G-20 Causes Date Changes, Limits Access to Some Offerings Of PITT ARTS Partners

The University of Pittsburgh’s PITT ARTS has announced that there will be a number of changes involving access to the arts because of the G-20 Summit and related events occurring Downtown, on the North Side, and in Oakland on Sept. 24 and 25.

CLO Cabaret, a PITT ARTS Cheap Seats partner, is cancelling its performances of

8 Track: The Sounds of the 70’s on Sept. 24 and 25. Closed also on those dates will be all of the Carnegie Museums, including the Museums of Art and Natural History and The Andy Warhol Museum, for which PITT ARTS offers free visits. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, another free-visits cultural community partner, will close Sept. 23 and 24.  Phipps plans to reopen Sept. 25 but advises interested visitors to call ahead regarding that day.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has rescheduled its concert featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony from Sept. 25-27 to June 4-6, 2010. Heinz Hall will also be closed on Sept. 24 and 25.

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture has moved its Marc Bamuthi Joseph performances, originally scheduled for September 24-25, to Oct. 28-29.

“Given the fact that the perimeter of the G-20 Summit will pose a significant difficulty Downtown, the overall effect on PITT ARTS’ Cheap Seats buyers has been nominal, with prompt rescheduling of performances for alternate dates. But the impact on the museum free visits will be the most pronounced owing to the closures during the summit,” said Annabelle Clippinger, director of PITT ARTS. The exceptions are the Mattress Factory on the North Side and the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District, both of which plan to remain open.

“I recommend that members of the Pitt community who are disappointed about the rescheduling of Beethoven’s Ninth to purchase and enjoy the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Vivaldi Four Seasons concert Oct 1-4,” Clippinger said.

Pittsburgh Opera’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and the August Wilson Center for African American Culture’s presentation of the popular dance company Philadanco are both set to proceed as planned Downtown on the evening of Sept. 26.

Since its creation in 1997, PITT ARTS has been connecting the University’s Pittsburgh campus students to the cultural life of the city. It provides on-campus art experiences and free museum visits for Pitt students, as well as discounted tickets to the region’s cultural events for Pitt staff, faculty, and students. PITT ARTS is funded by the Office of the Provost.