The Pittsburgh Glass Center is a gallery, glass studio, and public-access school dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting studio glass art.[1][2] It is located on Penn Avenue in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It has features works by Paul Joseph Stankard and classes taught by Dante Marioni, Davide Salvadore, and Cesare Toffolo.[3]

Pittsburgh Glass Center

Pittsburgh Glass Center logo
Location within Pittsburgh
Established	2001[1]
Location	5472 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206
Coordinates	40.464187°N 79.932919°W / 40.464187; -79.932919
Website	www.pittsburghglasscenter.org

The origins of the Pittsburgh Glass Center date to 1991, when David Stephens, then visual-arts officer of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, approached glass artists Ron Desmett and Kathleen Mulcahy, then a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, about the idea of a center for studio glass.[3] It was originally to have been the Elizabeth Glass Center in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania.[4] However, by 1999, the plans had changed and the center was re-oriented to Pittsburgh.[4] It was officially opened in 2001.[1]

The current facility in Friendship is LEED-certified.[5] Its development has aided the growth of Garfield, especially with the adjacent Glass Lofts residential development.[5]

In fall 2010, the Pittsburgh Glass Center entered into talks with Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.[6] By May 2011, the talks had failed, with the Pittsburgh Glass Center withdrawing from negotiations.[6]

In 2012, the Glass Center purchased residential housing adjacent to its main gallery space to be used as student and artist-in-residence housing.[7]

By 2012, the center had a $1 million budget, with 10 full-time employees.[5]

References