‘Pursuing Light: The Bill Strickland Story’
Watch this inspiring documentary about a truly good Pittsburgh icon on the big screen!
October 10 @ 1:00 pm
The Lindsay will soon show an uplifting documentary about a Pittsburgh native who has given countless children and adults worldwide the opportunity to pursue their creative and professional passions.
Pursuing Light: The Bill Strickland Story spotlights the remarkable life and career of Bill Strickland, who founded the locally based Manchester Bidwell Corporation in the early 1970s and spent the next 50-plus years facilitating the creation of another 16 nonprofit vocational training and arts education centers domestically and abroad.
You can experience Pursuing Light on The Lindsay’s big screen on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1 p.m. All tickets for this special showing will cost $6.50 and are available both online and at our box office.
“This movie feels like a prayer,” Stricklands says through his other nonprofit, the Strickland Global Leadership Institute. “It’s hope for all of us. It’s medicine. … This is beyond what I was expecting to see.”
Director Karen Somers’ film was recently nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. Strickland talks candidly about his childhood in Pittsburgh and lifelong efforts to give others the support he received. You’ll hear from many of his admirers and colleagues—and enjoy a cameo from Fred Rogers, who Strickland considered a great friend and collaborator.
Strickland developed his own love of jazz, pottery and all forms of art while growing up in Manchester. He founded the Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in 1968 as a University of Pittsburgh underclassman. This after-school ceramics program was designed for Strickland to pass on his love of ceramics to others in his neighborhood and the greater Pittsburgh area.
He continued to grow MCG following his graduation from Pitt and, in 1972, took over Pittsburgh’s Bidwell Training Center. Strickland continued to revolutionize arts and general vocational training for both children and adults by establishing educational venues full of beautiful learning environments, caring instructors, supportive and challenging programming, and an overall culture of hope and personal transformation.
“I made a pledge that I would commit my life to bringing light into every corner of the world that I could reach,” Strickland says in Pursuing Light. “So I plan to redeem that commitment that I made every day, in some way.”
