PITT ARTS Programs Continue to Gain Popularity With Students, Faculty, and Staff

Issue Date: 
August 23, 2011

PITT ARTS continues to flourish, with a continually increasing number of Pitt students, faculty, and staff using the program to taste Pittsburgh’s many cultural offerings.

The demand for PITT ARTS’ successful Cheap Seats program grew by 20 percent during the 2010-11 academic year. About 18,350 tickets were sold for seats at organizations ranging from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to Quantum Theatre. Participants reserve and pay for as many as four tickets at the PITT ARTS office (907 William Pitt Union), and the tickets may be picked up at the event venue’s Will Call window one hour before curtain time.

PITT ARTS’ Arts Encounters program also saw a jump in traffic in 2010-11, with 8,677 students participating—a 13 percent increase from the previous year. This program treats undergraduate students on the Pittsburgh campus to free tickets, free transportation, a meal, and a chance to meet the stars of the art world, including encounters with such artists as violinist Joshua Bell and filmmaker Spike Lee.

The most successful PITT ARTS offering continues to be the Free Museum Visits program for students on the Pittsburgh campus. Pitt students with a valid Pitt ID can gain free admission to the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory, Senator John Heinz History Center, and the newest partner, added just last year—Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. The Free Museum Visits program racked up a total of 21,959 in 2010-11, with visits to Phipps alone up by 14 percent.

There is one notable add-on this year at PITT ARTS: The bluegrass/folk music ensemble Calliope is now among the art organizations participating in the Cheap Seats program.

Funded by the Office of the Provost, PITT ARTS has been connecting Pitt students, faculty, and staff to the city’s exciting cultural life since 1997.