With a new name, Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media is turning the corner in finances
The Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media, formerly known as Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, has paid off more than $1.75 million in debt and deposited nearly $2.28 million in the bank.
Last December, the nonprofit with a new name consolidated its offices at Fifth and Shady avenues in the East End, where it offers classes in podcasting, digital storytelling, ceramics, photography, painting, jewelry making and weaving.
That same month, the arts group sold its Oakland building at 477 Melwood Ave. for $3.75 million to Carnegie Mellon University and consolidated operations in two Gilded Age mansions and a classroom building. One former gallery holds neatly organized filmmaking equipment. Another will serve as a screening room with 58 chairs so filmmakers can see their work on a large screen.
“It’s a time to stabilize,” said Dorinda Sankey, chief administrative officer, adding that the nonprofit’s annual budget will be about $2 million.
With money from the property sale, the nonprofit paid off an $875,000 line of credit and a $300,000 mortgage that remained on the Oakland building, Ms. Sankey said. The organization also reimbursed vendors who had waited three months for payment.
At 5:30 p.m. Friday, inside the yellow Charles Marshall mansion,
a new exhibition opens to the public. “Distilled” showcases 66 works and photographs by 38 artists, including a mural titled “This Magic Moment” by Danny Devine.
Creative director Kyle Houser, board president Christine Holtz and Ms. Sankey aim to make membership more accessible to artists. Quarterly payments will be an option, and membership fees will vary depending on an artist’s medium. Currently, the organization has 210 members.
“We want to meet people where they are in terms of time management and cash flow,” Ms. Sankey said.
The organization will revive its annual film festival on three weekends in November by screening films at Regent Square Theater, Edgewood, and Harris Theater, Downtown.
The East End location is more accessible to public transportation, Ms. Sankey said. The organization was using only one-third of the 44,000 square feet at the Oakland building that was sold.
Ms. Sankey is also negotiating a new lease with the City of Pittsburgh, which owns the campus, the Marshall and Scaife mansions and a classroom building called the Marshall annex. The current lease, which expires in April, requires the arts group to pay for all maintenance on the buildings. The city mows the grass in Mellon Park and removes snow from the street that runs through the property, Ms. Sankey said.
After Oxford Management prepared a detailed assessment of deferred maintenance on all three buildings, Ms. Sankey submitted it to Mayor Bill Peduto. The arts groups is not asking for city funding, Ms. Sankey said, but wanted city officials to be aware of how much work is needed on the buildings. The Marshall family gave its mansion to the city with the proviso that it remain a center for the arts. The nearby Scaife mansion is also used for classrooms and offices.
Wahila Creative has been hired to redesign the organization’s website, pfpca.org. Dezudio is creating a new logo.