Until last week, all anyone knew of the board of artists that would oversee programming for the August Wilson Center for African American Culture—should the consortium of local foundations win the fight for the bankrupt center—is that Kelly Strayhorn Theater Executive Director janera solomon was in charge.
Last week, she and her fellow board members held a press conference announcing the results of conversations they’d had with the Black community on the center’s future. The board is comprised of solomon, Sala Udin and Nancy Washington—both original co-founders of the AWC, hip-hop artist Jasiri X, poet and Pitt professor Terrence Hayes, attorneys E.J. Strassburger and James Abraham, Univ. of Pittsburgh and UPMC Medical Health and Sciences Foundation fundraiser Clyde Jones, Former AWC capital campaign co-chair Bonnie Van Kirk, and Cecile Springer, who was not present.
Jasiri X said his mission is simple.
“I’m an artist who has enjoyed the support of the community. We started the One Hood media lab at AWC because those14- to 18-year-olds could relate and feel a sense of ownership there,” he said. “I’m here to encourage Pittsburgh to invest more or the benefits of these new artists will be felt elsewhere, in New York, Chicago or LA.”
The upshot of the presentation, said solomon, was that the old version obviously didn’t work.
“We don’t want to be a standard arts center/museum,” she said. “We need a new model.”
Some of the key points gleaned from the arts and African-American community at large, she said, are that the center should be a destination for learning about African-American culture, art and dance, but it cannot fly solo.
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