Sponsored by The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Opportunity Fund, the Investing in Professional Artists: The Pittsburgh Region Artists Program (IPA) is guided by a shared belief in artistic excellence, creative development, and the need for continuous career advancement. Professional artists’ self-directed pursuit of new ideas, opportunities, and skills are essential to the region’s cultural vitality. This program provides resources to professional artists for the breadth of the creative process, from concept to completion. While the program does not require presentation of a fully realized work, it challenges artists to seek to produce the artworks that will define our times, our region and our lives.