August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape: The first-ever exhibition dedicated to the life and works of August Wilson is now open! Learn More

News & Stories

2022

Aug 09

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…

Jul 15

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…

Jun 06

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,…

May 20

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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May 18

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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May 02

August 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…

Apr 26

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…

Apr 25

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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Apr 22

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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Pittsburgh exhibit
Apr 22

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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August Wilson
Apr 22

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,”…

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Apr 22

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 more
August Wilson Center exhibit immerses visitors in 'writer's landscape'
Apr 18

‘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…

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August Wilson
Apr 17

Walk into August Wilson’s life and plays in immersive new exhibit

NPR

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…

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Apr 16

Exhibit 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
Apr 15

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…

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Apr 15

Family 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
Apr 13

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.

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August Wilson Center exhibit immerses visitors in 'writer's landscape'
Apr 12

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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Apr 01

August Wilson African American Cultural Center Renames 1839 Gallery to Honor Exhibition Designer Victoria Renée Edwards

Inaugural Exhibition to Feature Works in Collaboration by Multidisciplinary Artists Li Harris and Alisha B. Wormsley, on view April 8 – August 28, 2022  April 1, 2022 – Pittsburgh, PA…

Mar 30

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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Feb 28

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…

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Feb 24

August Wilson African American Cultural Center Opens August Wilson: the Writer’s Landscape Saturday, April 16 First-ever Permanent Exhibition Dedicated to Life of Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright

February 24, 2022 – Pittsburgh, PA – The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) announced today that August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape, the first-ever permanent exhibition dedicated to the…

2021

Oct 28

World Premiere of CIRCLES, a multi-faceted dance and visual arts work by STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos co-presented by AWAACC and Kelly Strayhorn Theater

Tickets available now for CIRCLES: going in, a full-length dance work, October 28-30 Visual arts exhibition CIRCLES: reclamation on-view now through 31  WHAT: August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC)…

Sep 08

August Wilson African American Cultural Center Announces Fall 2021 Line-up

Featuring Signature Festivals:  Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival featuring Chaka Khan Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival featuring Mavis Staples  We Want the Funk Festival featuring Steve Arrington, and Ladies of SKYY,…