Letter from August Wilson Center President

Dear Friends,

As the days grow warmer and we look ahead to the excitement of summer, I want to extend an invitation for you to join us at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) in the weeks ahead. The Center will once again be offering a variety of visual arts programming, musical performances, and community events for the entire family, all in the lead-up to the return of the Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival and the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival – both of which feature acclaimed award-winning artists such as Ron Carter, Stanley Clarke, Samara Joy, and many more.

AWAACC kicked off summer recently with the opening of Red, Black, and Greenby Shani Crowe, a visual arts exhibition of Pro-Black propaganda, that includes ephemera from photographic portraiture to yarn, tapestry, and beading. On Wednesday, June 15, the curator Jessica Lanay hosted a special night ofPoetry Unplugged in celebration and recognition of Juneteenth. This event focused on spoken word artists, with performances by jessica Care moore, Ursula Rucker, and J Ivy, among others. At the conclusion of Pride Month, AWAACC will host our next TRUTHSayers Speaker Series, featuring Robert Jones Jr., founder of Son of Baldwin, an online community that aims to be an honest and inclusive space to discuss topics such as race, sexuality, gender, and disability from the Black queer perspective.
AWAACC’s next AWCommunity Day on Saturday, July 16 will celebrate all things STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and feature an exciting TRUTHSayers Speaker Series event featuring Mae Jemison, the first Black female NASA astronaut. We also bring back Soul Sessions on Wednesday, July 20 with Grammy-nominated R&B singer, producer, and musician Dwele.

A highlight every year, I hope you will join us September 16 - 18 for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF). On Friday, September 16, PIJF will kick off at AWAACC with a performance by the prolific jazz bassist Ron Carter, who recently celebrated his 85th birthday, playing with his band, the Ron Carter Foursight. Following the performance, we will host A Taste of Jazz, filled with Pittsburgh-based restaurants serving samples from their menus and local artists who will fill the Center for jam sessions. The PJIF will move to Highmark Stadium for the next two days of music, including performances by British acid jazz group Incognito with Maysa Leak, fusion pioneer Stanley Clarke; soul-funk icons, the Average White Band; and the young jazz prodigy Samara Joy; among many others. For tickets to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, please follow this link. For tickets to Ron Carter Foursight/A Taste of Jazz please click here.

Ahead of PIJF, AWAACC is bringing back the Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival on September 14 - 15 at Highmark Stadium with a performance by Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, the Ruthie Foster & Shemekia Copeland Blues Jam, along with a line-up of musical trailblazer’s including reggae-funk icons Steel Pulse, multi-time Grammy winners Fantastic Negrito and Ranky Tanky, among others. To buy tickets for single and multi-day passes, click here.
Thank you to all who have come to the Center to experience August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape, the sole exhibition in the world dedicated to the life and works of the Center’s namesake. It is truly an honor to help bring Wilson’s story to life, and I’m so grateful to the sponsors who helped make our vision a reality. Tickets to tour the exhibit are free to all, and I hope you will experience it as many times as you’re able – I find there is always something new to discover every time I explore it.

The Center will continue to share updates on our website, social media channels, and via email about our upcoming programs. Please find the link to join our mailing list here. I hope you are able to take time to relax with your loved ones this summer, and I look forward to seeing you soon at AWAACC.
Sincerely,

Janis Burley Wilson

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