in order to hold a jewelry class for some 40 students. In addition to education, the center has always sought to promote regional art. In 1948, the first Everyman's Art Show was held, open to the region's amateurs. The first Artist of the Year show was held in January 1949, honoring painter Balcombe Greene. In the April 1954, the Center went on the air on WQED-TV with the weekly, half-hour series You, the Artists hosted by sculptor Everett Sturgeon. From 1981 to 1989, the center renewed its relationship with WQED with the weekly Lyceum (later Studio 13,) hosted by Mary Rawson. Ongoing attempts were made in print as well, starting from the earliest days with a mimeographed newsletter, Musings, from 1975-79 with Quidnunc, and later in expanded course catalogs and the quarterly Art Lines. Reorganizing Eventually, volunteers could not keep abreast of an increasingly complex artistic and organizational environment. By the late 1960s, the center's administration resembled “an octopus without a head,” according to the Pittsburgh Press's Patricia Lowry. Artist Danny Butts was engaged as the center's first full-time director. He was succeeded by businessman Jerrold Rouby in 1970. Additional paid positions were added then: an education director and sales director. The Center's classes and enrollment expanded during Rouby's tenure. In 1975, Audrey Bethel became the center's director. Under her leadership, the groundwork was laid for many changes. Nationally known artists visited the center, the board of directors was restructured, and the center's name was changed. Cheryl Towers became director in 1981, and later hired ceramicist Sande Deitch as full-time exhibitions director. Deitch became director of the Center in 1987; Murray Horne became exhibitions director. Post-1990s For the center, the late 1990s were marked with ambitious programs, but also financial difficulty. In February 2002, five staff—including Executive Director Laura Willumsen and Curator Vicky Clark—were laid off and the exhibitions department eliminated. In August 2004, 13 staff members were laid off. The center was approximately $1 million in debt, and its doors were closed. The center has offered special prizes of Artist of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year, along with its Biennial exhibitions of local contemporary artists. Previous winners of prizes include Delanie Jenkins, Clayton Merrill, and George Anastasios Magalios. In September 2004, Charlie Humphrey became the unpaid interim director of PCA. The center reopened, after having been closed only for a few weeks. In relatively short order,