them as tech apprentices as young adults, and providing world-class studio facilities and residencies as they hone their craft in adulthood. This pipeline creates access to encourage diversity and inclusion for the glass world of the future.

“PGC gave me my first residency and it did wonders for not only my artistic development but for my confidence as a professional maker as well.”

—Corey Pemberton (pictured, right) Artist, and Director of Crafting the Future, an organization that works to diversify the fields of art, craft, and design by connecting BIPOC artists with opportunities that will help them thrive.

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“PGC is truly a community asset. The Glass Center has been great for the youth we serve here at B.A.S.E. Our children look forward to going to the center during our summer camp.”

—Robert M. Jones Jr. (pictured above), Founder and CEO, Brothers and Sisters Emerging (B.A.S.E.)

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Bringing More People to Penn Avenue

opportunity This project will allow more people to engage with us at community events while also allowing us to host pop-up events and exhibitions in a brand-new community space. Adding a second hot shop in our facility has the potential to draw even more visitors and tourists to Penn Avenue as it will allow us to dedicate studio space for activities in which the public can drop in anytime to try their hand at glass on the spot—no appointment needed. Our market research shows that when people come to Pittsburgh Glass Center, they also spend money at retail shops and restaurants along Penn Avenue. Drawing more visitors to Penn Avenue benefits all local businesses.

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Our newly acquired second property (at 5431 Penn Avenue) has been a concern of the community for years—first as a nuisance bar and then as a vacant storefront. Our neighbors in the community and at Bloomfield Garfield Corporation enthusiastically support our redevelopment plan as it will boost the Penn Avenue Arts District and further connect the activity occurring at both ends of the Penn Avenue corridor.

Community Focused Development

innovation The need for artists’ housing has been expressed by organizations across the East End and PGC’s expanded housing will be a resource for other organizations too. As the East End’s real estate market continues to be dominated by large developers, there are fewer venues that offer short-term rentals for meetings and other events, and many of the existing spaces are simply not affordable for community members and nonprofits. A benefit for the community at large will be affordable, creative meeting and exhibition space for individuals and organizations that might otherwise be priced out of the neighborhood. Penn Avenue’s most recent strategic plan called out the need for more opportunities for diverse, community social engagements; PGC’s new community space will provide the resource to do just that.

“Pittsburgh Glass Center is an invaluable resource for the regional maker ecosystem, not only as a unparalleled facility for glassmaking, but as a hub for creative entrepreneurship and champion for creativity-driven economic development. They remain one of the Creative Business Accelerators strongest partners, and we look forward to more shared impact helping makers maximize the recovery economy.”

—Adam Kenney, Director of the Creative Business Accelerator

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“I moved to Pittsburgh because of PGC, knowing that access to a facility and community of glass artists was important to the future of my career in glass. It keeps me connected to the pulse of the community, keeping me engaged in local trends, opportunities, and techniques. Having PGC as a supplement to my private studio will always be a part of my business plan.”

—Gillian Preston, owner of the local business Broken Plates: Glass Wearables

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New Business Creation

economic development Expanded facilities will allow us to increase production of our Penn/Fairmount glass product line, incubate new small businesses, provide workforce development for more glass artists, and sell more artists’ work in a new, more extensive retail space. Pittsburgh Glass Center has already attracted over 50 glass artists to Pittsburgh, growing the maker community in our region significantly. As more artists relocate to Pittsburgh, they purchase homes, studios, employ other makers, and contribute to the economy in many other meaningful ways.

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shaping the future

Our current building will be The additions and renovations

expanded art studios

Square footage will be added to all four studios (hot shop, kiln shop, flame shop, and cold shop) to grow programs and build capacity. We are also adding a fifth studio—a fabrication lab to grow our digital capabilities.

TWO HOT SHOPS Our hot shop is our most popular studio. There are four distinct activities that take place here, each serving very different audiences and skill levels: classes and workshops, tours with hands-on experiences for novices, professional artist rental, and PGC production and commissions. It is extremely challenging to have these different users in the studio at the same time. The expansion of our current building will allow for a second hot shop to be added that will be dedicated to professional artists and production. This will allow us to expand our tour, Make-It-Now, and class offerings in our current studio while also responding to the demand from local artists for additional rental space.

MORE SPACIOUS KILN SHOP

Our kiln shop needs additional room to

add kilns for firing glass and to expand the classroom space to accommodate more students working on larger projects. This includes a movable partition that will provide flexibility to run two smaller classes or one large class.

FLAME SHOP VIEWING PLATFORM + NEON

A viewing window in

our flameworking studio will allow visitors to safely watch artists working without disrupting them. Additional space will be utilized to add more work stations, a neon set-up, and scientific glassblowing lathe.

