“Not Just for a Moment”
Arts Greenhouse taps artistic expression, community connections to change the lives of Pittsburgh youth
Art connects communities. Art transcends circumstance. Art can express our place at a moment in history.
At CMU, the Arts Greenhouse offers Pittsburgh middle school students the opportunity to speak up, speak out and change their lives through creative forms like writing, performance, visual arts and technological arts.
Housed in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the program began as an on-campus, hip hop-based education program that brought students from the greater Pittsburgh area to campus to create and record music. It has since expanded to offering programming to educators and students directly in their schools, meeting the community where its needs lie and fostering deeper social understanding and personal achievement in students who have a lot to say.
With increased philanthropic support from donors and community members like you, the Arts Greenhouse is ready to introduce even more students to the life-changing power of the arts.
Featured in this Story
Richard Purcell
Director
Richard Purcell is an associate professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University. His writing and research are focused on the intersection of race, culture and media with a particular focus on contemporary black popular craft. Purcell has a passion for public education and curriculum writing. He has been the director of Arts Greenhouse since 2017.
Shun-Sho Carmack
Program Manager
Shun-Sho Carmack has worked in youth programming for over a decade. With a background in journalism and mass communication, fine arts and library and information science, she has focused her career on elevating equitable access to information, resources, research and learning for youth and young adults. Carmack is currently pursuing a Master of Arts Management at CMU. She joined Arts Greenhouse in 2019 as the program coordinator.
Kai Roberts
Advisory Board Member
Kai Roberts is a member of the Arts Greenhouse advisory board. He is a Pittsburgh native, Arts Greenhouse alum and 2015 Tepper School of Business alum. Since graduating, Roberts has worked for The Pittsburgh Promise, YMCA Lighthouse Project and Carnegie Mellon Office of Undergraduate Admission. He also serves as a professional mental health speaker for a nonprofit called Active Minds, Inc.
Nick Ryan
Business Manager
Nick is the business manager for the English Department, including Arts Greenhouse. His focus is on finance and human resources, including budgeting, accounting, purchasing, hiring and payroll. He is also responsible for computing, space assignments and facility maintenance.
Richard Scheines
Bess Family Dean
Richard Scheines is the Bess Family Dean of Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences. Scheines, professor of philosophy, built his career on crossing academic disciplines. Before becoming dean of the in July 2014, Scheines had served as head of the Department of Philosophy since 2005. Under his leadership, the department more than tripled its external research funding, strengthened its global reputation and attracted and retained the highest quality faculty and students.
Student Anthologies
Explore a collection of work from students who have participated in the Arts Greenhouse.
Want to learn more about the Arts Greenhouse?
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