The Assisi Arts Community (AAC) is an arts and culture initiative of The Port, a Capuchin Franciscan ministry based in Pittsburgh, PA. Formed in the fall of 2020, the AAC began building community among local artists, offering opportunities to gather and to share their work with the public.

Today the AAC and The Port hosts a range of recurring events for artists and art enthusiasts alike in the areas of the visual arts, literature & cinema, and music. This includes monthly drawing events, movie viewings, and poetry discussion groups. The AAC also hosts regular concerts, artist forums, exhibits, and artist markets.

The group’s name is a nod to Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order and a poet in his own right. St. Francis was particularly attuned to God’s presence through the beauty of nature. As Saint Bonaventure said, “In things of beauty, he [Francis] contemplated the One who is supremely beautiful, and, led by the footprints he found in creatures, he followed the Beloved everywhere.”

The AAC is currently embarking on their first church drawing tour, five on-site drawing events at beautiful churches in the diocese of Pittsburgh. This will culminate with an exhibit this summer.