Union Project
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The Union Project, located in Pittsburgh, PA and founded in 2001 by a group of young Pittsburghers, is a non-profit organization located at the literal intersection of two of Pittsburgh's most diverse and historic neighborhoods—East Liberty and Highland Park. It houses offices for several nonprofit organizations and four social enterprises and rents space for civic gatherings. [1]
The project takes its name from one of its previous occupants—the Union Baptist Church. The project's founding members bought an ailing church on the corner of Stanton Ave and N. Negley Ave. Built in 1903, the church had been home to a number of congregations until it was abandoned in the mid-1990s. Purchased for $125,000, the building was restored through a $1.6 million capital campaign. Funds were raised through a process of grassroots organizing, public grants, and private contributions. [1]
The project is run by a small full-time staff and a board of directors, and hosts a number of part-time interns
[edit] Activities
Currently, the building houses 6 permanent office tenants: the Open Door church, America Votes, Jackson-Clark Partners, PULSE, and Plumb Media. It makes additional rental space available: a conference room Room, a semi-circular atrium space for up to 50 people, and a Great Hall for 350.
It hosts the 'Eat UP Cafe, opened in the Spring of 2006 which offers meal service and caters events at the project and in the community. The cafe operates as a job training program for urban youth from Peabody High School as well as youth who have aged out of foster care in Allegheny County. Beginning in Summer 2007 the cafe began a partnership with national coffee retailer Starbucks, to improve its service, and provide Starbucks coffee and teas.
The group Glass Action is a stained glass restoration studio located at the project. It has offered a series of workshops for artists of all skill levels to learn the art of stained glass restoration. During the project, the building's historic windows were cleaned, repaired, and re-installed. This business model has attracted national media attention from Stained Glass Quarterly, stained glass artists, and the Glass Artists Society. Additional restoration services are being provided for off-site projects.
The project has developed a clay cooperative for artists in the Pittsburgh area. Clay artists pay a monthly fee for access to clay, glazes, wheels, kilns and other tools and materials. Additionally, the Union Project offers ceramics classes for artists of various skill levels throughout the year. Ceramics@UP also employs several Pittsburgh area youth in its production studio, which creates custom ceramic ware retailed at several museums and galleries in the Pittsburgh area. Some of these include the Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Sweetwater Center for the Arts, and Divertido Gallery. Ceramics@UP was one of many Pittsburgh locations to host the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in March 2008.[citation needed]
