Press Releases
2023
Best Pittsburgh Concerts this Week: Jazz Fest, Old Dominion, Melvins, $uicideboy$ and More
The festival returns for a 13th edition with a stellar lineup of jazz and R&B artists over four nights at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Downtown, and Highmark…
Read moreThe 13th Annual Jazz Festival is a Star-Studded Affair
The 13th annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival returns to the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and Highmark Stadium Thursday through Sunday.
Read more2022
Women shine in Pittsburgh production of an opera about a famed female adventurer
“Protagonist, message and means of production all resonate to a unifying theme in the Pittsburgh premiere of the opera “Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt.” This…
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Song from the Uproar recalls one woman’s incredible life with all-female cast and crew
Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt will mark a few firsts for the Pittsburgh-based DEMASKUS Theater Collective. Besides being the first opera produced by DEMASKUS, it…
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A Tour Through August’s ‘Landscape’
August Wilson, America’s Shakespeare, is having a “moment,” to use the words of Constanza Romero-Wilson, the playwright’s widow and chief curator of “August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape,” a new exhibition at the August…
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How Playwright August Wilson Captured the Highs and Lows of Black America
Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, playwright August Wilson spent much of his time in diners and coffee shops in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, scrawling notes on napkins about the sights, sounds…
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New Pittsburgh exhibit celebrates hometown playwright August Wilson: ‘Everyone’s life experiences are important’
The American playwright – the author of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fences,” “The Piano Lesson” and more — set almost all of his work in his hometown, writing about some…
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New permanent exhibit highlights the life and work of playwright August Wilson
August Wilson was not nearly as prolific. He broke through with “Jitney” in 1982 when he was 37, and followed with a staggering burst of creativity. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,”…
Read moreNew permanent exhibit highlights the life and work of playwright August Wilson
August Wilson was not nearly as prolific. He broke through with “Jitney” in 1982 when he was 37, and followed with a staggering burst of creativity. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,”…
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‘The Writer’s Landscape’ celebrates famed playwright August Wilson and his Pittsburgh roots
Few Pittsburgh-born artists have had as great an impact on their fields as did playwright August Wilson, who won the first of his two Pulitzer Prizes for drama in 1987…
Read more Walk into August Wilson’s life and plays in immersive new exhibit
Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, who died in 2005, is one of the prides of Pittsburgh – yet until this week, there has been no site in…
Read moreExhibit On Playwright August Wilson Opens At His Namesake Center
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center opens a new permanent exhibit.
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Hits and Misses
The late playwright August Wilson has loomed large over the Pittsburgh cultural landscape for 40 years, but there has not been a permanent exhibit on his life and work available…
Read moreFamily Of Youngest Black Woman Museum Exhibit Designer Who Died From COVID-19 Continuing Her Legacy
She was the youngest Black woman museum exhibit designer and she aspired to start her own firm. The 30-year-old Philadelphia native didn’t get to live out her dream, but now,…
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New August Wilson Center exhibition reveals playwright’s work, life
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center finally has a permanent exhibition dedicated to the life and work of its Pulitzer Prize-winning namesake.
Read more August Wilson Center exhibit immerses visitors in ‘writer’s landscape’
“August Wilson’s work is universal,” said Janis Burley Wilson, the August Wilson Center’s president and CEO. “The themes that he explores in his plays are love, betrayal, trust, hopes, dreams….
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10 April events not to miss in Pittsburgh
We can imagine no better place for the first-ever permanent exhibition dedicated to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Hill District native August Wilson. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to be immersed in Wilson’s vision and see…
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August Wilson Center to Open First-Ever Exhibition Dedicated to Its Namesake
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center will soon honor its namesake with an exhibition dedicated to the playwright’s life and work. On April 16, the center will premiere “August…
Read more2021
The Moment Is Always Now for Frederick Douglass
In November of 1857 Frederick Douglass gave a speech at the Federated Church in Edgartown titled The Unity of Man. A few decades later, in 1876, Mr. Douglass returned to…
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Black-Led Community Spotlight: AWAACC Board Chair Tracey McCants Lewis
Pittsburgh born and bred, Tracey McCants Lewis has been a law professor, a civil rights attorney, and currently serves as the Deputy General Counsel and Director of Human Resources for…
Read more2020
The Latest on New Event Dates and Online Initiatives
Dear Friends, Like many of you, I am looking forward to brighter days. As we continue to practice social distancing, the most important step we can collectively take to protect…
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Inspire Black
For most people, there has been an individual or two that influenced them—who inspire them to take a chance and to try and reach their dreams. From leaders like Malcolm…
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2019
Ben Jones and Amani Lewis at AWAACC
Pittsburgh had the pleasure of welcoming two new art exhibits, Resurgence—Rise Again: The art of Ben Jones, and Amani Lewis: Subjective Nature, on September 13th at the August Wilson African American…
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