Matters of Trust

J. Kevin McMahon, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Photography by Jeff Swensen

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has been “devastated” by the pandemic. Now, the organization tries to bring Downtown to virtual spaces — and tries to plan for the future. Sean Collier tells the story, with photographs by Jeff Swensen.

Typically, the city’s First Night celebration welcomes hundreds of thousands to Downtown’s Cultural District. Some take in performances and explore galleries in spaces always filled to capacity; others roam the city streets, browsing and exploring until a massive fireworks display fills the sky at midnight.

It’s Pittsburgh, after all: We do everything with fireworks.

There will be some pyrotechnics as part of this year’s Highmark First Night Pittsburgh celebration, but few, if any, will see them on the ground. Instead, they will be brought into the safety of viewers’ homes via a special broadcast on KDKA-TV.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the organization that administers the programming and events throughout the city’s normally vibrant Cultural District, is planning a robust and impressive virtual substitution for the normal celebration. “Pittsburgh Today Live” hosts Heather Abraham and David Highfield will anchor a broadcast set to feature music, magic and all the traditional New Year’s Eve hallmarks, culminating with a countdown — look for the raising of the “Future of Pittsburgh Ball” — and, yes, fireworks. At-home enhancements are available, in the form of the “First Night Friends in a Box” package; the swag collection includes treats from the likes of the Milkshake Factory and Fancypants Popcorn, an exclusive Cultural Trust candle, playing cards from Liberty Magic and more.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Sarah Aziz.jpg — What works

Sarah Aziz, PCT Director of Festival Management

Will it be the same? No. But, according to Sarah Aziz, the Trust’s Director of Festival Management, it meets the essential goal of the event.

“We always look at it as a very accessible event and kind of the open house to the Cultural District,” Aziz says. Key to that access is First Night’s affordability. “There’s a lot of stuff that you can participate in for zero dollars. We felt like that accessibility was really important to maintain; by partnering with KDKA, we’re able to do that.”

Replacing the event with a one-hour television special rather than internet-focused virtual programming is deliberate, Aziz says. “We’re trying to see what works, see what’s fun and interesting,” especially after the first major Trust event to go virtual: May’s Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. The event, which took place exclusively online, was a success in terms of artist satisfaction, Aziz reports, and attracted more than 150,000 online guests. In a typical year, however, that number is at least 500,000.

“I’d say what worked was highlighting local performers,” Aziz says, especially the musicians and artists who received a spotlight position among the festival’s streaming offerings. After more than a half-year of restrictions, however, “We’re realizing that people don’t want to just tune in for anything anymore.

“In March, everyone was willing to go online and do a virtual concert; now that we’re coming up in November, people .... want a better experience, a more artistic experience.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been significant successes among the Trust’s online programming. The Harris Theater’s “Harris @ Home” cinema program has brought exclusive film titles into living rooms; a YouTube series from Liberty Magic, the intimate parlor-magic venue, has reached about 30,000 viewers through virtual offerings (normally, the theater only seats 66). And educational programming delivered via remote learning can get to many more students; a “virtual field trip” concert with the duo Black Violin will be delivered to 35,000 students, a tally that would be unthinkable in person at the Byham Theater.

These are positive signs for the continued relevance of the Cultural Trust. They are not, however, going to change the organization’s mission. J. Kevin McMahon, the Trust’s President and CEO, says, “Every survey that we do, every conversation that I have with audience members tells me that live performance, being there, experiencing it with other people is what it’s all about.”

Digital advancements in 2020 could add to “some interesting multi-modal opportunities where we’ll see our ability to bring programming to perhaps larger audiences through digital formats, yes,” McMahon says.

“But fundamentally, we’re in the business of bringing large groups of people together for shared, live experience.”

While some corners of the arts world — some movie theaters, comedy clubs and local music venues — have attempted to re-open amid reduced capacities, McMahon says that was never on the table for the Cultural Trust. “We want to be as careful as we can. Even if we think we can do something, we first put that through the lens of safety — and the question is, should we do it. Even if we can do it, should we do it.”

