A new chapter is gradually unfolding for the city’s arts ecosystem as more New York galleries begin to set their sights on Pittsburgh. These Rust Belt expansions promise to reshape the local scene, bringing new perspectives and commercial opportunities while raising questions about sustainability and equity.

However, the challenges of sustaining a gallery in Pittsburgh are real. Lexi Bishop opened her gallery, here, in 2021, and it serves as a recent example of both the potential and the challenges of operating a commercial art space. What started as a pop-up that then earned a permanent space in the historic Mexican War Streets, the gallery drew on Bishop’s extensive experience at prestigious institutions like Christie’s and Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles. The space was poised to introduce contemporary art to a broader Pittsburgh audience.

Bishop announced in February the gallery’s temporary closure, citing various reasons.

“The gallery closing was less an issue about sustainability for me and more a mix between needing a break personally and a matter of location,” Bishop tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “My lease was up, so it seemed like a good time for a break.”

While the influx of galleries from a larger city could signal a revitalization for Pittsburgh, a city with deep industrial roots and a growing creative community, it also highlights tensions around affordability, local support, and balancing artistic integrity with commercial success in a shifting market. The arrival of outside galleries offers the potential for diverse visions to strengthen the ecosystem, challenge the status quo, and enrich the community in new ways.

Bishop notes that the city lacks a robust culture of art collecting compared to other major art hubs.

“Only 10% of my sales each year were to people based in Pittsburgh,” she reveals. “Pittsburgh is run by the nonprofit sector, and it seems like people have a hard time supporting ‘for-profit’ ventures, even though it’s those ventures that help local artists the most in the long run.”

Bishop emphasizes the role that commercial galleries play in an artist’s career.

“Commercial galleries not only sell work, which helps artists sustain a career via sales, but they also help artists get into great collections and expose their work to new markets and collectors via art fairs and press. Galleries have a very real, financial interest in gaining exposure for their artists, as well as educating the public and press about their artists outside the local sphere.”

As these New York transplants settle in, they introduce new perspectives, but the question remains whether these ventures can build sustainable models for long-term success in a city still developing its collector base and support for contemporary art.

Patrick Bova and Lucas Regazzi originally operated their gallery, april april, as a project space in their Brooklyn apartment from 2021 to 2024, before relocating it to Wilkinsburg. The gallery, touted for its artist-driven curatorial approach and wide-ranging practices, brings new energy to the city’s arts scene.

“We found life and the gallery practice in New York to be unsustainable,” they tell City Paper.

It was during a visit to Pittsburgh that they first began to envision a different way forward. They had traveled to meet Paul Peng, a local artist, for a studio visit and quickly fell in love with the city, jointly stating, “The scene is robust, the city’s institutions are strong—some on the precipice of expansion and change themselves—such that it felt exciting to work towards participating in it.”

Bova and Regazzi were also drawn by the creative possibilities that Pittsburgh offered.

“They’re very different!” they exclaim when comparing Pittsburgh to New York. “Pittsburgh offers more space and time for creative practice, across socio-economies. There’s a glut in New York that stymies authenticity.”

This openness and slower pace were key in their decision to plant roots in Pittsburgh’s art community, where they now feel they have room to grow.

“Showing up is important to us, and likewise building a space that welcomes community,” they say. They also feel a responsibility to engage with and learn from the scene that initially drew them to the city. “Everyone has a responsibility to the place they choose to plant roots in. For us, this means being in dialogue with and learning from the existing ecosystem in Pittsburgh.”

Even though the art services infrastructure — such as shipping and framing — may not be as robust as in New York, the duo is optimistic and adaptable. “There are fewer art services here, but we’re managing so far,” they share.

One central ambition for april april is to foster connections between Pittsburgh and the wider contemporary art world.

“Contemporary art is a global dialogue that Pittsburgh has been a part of for decades,” they point out. “One of our greatest excitements in programming the gallery is acting as a forum for such dialogue, between Pittsburgh, the greater region, the nation, and the world.”

However, navigating the commercial aspects of running a gallery in a smaller city presents unique challenges, and Pittsburgh’s market is still developing.

“Building a collector base here is not dissimilar to building it elsewhere — it goes back to showing up and acting as a channel for artists you believe in,” they explain.

Bova and Regazzi see their work through a lens of artist advocacy. Rather than chasing trends or high-profile artists, they focus on career development and fostering cross-generational collaboration. “We have so far dedicated our practice to assisting in building careers rather than hopping on someone else’s tram. We also think it’s imperative to work cross-generationally and weave experiences together — this creates a stronger art history from which the market can assess.”

The journey from New York to Pittsburgh has brought with it both excitement and uncertainty, but the founders of april april are committed to the business’ continued development. “Every small business needs to be iterative and responsive to have sustainable growth,” they note.

And while the idea of expansion may seem like a future goal, they’re focused on the present, saying, “Yes to collaboration, and we’ll learn through doing if expansion is tenable.”

Ultimately, Bova and Regazzi see Pittsburgh as a place full of potential — one that doesn’t need New York to define its success.

“Pittsburgh doesn’t need New York to do those things. The question should be who wants to participate in the project of global reputation?” they ask.

They hope to help elevate Pittsburgh’s role in the global art world while finding space to grow at their own pace.

“Artists should live and make work in places that inspire them and demonstrate investment in their success. No city does this perfectly, and everyone has different needs. For us, it feels like Pittsburgh can give us something that New York can’t: space to experiment and grow at our own pace.”

Bishop remains optimistic about Pittsburgh’s evolving art scene, despite having to temporarily close her gallery. She wants to stay in Pittsburgh and reopen her gallery in a different location, potentially in Garfield, where she currently lives.

Seeing other galleries transfer from New York to Pittsburgh also gives her hope.

“I do think a culture of collecting is expanding in Pittsburgh, and I think [spaces such as] april april moving into town will only help,” she adds.