Designed by Rainbow Serpent, Phase I of the new permanent public art installation will debut during a special event, Lights ON Liberty! and mark the first phase of a two-part initiative to add lighting and vitality to Liberty Avenue.

PITTSBURGH, PA — The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) and Rainbow Serpent will unveil Give Light to the Whole Circumference, a new permanent artistic lighting installation designed by Rainbow Serpent and SPRK to transform the Center’s iconic exterior into an illuminated public art experience. The first phase of the installation, located on the “sail” of the building, above the Nancy and Milton Washington Plaza at the corner of Liberty Avenue and William Penn Place, will debut during the Lights ON Liberty! event on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 9:00 p.m.

The reveal of the lighting installation marks the completion of the first phase of a two-phase initiative to enhance the Liberty Avenue corridor with light surrounding AWAACC, creating a more vibrant and welcoming destination for Downtown residents, visitors and patrons entering Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. The design is inspired by August Wilson’s plays in the American Century Cycle. The public unveiling ceremony will take place on the AWAACC Nancy and Milton Washington Plaza following The Intermission, the Center’s signature monthly networking experience, which will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Guests will then be invited outside at 9:00 p.m. for the official illumination of the building and debut of Give Light to the Whole Circumference.

“This installation is about creating a sense of arrival—not only at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, but in Downtown Pittsburgh and the Cultural District,” said Janis Burley, President, CEO and Artistic Director of AWAACC. “As our city continues to think creatively about the revitalization of Downtown, arts and culture is an essential part of that work. We have seen the power of public art through our murals in Swissvale and Wilkinsburg. Give Light to the Whole Circumference extends that work to our Downtown home, transforming our building into a public art destination, activating Liberty Avenue, and reintroducing the iconic architecture of Allison Williams to the world.”

Phase I of Give Light to the Whole Circumference is made possible by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and RAD, with support from Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. Fundraising is still underway for Phase II, which is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development and Nancy D. Washington.

Lights ON Liberty!

Thursday, September 17, 2026
Intermission: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Lighting Ceremony: Immediately following Intermission

August Wilson African American Cultural Center
980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

At the center of this installation is AWAACC’s distinctive sail-like architecture. Architect Allison G. Williams conceived the building as a vessel of Black expression, with its signature form modeled after the Somali dhow, a seafaring vessel that carried African culture across oceans. Give Light to the Whole Circumference builds upon that architectural metaphor through a programmable lighting experience that animates the building and transforms its exterior into an evolving artistic canvas.

“We wanted to treat the Center’s extraordinary architecture both as a surface to illuminate and as a living vessel capable of carrying memory, story and imagination into the city,” said Mikael Owunna, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Rainbow Serpent. “Give Light to the Whole Circumference allows the building to continually transform through light, and it extends the cultural energy of the Center beyond its walls and into the public realm.”

The installation’s permanent artistic programming draws inspiration from the work of August Wilson, including two immersive light journeys rooted in plays from his American Century Cycle.

“Sail the Road of Heaven,” inspired by Gem of the Ocean, transforms the Center into the mythic Gem of the Ocean itself—a vessel traveling through memory, spirit and Black survival. Across an approximately 10-minute sequence, blue and violet waves give way to gold, purple and crimson light, skeletal imagery inspired by the City of Bones and, finally, a field of shimmering stars representing navigation, transformation and transcendence.

A second artistic program, “Coming and Going,” inspired by Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, explores movement, self-reclamation and spiritual transformation through shifting light. Its sequence moves through moments of invocation, cleansing, the appearance of the “Shiny Man,” bones walking across water and the climactic act of standing—visually interpreting themes of emergence, freedom and rebirth found throughout Wilson’s play.

“The title Give Light to the Whole Circumference comes from an ancient Egyptian text that imagines light as a life-giving force radiating outward across the world,” said Dr. Marques Redd, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Rainbow Serpent. “In bringing that idea into conversation with August Wilson’s plays, we wanted to create an experience in which light becomes a language for spiritual transformation and a force that connects the ancestral and the contemporary, the earthly and the cosmic.”

Beyond the August Wilson-inspired works, the programmable installation will allow AWAACC to continually respond to Pittsburgh’s cultural life while offering added flexibility for private events and rentals. Special lighting sequences have been developed for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Juneteenth, Pride, Pittsburgh sports celebrations and other civic, institutional, cultural and community occasions, along with atmospheric programs such as the cascading “Star Fall” effect. The system can also be customized for private rentals, special events and branded experiences, allowing the building’s exterior to become an extension of the event itself.

Give Light to the Whole Circumference builds upon the growing public art footprints of both AWAACC and Rainbow Serpent throughout Pittsburgh. From AWAACC’s murals in Swissvale and Wilkinsburg to Rainbow Serpent’s The Three Sisters light installation on Pittsburgh’s Sister Bridges, both organizations have created opportunities for audiences to encounter art within the public realm. Together, Give Light to the Whole Circumference brings that commitment to Liberty Avenue through a permanent attraction that gives pedestrians, Downtown workers, Cultural District patrons and visitors another opportunity to experience art beyond traditional gallery walls.

ABOUT RAINBOW SERPENT

Rainbow Serpent is a Pittsburgh-based immersive media agency that designs experiences at the intersection of multimedia art, emerging technologies, and traditional African cosmologies. Their work spans from architectural light design, installation, video art, sculpture, and performance art to new technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Rainbow Serpent has produced work across Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America for clients including the Andy Warhol Museum, Fotografiska Stockholm, North Carolina Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Allegheny County, and Pittsburgh International Airport.

 ABOUT THE AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a nonprofit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson.

One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 100,000 visitors locally and nationally.

Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today.

Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Heinz Endowments, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD). AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, visit our website: awaacc.org