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.
“The center has to be more connected to the broader arts community,” said solomon. “There was a sense that, over time, the AWC became an island of its own, not intentionally, but it evolved that way. AWC 2.0 needs to be more integrated and be part of the arts ecology of the city.”
Another problem with the old model was the center was only open at night.
Solomon said another of their tasks is trying to find a way to make these artistic and programming conversations part of the legal conversation about who will own the building. Her board is in essence a creation of the foundation consortium vying for control of the center and would only continue to function if the foundations win their legal battle with tentatively approved buyer 980 Liberty Partners, which would erect a hotel on the property.
Udin said that process is vital.
“We are here to establish that we stand for a fully functioning Arts Center, not a tenant in someone’s hotel,” he said.
Though the foundations envision a second board that would carry out the center’s financial responsibilities and maintain the building. That board has yet to be empanelled. A detailed business and revenue plan has not been completed either.
Solomon said the programming should define the business plan.
“You have to know what you’re selling and to whom you’re selling it first,” she said.
Heinz Endowments President and CEO Grant Oliphant said he is focused on “good players with good skills.”
“Our course over the next month will be lining up the facilities resources financial management expertise that the board will need,” he said.
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