August Wilson Center for African American Culture Grand Opening & World Premiere Tribute Ceremony Held 9/17

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture -- named for one of the 20th century's most celebrated playwrights and a Pittsburgh native who garnered international recognition for his contributions to the American theater -- honors his legacy with the Grand Opening and World Premiere Tribute Ceremony & Celebration on Thursday, September 17, beginning at 5 pm. This newest contribution to Pittsburgh's cultural landscape is a long-sought-after multidisciplinary facility reflective of all aspects of African and African American culture.

The community can visit the August Wilson Center free on Saturday, September 19, from noon until 5 pm.

Honorary chairs of the evening are August Wilson's widow Constanza Romero Wilson and Milton and Nancy Washington. The Center's National Advisory Council includes 28 performance legends, including actor/director Delroy Lindo and actress Anna Maria Horsford who will serve as co-hosts for the evening. "Playing Herald Loomis in ‘Joe Turner's Come and Gone' remains one of the richest and most rewarding experiences I've had, as an actor, anywhere," Lindo said.

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra highlighting the Harlem Quartet and violinist Elena Urioste and opening exhibitions, "Pittsburgh: Reclaim, Renew, Remix" and "In My Father's House" will introduce the gala's guests to the diverse scope of what they can expect at the Center.

"The Board and staff of the August Wilson Center view this American ground as the meeting place of many peoples. Each brings to the encounter their own histories, traditions, modes of expression and senses of community," said Oliver W. Byrd, Center's chairman of the board of directors.

The Center is about a mile from Wilson's boyhood neighborhood, the same Hill District that is the soulful setting of nine of his 10 plays on African American life in the 20th century.

Originally conceived as a home base for Pittsburgh's rich Black heritage and a showcase for today's visual, performing and literary arts, the African American Cultural Center was renamed the August Wilson Center for African American Culture following the untimely death of the Steel City's Pulitzer Prize-winning native son in 2005.

Wilson once declared, "We must develop the ground together. The American ground on which I stand and which my ancestors purchased with their perseverance, with their survival, with their manners and with their faith."

Since its incorporation as a nonprofit organization in 2002, the August Wilson Center has presented and co-presented a diverse mix of music, dance, theater, spoken word, visual art and literary productions featuring both national and local artists.

"The commitment of so many incredible leaders, celebrities and the community itself to the creation of the Center's permanent home is a testament to the significance of African and African American culture," said Marva H. Harris, the Center's interim president and CEO. "Our stages, exhibit areas and community outreach will bring these contributions to life. The dazzling array of creative work will appeal to diverse audiences now and into the future."

The two-story, 65,000 square-foot building was designed by African American architect Allison Williams, principal of Perkins+Will, San Francisco. Estimated cost is $39.5 million dollars.

Located at 980 Liberty Avenue, in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh, the Center sits on a triangular plot that is slightly less than an acre between the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the city's Cultural District. The Center joins dozens of venues that have transformed a downtown area once shunned for its undesirable activity and shabby real estate into a destination location for residents as well as visitors from around the world.

The Center's distinctive signature is its four-story metal and glass "sail," a feature inspired by the Swahili trading ships that carried the culture of East Africa to distant shores.

In keeping with African American traditions of sensitivity to the natural world, the building is designed to be sustainable, physically and operationally. The building was also constructed to meet LEED certification standards. Wherever possible, the building's materials were local to Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania, and relevant to the history and economy of the region (e.g., steel, aluminum, plate glass). The building's details are simple and elegant, with subtle, timeless cultural references that characterize it as specifically African American.

The ground floor features lobby and visitor services; gift store/book shop; music café, with direct street access and outdoor eating area; orchestra level of 486-seat proscenium theater (with full fly space and orchestra pit); and a 4,000-square-foot exhibit gallery, for a permanent installation communicating the cultural heritage of African Americans in Western Pennsylvania.

The second floor is the balcony level of 486-seat proscenium theater; 4,000-square-foot gallery for changing visual arts exhibits; 200-seat multipurpose room with sprung floor for smaller scale performances and rehearsals; flexible hall for educational programs, special events, overflow or intermission from the theater; and administrative offices.

The Center's spaces will be available for rental and use by the community. Its state-of-the-art technology will spark future creativity.

The versatility of the August Wilson Center is reflected in its inaugural season already underway. Among the signature events of the first season at the Center is the "Aunt Ester Cycle" that runs in mid-November.

Theatergoers can sit a spell with Aunt Ester, the "washer of souls," who appears in multiple plays of August Wilson's "Century Cycle." The August Wilson Center examines the impact of this legendary character through productions of "Two Trains Running" by Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company; "Gem of the Ocean" by the St. Louis Black Repertory Co.; "Radio Golf" by Penumbra Theatre Company (St. Paul) and a stage reading of "King Hedley II". The series also includes "The Women of the Hill," an original performance created by theatrical innovator Ping Chong; and "Staging Wilson," a performance symposia series with scholars, directors and dramaturges exploring new themes and directions for interpreting August Wilson's work.

For more information about the Center and its inaugural season, visit: AugustWilsonCenter.org or call 412.258.2500.

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