Shanna Carrick

PITTSBURGH ARTS & LECTURES SELECTED AS A GRANTEE OF BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES’

ARTS INNOVATION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will participate in $43 million program

Pittsburgh, PA — September 5, 2018 — Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures announced that it is a grantee recipient of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. The invitation-only program seeks to strengthen the organizational capacity and programming of small and mid-size cultural organizations within Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Through the $43 million multi-year initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide unrestricted general operating support as well as arts management training in areas that include fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and board development.

Stephanie Flom, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures said “we are thrilled and honored to participate in this important program to expand the impact of the work we do to make a difference in our region through the literary arts.”

AIM targets arts non-profits because of the vital role that they play in building communities, driving local economies and supporting artists. “The arts inspire people, provide jobs, and strengthen communities,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This program is aimed at helping some of the country’s most exciting cultural organizations reach new audiences and expand their impact.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies will develop curricula and conduct seminars for the program in partnership with leading experts, including the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland, led by Institute Chairman Michael M. Kaiser and President Brett Egan. AIM organizations will engage in activities that strengthen their long-term health and goals, and will receive one-on-one consultations and implementation support for organization leaders and their boards.

All organizations invited to participate in the 2018 expansion of the AIM program are nonprofits that have been in existence for at least two years. Participating organizations will be required to secure 20% of their AIM grant in matching dollars; reach 100% board participation in fundraising; and maintain up-to-date information in DataArts, an online management tool that assists arts organizations across the country in collecting, learning from, and using data effectively. The grants will be unrestricted to allow recipients to utilize the funds to address their greatest needs.

Since 2011, AIM has helped more than 500 small and mid-sized organizations in all creative disciplines, including theater, visual arts, music, film, literature and dance. Participating organizations reported significant improvements in board development, fundraising and overall income over the two-year program. Watch this video for an overview of the Arts Innovation and Management program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KJy8DgjRDg&feature=youtu.be.

About Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures            

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures was launched with a lecture by Pittsburgh native Annie Dillard on September 16, 1991 at The Fulton (now The Byham) Theater in downtown Pittsburgh.

Over the years we have connected thousands of Pittsburghers with iconic authors including Kurt Vonnegut, George Plimpton, Margaret Atwood, Edward Albee, John Updike, Alice Walker, Tom Wolfe, Jamaica Kincaid, Arthur Miller, Amy Tan, August Wilson, Susan Sontag, Spalding Gray, and E.L. Doctorow, just to name a few!

We now present five signature series and partner with area schools and non-profit organizations to maximize the impact of visiting authors to our region.

The mission of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is to connect celebrated authors with the community, elevate civic discourse, and inspire creativity and a passion for the literary arts.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies works in over 480 cities in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $702 million. For more information, please visit www.bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.

Media Contact

Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rebecca Carriero + 1 -212-205-0182 or rebeccac@bloomberg.org

Contact: Lisa Christopher, 412.622.5578 or LChristopher@pittsburghlectures.org

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is thrilled and honored to share our 2018/19 line-up for Ten Evenings. Executive Director Stephanie Flom will announce the line-up from the stage at the start of the evening featuring the final lecture of this season by Viet Thanh Nguyen on Monday, April 9. The 2017/18 season has seen record-setting attendance with each lecture in the 1,800-seat Carnegie Music Hall sold to capacity.

The 2018/19 season boasts a roster of literary super stars—all claiming bragging rights to prestigious awards and critical acclaim. With the exception of Joyce Carol Oates who appeared in 1992, each is appearing on Ten Evenings, the mainstage series of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, for the first time.

Says Ms. Flom on the authors being presented next season: “These celebrated authors and their significant works reflect the topics of our time—immigration, racism, gender and class inequality, globalization, and identity—while conveying the human elements of compassion and hope. We need these books.”

Joyce Carol Oates/ Monday, September 24, 2018

The iconic, extraordinary Joyce Carol Oates is the recipient of the National Book Award and five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. Beautiful Days is a collection of mesmerizing stories of passion, independence, and defiance.

Luis Alberto Urrea/ Monday, October 8, 2018

Master storyteller and Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea explores themes of love, loss, and triumph. The House of Broken Angels is a bittersweet portrait of a Mexican-American family facing the imminent death of its beloved patriarch.

Katherine Boo / Monday, October 22, 2018

Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo’s breathtaking book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity humanizes bewildering inequality through the stories of families striving toward a better life.

Masha Gessen/ Monday, November 5, 2018

Russian and American journalist Masha Gessen is the winner of the National Book Award for The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia—a powerful and urgent cautionary tale for our time.

Tayari Jones/ Monday, November 19, 2018

Critically acclaimed and award-winning novelist Tayari Jones provides a masterpiece of storytelling, asking brave questions about race and class in her instant bestseller and 2018 Oprah Book Club selection An American Marriage.

Dave Eggers/ Monday, December 10, 2018

The Monk of Mokah is the latest “gripping, triumphant adventure” (Los Angeles Times) from Dave Eggers, bestselling author of National Book Award Finalist A Hologram for the King and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Mokhtar Alkhanshali, the subject of The Monk of Mokah and the founder and CEO of Port of Mokah coffee will appear with Dave Eggers.

Jill Lepore/ Monday, January 14, 2019

Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore offers a groundbreaking investigation into the origins of our divided nation. These Truths: A History of the United States follows her riveting Secret History of Wonder Woman.

Ottessa Moshfegh/ Monday, February 18, 2019

A celebrated new literary voice, Ottessa Moshfegh’s debut novel Eileen was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and her short stories in The Paris Review awarded the Plimpton Prize. She writes with dark humor, tenderness, and compassion. She writes My Year of Rest and Relaxation with dark humor, tenderness, and compassion.

Valeria Luiselli/ Monday, March 11, 2019

Valeria Luiselli was born in Mexico City. Her critically acclaimed narrative Tell Me How It Ends has been described as a call to action and “vital for understanding the crisis that immigrants to the U.S. are facing” (Publisher’s Weekly).

Min Jin Lee/ Monday, April 1, 2019

Min Jin Lee’s National Book Award Finalist, Pachinko, is a gorgeous, page-turning saga where four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan, exiled from a home they never knew.

The 2018/19 Ten Evenings series is presented by Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, made possible with the support of The Drue Heinz Trust, and presented in association with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. This is the 28^th season of Pittsburgh’s literary lecture series. All programs will be presented on Monday evenings at 7:30 pm in Oakland’s historic Carnegie Music Hall.

Subscription renewals for the 2018/19 Ten Evenings are available May 1, new subscriptions on June 1, and single tickets go on sale July 5. Ticket prices remain affordable ranging from $15 to $35; student tickets are available for $10 with student identification. More information is available by visiting pittsburghlectures.org or calling Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, 412.622.8866.