Housing policy, infrastructure projects and neighborhood development plans may not seem like obvious places to look for art.
But those were exactly the conversations Thursday morning at Point Park University, where about 200 artists, cultural leaders and elected officials gathered for the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Policy and Action Roundtable.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato framed it simply, with a phrase that drew laughs in the room: The arts contribute to the region’s “cool shit factor.”
But the discussion that followed was less about slogans than systems.
Patrick Fisher, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, said the region must move beyond treating arts as an add-on.
“Arts and culture are not peripheral,” he said. Cultural institutions and artists, he argued, need to be embedded in the policies, projects and planning conversations that shape the region.
Innamorato said that looks like considering public art in neighborhood revitalization efforts like the county’s Main Streets Allegheny program.
For Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor, it means thinking about artists when housing is designed — setting aside units early for creative workers alongside teachers, police, firefighters and EMS personnel.
And it means looking at infrastructure projects not just as engineering problems but as opportunities for civic expression. O’Connor pointed to several possibilities already on his radar.
The Boulevard of the Allies, he said, shouldn’t feel like “a six-lane highway cutting through Downtown.” A future redesign could incorporate green infrastructure and art as part of a multimillion-dollar project to reshape the corridor.
Elsewhere, the city owns roughly 11,000 vacant parcels that could become canvases for creative use.
“Let’s get creative,” O’Connor said, suggesting possibilities ranging from sculptures to music venues.
Art for the NFL Draft and beyond
The new mayor also talked about activating vacant storefronts by speeding up the permitting process. Instead of the four or five months it can take now, he said the goal would be four or five days.
Both O’Connor and Innamorato urged artists to see themselves not only as creators but also as civic participants.
Sit on boards. Pitch ideas to local government. Help shape what the region becomes.
Innamorato pointed to the county’s broader planning work, including its comprehensive plan, as a place where artists should be involved early.
Without clear, community-informed planning, she said, new funding often flows to those who are politically connected or already know how to navigate government systems.
The coming NFL Draft offered another moment, O’Connor said. “That week cannot just be about football.” Artists and cultural organizations should help visitors understand what Pittsburgh culture looks like beyond sports. “That has not been done in a long time.”
Still, the conversation repeatedly returned to a harder question: funding.
Government budgets are tight. Philanthropy is already deeply involved in the region’s arts ecosystem. Both elected officials suggested the next frontier may be stronger corporate support and more public-private partnerships.
Dusty Elias Kirk, board chair of the Allegheny Regional Asset District, described the pressures many arts organizations face: audiences that have not fully returned since the pandemic, rising operating costs and workforce shortages.
Yet she pushed back on the idea that arts are expendable during difficult times.
“Art is not an option,” Kirk said. “Art is essential for the lifeblood of this region.”
Halle Stockton is the editor-in-chief at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at halle@publicsource.org.
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