Pittsburgh Cultural Trust postpones cartoon exhibit amid sexual misconduct allegations

A cartoon exhibit in Downtown Pittsburgh has been indefinitely postponed following sexual misconduct allegations made against one of the artists.

Pittsburgh-based cartoonist Ed Piskor was scheduled to host an exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery starting April 6. However, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust said it postponed the show indefinitely after it learned Sunday of allegations of misconduct made against Piskor.

“The Trust takes the allegations very seriously and decided yesterday to postpone the exhibition indefinitely,” said a Trust spokesperson.

Piskor has worked on well-known comic book franchises such as “American Splendor” and “X-Men.” He won an Eisner Award for his series, “Hip-Hop Family Tree,” a historical account of hip-hop culture.

He has not been charged with a crime.

Over the weekend, a woman posted on Instagram, alleging that Piskor made advances on her in 2020 when she was 17. The woman shared screenshots of Piskor direct messaging her, calling her a “naughty girl,” asking her age and inviting her to stay at his place.

She accused Piskor of trying to “groom” her. Piskor, 41, was about 37 at the time he allegedly sent messages to the woman.

Piskor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He has deleted his account on the X social media platform and has not commented publicly. Piskor also disabled comments on his Instagram account.

Piskor’s show was scheduled to run from April 6 through Aug. 25 at the Downtown art gallery before it was postponed.

The Cultural Trust said there is no replacement show at 707 Penn Gallery as of yet, given the time required for planning and logistics on any new exhibition.