CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Hill District arts center draws raves

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The birthplace of playwright August Wilson, jazz great George Benson and others has a new home for the arts.
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials gathered Tuesday in the Hill District to celebrate the debut of the refurbished Kaufmann Center, which housed social service programs for decades before undergoing a $6 million renovation that began in 2009.

1 comment:

Matt said...

I hope this means more good news for the Hill District. What is great about Pittsburgh is the pride people take in their neighborhoods and the arts/cultural scene that evolve out of that. Take for instance the post on Lawrenceville's Art All Night as an example. However I'm not so sure how effect the newly refurbished Kauffman Center will be in helping the development of the Hill District (which is I assume a desired result.) I wonder if the best way to help develop the Hill as a neighborhood would be to focus on other economic developments (like the recent Console Energy Center jobs.) Let the people find their voice and they will express themselves and then develop their own arts & community centers. I understand the Kauffman Center is a renovation of an older community center but I wonder if cultural development should come from within the neighborhood while other developments come from outside the Hill. Don't get me wrong, if this helps the people of the Hill District, this is wonderful. But the City has had so many problems in dealing with the Hill that if the investment in the Kauffman Center fails, then future projects will be few and far between.