Two local arts groups -- a service organization that provides ticketing and an advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of the arts community -- plan to merge later this year into a new organization called the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

Leaders of Pro Arts, which is 10 years old and offers ticketing services, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance, which formed in 2001 to provide advocacy on the national, state and local level, started merger talks earlier this year.

Members of the Pro Arts board approved the merger last week. The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance approved the merger at a meeting Monday. The decision, however, must be ratified by the 80 organizations and individuals that are members of the GPAA. The members will meet and vote Sept. 23 at City Theatre.

If the GPAA members approve the merger, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council will be located Downtown at 707 Penn Ave. in the Cultural District. The council's first executive director will be Marilyn Coleman, who runs Pro Arts. Julie Farr, executive director of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance, will serve on the new council's board.

"The whole idea is to make Pittsburgh a more creative place and support the people who are creative in our region," said Mark Weinstein, general manager of Pittsburgh Opera and chair of the new council's 30-member board.

The council's board will be made up of 10 board members from Pro Arts, 10 from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance and 10 new board members who will be chosen by that group of 20 board members.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council's mission will be to empower artists in the region, to serve as the collective voice of the arts community and to expand the regional influence of the city's arts community.

The council also will provide education, training, professional development, technical help and marketing assistance.

William J. Coy, a consultant with LaPiana Associates Inc., a management consultant firm in California, helped facilitate the merger.