The City of Pittsburgh and American Rescue Plan Act Support for Artists Grant

Overview

The City of Pittsburgh, with funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), is launching the Support for Artists Grant Program, to be facilitated by Casey Droege Cultural Productions. These ARPA funds are meant to support the recovery of the City’s arts and culture sector from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Support for Artists program specifically supports the economic recovery of individual artists. Through this program, 75 one-time grants will be awarded at levels of $500, $1,500, and $3,000. 

Twenty-five artists will be selected for each grant amount and will receive a one-time deposit. Grants will be awarded to individual artists working in any and all disciplines who have experienced a disruption to their income stream due to the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 3, 2021 or later. Individual artists must currently be residents within the City of Pittsburgh municipal boundary (see map). Selected artists may be required to provide financial evidence in the form of tax statements or pay stubs. Throughout the course of this program, the City of Pittsburgh is required to follow all federal ARPA guidelines and all other applicable law. Artists are responsible for personal tax implications associated with an award.

Applications for the grant program will open on May 5, 2025, and will be due by 11:59 PM EST on June 16, 2025. Awarded grantees will be identified through a two-step process involving an eligibility assessment followed by a lottery system, all conducted by a review committee. Awarded grantees will be notified by September 1, 2025.

To learn more about this opportunity and to apply, click the button below.

The Poet Artist, The Artistic Poet: a workshop led by Naomi Chambers

The Poet Artist, The Artistic Poet: a workshop led by Naomi Chambers

Saturday, May 17th, 12-3pm
WCDC’s Lohr Gallery
Free

Join us on Saturday, May 17th from 12-3pm for a workshop inspired by Charlotte Ka's work led by WCDC Creative Lead Naomi Chambers at the Lohr Gallery. In this workshop, we draw from Charlotte Ka's intertwined writing and art making practice to create an artwork that flows from a poem OR a poem that crawls from a 2D artwork. Whether you are an artist or a writer, let's definitely be both. We will have watercolors, collage materials and mark making tools on hand AND of course PAPER to capture both modes of expression.

This is a free event, please register at the button below to reserve a seat.

CDCP x WCDC Present: Charlotte Ka opens Saturday, March 1

CDCP x WCDC Present: Charlotte Ka

Artist Reception: Saturday,March 1, 12-3pm

On view: March 1-May 31, 2025
Gallery hours: Saturdays 12-5pm

We’re thrilled to have Charlotte Ka be our third exhibiting artist for the ‘24-’25 season of Art All Over.

Charlotte Ka is an artist who splits her practice between Pittsburgh, PA and Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Crestas Terrace, a small village east of Pittsburgh, Charlotte left for New York to study at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. A formative time for Charlotte, she became inspired by the Black Revolution of the ‘60s and the defiant spirit of the Black Power movement, which led to her immersion in a new lifestyle that included her Black and African heritage.

Inspired by her love of art, dance, and music, Charlotte’s work is about “the beauty of the spirit.” She uses her memories of her inspirations as a foundation to create her mosaic-like abstract pieces. She has exhibited her work in New York City, NY, Pittsburgh, PA, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Cuba, Jamaica, and Brazil. She is the recipient of the NYFA Award in Painting and the Advancing of Black Arts grant from the Heinz Foundation. She and her partner Errol Reynolds founded MOKA (Mecca of Kulture and Art), an art studio, gallery and residence in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. 

WCDC's Lohr Gallery
725 Wood St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15221

CDCP Founder Casey Droege Recognized by Small Business Administration

CDCP Founder and Director Casey Droege got a shout out from the Small Business Administration (SBA)!

The SBA recognized our recent milestone of paying $1,000,000 back into the local arts economy, our unique approach to art consulting, and how we reached this financial target in a short seven years.

To check out the full article, click the button below.

$1,000,000 and beyond!

Photos taken by Jasnoor Kaur

We’re looking back at our major milestone from this past year: making one million dollars for the local arts economy!

We celebrated at Brew House Arts with friends and collaborators we've worked with over the years who helped us make this goal. We're grateful for everyone who's supported us this year and beyond, and we're looking forward to making our next million for the arts economy.

Though we’re thrilled about this milestone, our team is also preparing for what’s to come in 2025. Our Executive Director, Casey Droege, took a moment to write down her thoughts on the future of the arts in the wake of this past November.

“Like so many of you, we are recouping from a pretty bad election hangover. As we try to regain our bearings, I can’t help but imagine the worst case scenarios. Still, I’m finding some strength as I look at what we’ve built already and to this arts community that we are woven into.

The thing that keeps giving me a little peace is the idea that we’ve already built a business that does things differently. We’ve come this far by working around broken systems and pushing for better. We are adept at pivoting and finding the loopholes and figuring out ways to keep our heads above water.

I’m tired- but I’ve been tired for a while, and I’m not giving up. Our team at CDCP is not giving up. We’re resting, replenishing and figuring out ways we can keep moving forward. We will continue to find ways to build our arts economy and support our arts community. We will question the existing structures, we will find ways to create supportive platforms, and we will generate income for artists and arts workers. We will take breaks as needed and we will probably complain - a lot. But I hope that our team’s work will help strengthen this arts ecosystem and make a positive impact during turbulent times.”

We’re looking forward to making a positive impact with you in 2025 and beyond.

Happy New Year!
The CDCP Team