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renovated and expanded by 11,000 square feet. are outlined below by building and area of impact.

HIGH TECH COLD SHOP EQUIPMENT Our cold shop needs room to accommodate new equipment that PGC currently has no space for, such as a wet drill press, additional sandblaster, and water jet cutting machine.

FAB LAB We are also adding a new fabrication lab to our list of studio spaces.

Now more than ever glass artists are embracing new technologies like 3-D printing and waterjet cutting into their processes. Continuing to upgrade our technology and equipment is imperative to remaining a state-of-the-art facility.

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“Watching PGC grow from its small-but-mighty beginnings into the amazing, world-class arts organization it is today has been truly energizing. I am incredibly proud to support its continued growth in my role as board president and as a campaign donor. I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact this organization has in the community. By providing local school kids with an introduction to an exciting medium, opening its doors to the neighborhood for demonstrations and events, bringing talented glass artists from around the globe to Pittsburgh, and offering its studios to aspiring local artists, Pittsburgh Glass Center is unmatched in its drive to make the methods and medium of glass accessible to all.”

—Alison Brand Oehler, PGC Board President and Owner, Concept Art Gallery

branded bright boutique PGC’s current building was not

designed with retail in mind. As a result, we sell glass supplies to students and artists out of a back room in the studio building. Our lobby, which is essentially a wide hallway from the front door to the gallery, the studios, and the offices, is used as our retail store. With properly staged product in a dedicated retail footprint, we will increase our potential for art sales and make a better first impression for visitors.

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rooms to grow

In addition to our expanded art studios, more flexible studio space is needed to accommodate hands-on group experiences such as making tiles, creating mosaics or pouring molds. Additionally, PGC’s current flexible classroom serves as our board meeting room, lunch room for summer students, lecture room, and additional exhibition space. Larger space can be divided into smaller rooms for a variety of uses.

a place for everyone A space for smaller exhibits will open up

opportunities not currently available for students and emerging artists who are not ready to mount a full gallery show. Additionally, this space will be a resource for other nonprofits and our neighbors in the East End to utilize as a community meeting and exhibition space.

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party on the patio PGC currently has a small patio that artists love to use to take a

break and step outside for fresh air. By adding a larger outdoor deck PGC will have an overflow area for watching glassblowing demonstrations in the new hot shop as well as a unique place to host great parties. Event rentals can add meaningfully to our earned income potential.

“We have been involved with PGC for many years, the art inspires us, of course, but it is the energy and entrepreneurship of the organization and its leadership that keeps us engaged. This campaign will take PGC to the next level as a national and international leader in glass art, and as a cultural institution in Pittsburgh. We are proud to play a small part in helping PGC shatter expectations.”

—Jim & Kathe Patrinos (pictured right), Campaign Chairs

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an artist home

PGC provides housing for our technical apprentices (currently three per year) and various visiting artists. PGC’s technical apprenticeship is an educational work opportunity designed for students who either completed their undergraduate study in glass art or have equivalent experience and are looking to gain professional studio experience in a state-of-theart, public-access studio. This program is the only one of its kind in the country, making it highly competitive. Apprentices work 30 hours/week as a studio tech and have 10 hours/week to focus on making their own work. Currently, PGC has a four-bedroom townhome property (Clarendon) adjacent to PGC where the apprentices live. Additional housing for five more tech apprentices will be added in our new space. These additional tech apprentice positions will be vital to the expected growth of our programming, as they serve as the engine driving most of the day-to-day work of the studio.

In addition to the tech apprentices, we provide housing for visiting artists who come to PGC to teach, create art in residence, and/or open an exhibition in our gallery. This new space will add housing for four additional artists and negate the need to rent additional space.

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If you’ve ever watched a glassblowing demonstration you know that it takes teamwork to produce a perfect piece. PGC’s success relies on teamwork too. Like glass, it takes many people working together including donors, artists, patrons, students, visitors and community members to create the finest outcomes.

TOGETHER WE WILL:

shape the next generation of glass artists and makers in Pittsburgh grow Pittsburgh’s creative economy connect our region’s history as a major producer of glass to its creative future through the innovative use of glass as art

Join us—together we will cultivate an inclusive and welcoming environment that encourages everyone, from the casually curious to the master artist, to learn, create, and be inspired by glass.

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5472 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 412-365-2145 www.pittsburghglasscenter.org

Design by Morgan Hawkins Photography by Nathan J Shaulis / Porter Loves Emmai Alaquiva / Ya Momz House

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