Pittsburgh's $31m Arts Landing Opens with Public Art by vanessa german, Shikeith, Thaddeus Mosley

Arts Landing, a $31 million public project in downtown Pittsburgh, opened on April 17, 2026, just before the NFL Draft and the 59th Carnegie International. Managed by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the space features works by vanessa german, Darian Johnson, Lenka Clayton, Phillip Andrew Lewis, Sharmistha Ray, Mikael Owunna, Marques Redd, John Peña, Shikeith, and the late Thaddeus Mosley. Shikeith's neon sculpture 'Hold' explores Black American life and water symbolism, while Mosley's 'Touching the Earth' series, originally for New York's City Hall Park, gains poignancy after his death at 99. Ray designed artist-created pickleball courts opening this summer. The park includes a playground, bandshell, and concrete path. German's 'Lifted' benches incorporate tracings from local centenarians. Peña's interactive piece 'Local Time and Weather' lets participants change time and weather. The project aims to foster community engagement in an area previously lacking active public spaces due to homelessness and drug use.