News & Stories
2023
Best Pittsburgh concerts this week: The 1975, Grace Potter, Blues Fest, Joni tribute and more
The 6th annual festival, showcasing connections of the blues from Africa to the Americas, will feature a Friday night concert with Bobby Rush, the two-time Grammy winning Arkansas-bred bluesman.
Read moreCitizens bank gifts Pittsburgh Film Office $200,000 toward CREATE PA jobs initiative
Western Pennsylvania’s film industry just received some great news at a time when this region’s creatives have been desperately searching for a win.
Read more‘It feels great to be back’: Black Bottom Film Festival returns to August Wilson Center
True cinephiles like Janis Burley can’t hide the glee in their voices while discussing movies. Burley is the president and CEO of Downtown’s August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
Read moreAugust Wilson African American Cultural Center Unveils an Inspiring ’23-’24 Season Celebrating Arts and Culture
September 27, 2023 (Pittsburgh, PA) – The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) is proud to announce its captivating ’23-’24 season lineup, showcasing an array of remarkable events, exhibitions,…
The 6th Black Bottom Film Festival Presented By Citizens
Celebrating the Tapestry of African American Cinema October 10, 2023 (Pittsburgh, PA) – The Black Bottom Film Festival (BBFF), proudly presented by Citizens, returns for its sixth edition, illuminating and…
Black Bottom Film Festival To Honor Academy Museum Head Jacqueline Stewart At 2023 Edition Curated By Micheaux Film Festival
Pittsburgh’s Black Bottom Film Festival (BBFF), hosted by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), has inked a curatorial partnership with LA’s Micheaux Film Festival for its upcoming sixth…
Read moreBest 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 moreLEDISI Returns to Pittsburgh with a Tribute to Nina Simone
The Evening Continues with the Taste of Jazz Party Featuring Selecta, Hubb’s Groove, Kevin Howard and Jonathan Barber, Plus Food and Beverage Tastings Presented by Area Restaurants Tickets Are On Sale Now…
PITTSBURGH OPERA SEEKS BIPOC DANCERS FOR ITS PRODUCTION OF WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED AS PART OF ITS 2022-23 SEASON
We Shall Not Be Moved premiered at Opera Philadelphia in 2017 and was directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, who will direct and choreograph Pittsburgh Opera’s production in the…
August Wilson Society (AWS) Announces 2023 Biennial Colloquium: March 2-4, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA – The August Wilson Society (AWS), in collaboration with the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) and University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS), is pleased to announce…
REFLECTIONS ON THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC ARE INSPRIATION FOR DR. IMO IMEH’S NEW EXHBITION THE HOPE OF RADIANCE
The Hope of Radiance brings together art works and texts created between 2020 – 2022 that are part of Dr. Imo Nse Imeh’s developing project titled Benediction January 18, 2023…
2022
Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Expanded To Include “D Byrd@90: Tribute To Donald Byrd And The Blackbyrds” With Musical Direction By Sean Jones And Special Performances Featuring Gary Bartz, Nate Smith, Endea Owens, Frank Lacy, Louis Cato, Brett Williams & The Donald Byrd Cultural Foundation
Pittsburgh’s preeminent Jazz Festival to include A Taste of Jazz featuring food from the City’s most innovative eateries following performance from Ron Carter Foursight at the August Wilson African American…
Poetry on the Vineyard: A Def Poetry Reunion Benefit Performance
Spoken Word Concert with the Original Cast of the beloved HBO show Oaks Bluff, MA – We are excited to announce a special night of Poetry on the Vineyard: A…
August Wilson African American Cultural Center Announces Line-up For Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival – September 14-15, 2022
Featuring funk and reggae legends Steel Pulse; award-winning singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster & roots and soul singer Shemekia Copeland; blues, funk, and R&B singer/guitarist Walter “Wolfman” Washington; multi-Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito; guitarist,…
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…
Read more
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…
Read moreAugust Wilson African American Cultural Center Launches First Work in New Residency Program: Missy Mazzoli’s Song From the Uproar: the Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt
All-female cast & crew present opera inspired by the life of Swiss explorer and writer May 21 at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. ET Produced by DEMASKUS Theater Collective, Amanda…
Ron Carter Foursight Quartet, Ledisi, Stanley Clarke, Samara Joy, Incognito With Maysa Leak and More to Perform as Part of August Wilson African American Cultural Center’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival September 16-18, 2022
Lineup includes Average White Band, Buster Williams, Orrin Evans Trio, Aymée Nuviola with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and more April 26, 2022 – Pittsburgh, PA –The August Wilson African American Cultural Center…
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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,”…
Read more
‘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