Center for Creativity offers opportunities for creative expression, free and open to all students

The Center for Creativity is a space that provides free resources for students and staff to express their innovative side. The C4C has three locations on campus that each provide specialized materials, events and opportunities such as Open Mic Nights and bookmaking materials.

Erik Schuckers, C4C’s communications and programming manager, highlighted the welcoming atmospheres that all the C4C locations aim to create.

“We welcome beginners and amateurs, and we work to create a sense of community,” Schuckers said. “Where more experienced makers can share their knowledge and where makers in different fields can run into each other and spark ideas and collaborations.” 

The C4C offers a range of materials in each of its locations, from craft supplies to musical instruments and other maker materials. Schuckers emphasized that the center hopes there is something for each student.

“Our emphasis is on process rather than product,” Schuckers said. “It doesn’t matter what you create — it matters that you create. We need divergent thinking, thoughtful risk-taking, flexibility and curiosity to engage with the world and with each other, and those are the very skills that you develop through making.” 

Established in 2016, the first C4C location was The Workshop, located in the basement of the University Store on Fifth. Ariel Skovera, staff member and creative assistant at the C4C Workshop, discussed the location’s available materials.

“This [location], I always say, is more of an arts and crafts space,” Skovera said. “It has a whole ‘recreate wall’ that has a bunch of materials like shells, found objects, different things for collaging wallpaper, different jewelry making tools … We have a clay room with air-dry clay and a throwing wheel … A splatter room, acrylic paints. We have 3D pens, a laser printer, a sewing machine with different fabric materials.” 

Students and staff just need to hand their Pitt ID to the receptionist to access The Workshop. They can use anything available in the space and work on projects over the course of multiple sessions, if needed.

“Everything is free to use [in] the space,” Skovera said. “It’s also just a good area to collaborate. People work on stuff, and they’ll see what other people are working on. They get to connect … I’m always just impressed by what some people have done with just, like, three hours.”

Rankin Tran, a 2024 Pitt graduate and Pitt staff member has used the spaces many times for his own projects.

“Sometimes I come down here and just see what I would like to do with all the resources,” Tran said. “I usually work on small things. Like, I’ve come down here to fix a broken umbrella, [or] just to add some flare to random things I think could use it.”

Tran recalled his first encounter with the C4C Workshop space.

“I think I was just wandering around campus and I just walked down here,” Tran said. “It’s a great resource to step out of the turbulence of daily homework, exams or studying. It’s very cathartic to just be in a creative space where you can just flow, really.”

C4C’s second location is The Understory, located in room B50 in the basement of the Cathedral of Learning. This space “specializes in music and performance” and is where students can engage in Open Mic Nights, according to Chloe Baierl, a 2020 Pitt graduate and staff member assistant at the C4C.

“We have music practice rooms that include a podcast studio and recording equipment,” Baierl said. “There’s an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass drum set, keyboard … And in this space, there’s also just a lot of space to hang out … It’s kind of like a meeting space within the Cathedral itself.”

The Understory is a place for students to “come and try it out,” Baierl said. With Open Mic Nights and other events, students can engage in anything from musical expression to puppet shows.

“Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative, or if you don’t, like, play any instruments, I think it’s really cool to be able to have access to these things,” Baierl said. 

The Text & conText lab, C4C’s third location, is located on the third floor of Hillman Library. Amanda Hudgins, C4C creative assistant, highlighted ways the lab differs from the other spaces.

“The way that they sell it usually is [that] you can make a book from scratch,” Hudgins said. “Everything from paper to printmaking, and then we also do a bunch of other processes that are more analog.”

The Text & conText lab also features a vintage iron hand letter printing press, also available for student and staff use. 

“There are not very many in the world, and there are even fewer that are available here for people to actually actively use,” Hudgins said. “A lot of them are museum pieces, but [this one] is in active use. Somebody printed something on [it] literally today.”

Hudgins encourages students and staff of all creative levels to check out the C4C.

“In general, the C4C spaces are really great ways to try out new hobbies,” Hudgins said. “It’s a nice way to experiment and find out stuff that you otherwise wouldn’t.”