Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC)

Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) was founded by local glass artists Kathleen Mulcahy and the late Ron Desmett (1948–2016), who shared a vision in the early 1990s: create an innovative glass art center that would cultivate community, foster economic growth, and thereby change the city. They’d seen how the power of art drove revitalization in decaying neighborhoods in New York City and northern New Jersey. They wanted that same positive dynamic for Pittsburgh. As passionate glass artists working in Pittsburgh, Ron and Kathleen envisioned a place that would attract top artists but also welcome the novice artist and non-artists intrigued by glass.

Ron and Kathleen worked for 12 years to bring the people together who would help make their dream a reality, including artists, foundations, community members, and glass enthusiasts like the Block family. William and Maxine Block were avid glass collectors who supported Kathleen and Ron’s vision. Their daughter Karen Block Johnese was very involved. She secured the organization’s nonprofit status in 1998, recruited the first board of directors, and helped raise over three million dollars to build the world-class facility. Randi Dauler and her late husband, L. Van V. Dauler, Jr., began supporting PGC in early 2001. They frequently supported capital projects at PGC both personally and through the family’s foundation, the Emma Clyde Hodge Memorial Fund. Projects included the Emma Clyde Hodge Gallery, completion of the kiln shop, replacement furnaces and large reheating chamber, the mobile hot shop and most recently established the first endowed directorship, the Randi & L. Van V. Dauler, Jr. Executive Director chair at PGC.

With the help and support of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Friendship Development Associates, and Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, their vision was realized in 2001 when the Pittsburgh Glass Center opened its doors to the public. Since then, PGC has educated more than a quarter of a million individuals, contributed to the ongoing development of the city’s East End, and made Pittsburgh a significant hub in the international studio glass community. Read more on Kathleen Mulcahy’s Web Site.