The safety of staff, performers and audiences is paramount, McMahon says. It cannot be ignored, additionally, that there is no economic benefit to rushing things; for larger venues such as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, reduced-capacity shows are almost impossible to make profitable.

“We could very easily space people out in that venue and have people six feet, 12 feet, 20 feet apart. The problem is, in doing that, instead of having almost 3,000 people in the hall, we’d have 300 people in the hall, and that doesn’t work economically for most shows.” For many productions, without an audience near capacity, there’s no profit.

With no shows at all, of course, the situation is dire. “This has been devastating to us,” McMahon says. “Absolutely devastating.” He points to the board’s annual budget as an indicator of the economic carnage: 2020 will end with a $30 million deficit. And, where a normal year’s budget is in the $65-75 million range, 2021 will see a base budget of just $17 million.

That will inevitably mean deep cuts, and the organization has already experienced plenty. “All of our event, hourly employees — way back in March, as soon as we had the shutdown of all of our theaters, we furloughed all of them, several hundred individuals. There was just no work at all.” About half of the Trust’s full-time staffers — ordinarily about 115 people — were furloughed over the summer; those that remain have taken a 30% pay cut.

McMahon believes the organization can survive the storm and recover. For how long? “We don’t have a choice, so the answer to that question is, as long as it takes. We are in that mode; we are very much about making sure that we do everything we can to make sure that the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is there and functional when it’s time to reopen.”

When that time comes, it won’t be like flipping a light switch and resuming full programming. “Our reopening plans are very much a phase by phase approach — with, again, safety most in mind,” McMahon says. He speculates that solo performers at spaces like the Trust’s Cabaret Theater will likely be among the first to return; aside from the economic challenges, large-scale productions are difficult to make safe for backstage crews, artists and staff. The return to normalcy will be a step-by-step process.

As for the timeline: “I’ve long ago given up predicting when we’re going to be operational again,” McMahon says.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust faces a critical financial situation. This health crisis has wreaked havoc on the arts and culture in our country and in our city. Since mid-March, the Trust has been forced to cancel more than 4,000 performances and events, leaving a cultural void in our community. In April, the Trust identified a $6 million shortfall in our budget for the 2020 fiscal year. We have already made progress toward closing this gap through generous contributions, including a lead gift from a Trustee as well as significant gifts from other key stakeholders. Still, there currently remains a $2 million shortfall. We are working to raise these much-needed funds by the end of this year.

A view of downtown Pittsburgh by Jeff Swensen

That’s a planning and scheduling nightmare, Aziz says, pointing out that they have a number of contingency plans for 2021’s Arts Festival. “We have plans A to at least Z in effect,” she says. “We stopped trying to guess what the pandemic was doing about the time of [last year’s] Arts Festival. We don’t know; nobody knows. We’re just going to have to do our best.”

Amid that uncertain timeline and what will inevitably be a changed landscape, McMahon can only hope that the city continues to support a thriving Downtown, given life by the arts. “Don’t forget us,” he asks. “I’m so worried that, as life continues to go on and businesses continue to reopen,” some will forget the institutions that cannot yet welcome guests.

“I’m hoping that out of sight, out of mind does not happen.”

All of us at TABLE Magazine recognize the importance of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. If you feel the same way, please read this message from the organization, and give what you can during this critical year-end timeframe.

You can ensure the arts will once again thrive in our Cultural District! Join us now to help close the $2 million budget shortfall.

With your help, the Trust will emerge from this pandemic, ready to welcome millions of visitors to the Cultural District for world-class arts experiences. We cannot wait to bring you back to our theaters for performances like PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Children’s and Bridge Theater Series’, and Liberty Magic, plus festivals like the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Gallery Crawls, and more.

For now, be sure to check out virtual presentations like Jazz Live @ Home, Harris Theater @ Home, the EQT Children’s Theater Festival @ Home, and more.

If you love the arts, if you have ever enjoyed a night out in the Cultural District, if you miss us like we miss you – please donate now.