Pittsburgh Playhouse Wins NEA Grant To Support Works By Black Women And Femme Artists

The Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University has been approved for a $30,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant was awarded to support a portion of the Pittsburgh Playhouse's "Shaping the Arts: Black Women and Femme Artists and Creators" program.

"Shaping the Arts: Black Women and Femme Artists and Creators" will be a focal point of the Pittsburgh Playhouse's 2022-2023 season. The programming includes the work of Urban Bush women; Terri Lyne Carrington; and Toshi Reagon's genre-defying Parable of the Sower. The goal of this series is to center the incredible work of these artists, unite diverse performance communities, and proactively heal while delivering a message of unity and creativity.

"We are honored to receive this grant of national distinction that supports the excellent programming of Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse," "said Don Green president of Point Park University. "This award acknowledges the Playhouse's commitment to excellence and reinforces the University's commitment to equity and inclusion."

The Pittsburgh Playhouse's Shaping the Arts: Black Women and Femme Artists and Creators" is among 1,125 projects across America totaling more than $26.6 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2022 funding.

According to Garfield Lemonius, dean of the Conservatory of Performing Arts and artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, "We seek to celebrate the creative achievements of Black women and femme creatives, create dialogue around our shared values, and consequently, better connect us to each other. We are immensely gratified that the NEA recognized our efforts."

Since its founding in 1933 at its original home on Craft Avenue in Oakland, to its current location on the campus of Point Park University in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Playhouse has nurtured the careers of many outstanding students and graduates. As Pittsburgh's newest arts center and the artistic laboratory for Point Park's prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA),the Pittsburgh Playhouse is consistently ranked among the Top 10 colleges represented on Broadway.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts and cultural organizations throughout the nation with these grants, including the Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University, providing opportunities for all of us to live artful lives," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD.

For more information on the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Conservatory of Performing Arts and Point Park University, visit www.PointPark.edu.