Dear PGH Museums,
Dear PGHMuseums,
Pittsburgh Exposition building seen in 1914 Pittsburgh Press
Congratulations on your name change and becoming the New Pittsburgh Exposition!
This rebranding signifies a turn for the organization, which has grown so much since its inception in 2020. What started as building a directory of museums, galleries, and historical landmarks across the region has forged into a media platform and online magazine. When I think about the legacy of PGHMuseums, I think primarily of the comprehensive online directory. The new name marks the multimedia expansion that, in line with the mission, helps “educate and connect people to art, history, and culture throughout western Pennsylvania.”
The directory was always about more than museums, and the organization was always about more than the directory. Though, its resource demonstrates just how robust western Pennsylvania is. When people think about art in this area, Pittsburgh’s identity has a strong institutional reputation with notable figures, international exhibits, and well-deserved accolades. Upon a closer look, Pittsburgh is composed of many independent galleries and landmarks that stretch beyond the city limits.
Zooming out from a local to a regional scale, the city is an island skirting the Midwest and East Coast, sitting just within reach of the Great Lakes, Appalachian Mountains, and sprawling rural lands. Entwined in a rich history of early French and English settlements, war, and the occupation of the Osage and Shawnee land, many sites and landmarks connect the region through time. Beyond an institutional lens, there is no limit to discovering art, history, and information – an exposition ‘sets forth’ ideas or introduces something in writing or show. As a digital multimedia engine through space and time, it makes sense to rebrand with the concept of showing rather than the symbol of a museum.
The new name offers a nod to Exposition Hall of Pittsburgh’s past, which opened in 1889 on the shore of the Allegheny River. For thirty years, until the Great Depression, the industrial warehouse showcased art, food, music, and fashion with the popular format of a fair to connect art lovers and local families across Pittsburgh. According to the website, organizers of Exposition Hall were “determined to have a venue that offered the feel of a County Fair with the mystique of a World’s Fair.”
Offering homage to an early-twentieth century Pittsburgh acknowledges that the tradition of innovation, arts, and history are deeply a part of its roots. Pittsburgh as a city has withstanded economic turnover and adapted many times, and it feels suiting to form a new exposition to showcase its connection in the region and across time. The Pittsburgh Exposition curates art and culture through its digital resources, two podcasts, and web content to highlight western Pennsylvania’s robust cultural scene.
Thank you to the namesake, PGHMuseums, that brought us here. Thank you to the dedicated readers and listeners of the New Pittsburgh Exposition. A new chapter unfolds with the New Pittsburgh Exposition.
Sincerely,
Pittsburgh Exposition
The above is a fictional letter from the early Pittsburgh Expositions of the late 1800s and early 1900s to The New Pittsburgh Exposition, rebranded from PGH Museums in 2024 and comes from the creative mind of Victoria Sterling. Victoria was a founding board member of the PGH Museums Corporation and rediscovered us through the rebrand after taking time away from the project.
