What is Luminari?

LUMINARI is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization founded to foster original activities that broaden minds, inspire innovations and promote community engagement. It is founded by a loyal Pittsburgher and experienced program builder; advised by "luminari" from a wide variety of fields; and implemented by talented instructors and guest presenters. With the successful launch of its first two programs and growing support from the funding community, Luminari is poised to grow.

Take a chance, mash up ideas, get dirty, break things... your imagination will thank you!

Luminari is a place where like-minded visionaries join forces to maximize talents and bring great ideas to life. We are looking for bright, inventive and creative people to develop programs that will be offered through Luminari. Implementing your great idea is tough if you try to go it alone. That's why we are here to connect you with the people, energy and tools to help you make a plan, develop a program and bring it to life through Luminari.

LUMINARI is the plural form of the Italian word referring to the creative visionaries and experts who shared their light and knowledge in order to inspire others with their works. We have plenty of luminari right here in Pittsburgh and we created an Inspiration Lab to nurture their innovative initiatives. When you bring a group of bright, interesting people together, there's a tremendous spark of energy. Suddenly, these people have a bunch of bright, interesting ideas that start to take shape and come to life. We love that kind of momentum! We want our activities to cause that same kind of electrifying ripple effect throughout the Pittsburgh community.

Be a part of it... be Luminari. Welcome to the Inspiration Lab!

If you're looking for a new model for solving problems, merging world views, taking the best ideas of the brightest people and applying them in ways never imagined, then Luminari is your place: yours to experiment, to tinker, to collaborate, inspire, create.

Luminari is a place of light and connection, it's a blank slate for your imagination and a community of inspiration: with resources to advance knowledge and to strengthen our communities and the world.

Luminari is about action, not accepting the status quo or counting on conventional wisdom, but going hard, smacking walls, and straight up testing. Maybe it flies... maybe it crashes, but we'll all be better off for the attempt.