The Carnegie Museums on Tuesday publicly launched a $500 million comprehensive campaign to support operations, programming and exhibitions at the group’s four museums: Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art in Oakland and the Andy Warhol Museum and the Kamin Science Center, both on the North Side.
Steven Knapp, president and CEO of the Carnegie Museums, said that this is the first campaign of its kind the museums have done in more than 20 years.
“It includes priorities in all four of the museums, plus priorities of the institution as a whole,” he told TribLive.
This new phase of the All Together Campaign comes after $360 million has already been raised during its “silent phase,” funding recent additions and improvements to the museums, including the opening of Sports360 at the Kamin Science Center, the launch of the Pop District near The Warhol, the renovation of the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland and more.
That “silent phase” was approved by the Carnegie Museums’ board in fall 2023, Knapp said.
“It’s really starting with people sort of closest to you. Then in the public phase, you’re casting a wider net, hoping to engage more members of the community.”
Bringing the wider community of more than a million people who visit the Carnegie Museums each year is about preserving memories and experiences for future generations, Knapp said.
“We have a lot of people who bring to the museums memories of their childhood, when they came here on school field trips or with their families,” he said. “And then, whenever visitors come to town, they come back. It really becomes part of their lives.”
He also pointed out Pittsburgh’s world-class arts and culture scene and the role that the Carnegie Museums play in it. “I think it’s a remarkable aspect of this city,” he said.
Knapp looks forward to the campaign helping to build the “Science of Speed” exhibit at the Kamin Science Center. There will also be other larger projects over the next several years, including The Factory: Creative Arts Center, a performing arts center in the Pop District near The Warhol.
More improvements for facilities, programming and exhibits are planned — two new early-learner experiences at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Kamin Science Center; revitalization of exterior spaces at the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Oakland campus and the Kamin Science Center; and several other projects.
Knapp said that one of the important, all-encompassing aspects of the campaign is continuing to provide and grow access to the museums through their Community Access Memberships program.
“We want to continue to grow that kind of access so that everybody has an opportunity to take advantage of the museums,” he said.
That program provides a number of lower-cost options for going to the museums, including free memberships for teenagers between ages 13 and 18; discounted memberships for families suffering economic hardships; and organizational access memberships for community-based nonprofits serving disadvantaged populations.
“We have a very loyal community of supporters here and we’re hoping that in the public phase, they’ll take us the rest of the way the final stretch of the campaign to that $500 million,” Knapp said.
To learn more, visit carnegiemuseums.org.
