Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (MCG) is a nonprofit multi-discipline art, education and music organization established in 1968 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, with the address of 1815 Metropolitan St. 15233. It is officially located in the Chateau neighborhood of the city, though close to the Manchester neighborhood.
It offers programs in ceramics, photography, digital arts, and painting to over 500 young people each year, as well as 3,400 additional students in the Pittsburgh inner-city school district. Ninety percent of the students receive high school diplomas of which 85% go on to enroll in college or secondary education. Its programs also include MCG Jazz, MCG Youth, and the Denali Initiative. MCG Jazz's mission is to preserve, present and promote jazz music.[1] MCG Youth offers various art courses and programs to Pittsburgh Public School students. The Denali Initiative is a program that teaches nonprofit executive directors from different areas of the country how to develop business and financing plans for new social enterprises.[2]
The organization is the brainchild of Bill Strickland. In 1987, he grew MCG with a $7.5 million capital campaign to construct a 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m2) vocational training and arts center. It features a 350-seat concert hall, an art gallery, classrooms and workshops. MCG Jazz hosts live musical performances, has a recording studio, and maintains its own record label. The label has won four Grammy Awards.[3]