| | | Monthly Update | December 2025 |
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This December, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center invites you to celebrate the season with joy, culture, and connection. From Cafe Ase’s festive pop-up and our beloved Holiday Community Day, to the landmark exhibition Peju Alatise: I Will Belong to Only Me and the vibrant annual Black & Bold Party, there’s something to delight every sense and spark the imagination.
Wander through our galleries, discover one-of-a-kind holiday gifts from local vendors, and capture moments of cheer by the Center's christmas tree and Grand Staircase installation. Dance to the beats of DJ KB and DJ Big Phil, explore powerful art by Peju Alatise and Lavette Ballard, and immerse yourself in experiences that honor creativity, community, and the spirit of the season. Come share in the warmth, wonder, and love for art and culture! |
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Saturday, December 13 | 12-4PM |
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Join us for a day of joy, culture, and connection! Explore a vibrant marketplace with unique vendors, snap photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and enjoy live performances that bring the season to life.
Experience engaging Kwanzaa activities that honor tradition and values while creating lasting memories with family and friends. Come share in the warmth, wonder, and spirit of the season at the heart of our community!
AWCommunity Day: Holiday Edition is co-presented by UPMC and UPMC Health Plan Citizens
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Black & Bold Thursday, December 18 | 8PM |
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The annual Black & Bold Party is a celebration of culture, style, resilience, and purpose. We work hard, so let’s play hard with intention! The soundtrack for the evening is in the hands of DJ KB spinning hip hop, R&B, and house mixes in the Café, and DJ Big Phil in the intimate Soul Lounge, spinning rare R&B grooves and old school hip hop.
The art exhibits, Peju Alatise: I Will Belong to Only Me featuring Flying Girls, and Lavett Ballard: A Rose is a Rose is a Rose will be open for you to explore.There will be vendors selling gifts for the holidays and empowerment organizations sharing information for your uplift, with cash bar and food for sale by Roxanne’s Catering!
Capture memories with photos in front of the Center's Christmas tree or on the beautiful grand staircase. This is a time to reconnect with old friends, and network for future opportunities.
Attire: Black & Bold, Dandy, Glamour & Color
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Visit Cafe Ase at AWAACC!
Saturdays and Sundays in December | 1PM-5PM
This December, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center is thrilled to host Cafe Ase for a festive pop-up experience! Join us for delicious treats, warm drinks, and a cozy atmosphere as we celebrate the season together. While you’re here, don’t forget to explore our galleries and experience the art, culture, and stories that make our community shine.
Pop-Up Dates: Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28*
Hours: 1–5 PM each day
*Note: Our galleries will be closed on Dec 6, but Cafe Ase will be open. |
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I WILL BELONG TO ONLY ME
November 20, 2025 – May 31, 2026 |
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Get your tickets now for I Will Belong To Only Me, a sweeping survey of Peju Alatise’s sculptural and narrative worlds, blending Yorùbá cosmology with contemporary womanist expression, and arriving later this month at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and trained in architecture, Alatise creates immersive worlds that merge structure and spirit. Her installations, built from resin, glass beads, and textile, become lyrical meditations on womanhood, spirituality, and belonging.
Anchoring the exhibition is her celebrated installation Flying Girls, which depicts seven girls suspended midair, a poignant vision of freedom inspired by the story of a young domestic servant who dreams of flight. Through her fearless storytelling and architectural command of form, Alatise invites us to reimagine how Black womanhood, freedom, and spirituality inhabit space.
Don’t Miss the First U.S. Solo Exhibition of a Defining Voice in Contemporary African Art.
Tickets: $17
AWAACC Members enjoy free admission. |
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Grand Staircase Installation and Photo Op
November 2025 - March 2026 |
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At our 2025 Fuel the Future: Take Center Stage Gala, AWAACC unveiled a stunning new installation on our Grant Staircase. Be sure to come by to see it for yourself, and don't miss the opportunity to capture some truly unique family photos this holiday season!
About the installation:
At the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, we champion artists and programs that—like Wilson’s own work—explore identity, memory, and the universal stories that bind us. This staircase installation brings that mission to life through the dynamic vision of acclaimed artist Lavett Ballard.
Ballard’s powerful photographic catalog of women across the African diaspora spans geography, generations, and histories. Her images do more than depict—they evolve. Through collage, paint, intentional destruction, and artistic rebirth, each print becomes a reimagined narrative, a layered retelling of personal and collective history. The result is a visual experience that invites you not just to look, but to ascend—literally and metaphorically—into deeper storytelling.
Works featured:
Precious Beings, 2022
Sweet Down Home, 2024
Beautiful & the Damned, 2022
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WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING: WE THE MESSIAH
AWAACC Night: Friday, December 19 | 7:30PM
At the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave |
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We the Messiah is a Hip Hop remix and social justice reimagining of Handel’s Messiah in which three immortal Emcees embark on an epic path to social change, facing power, passion, and persecution while holding on to the promise of a better future. A theatrical concert driven by verses, beatboxing, live looping, community voices, and classical music, We the Messiah is a melodic ode to activism, a crescendo call for collective action, and an instrumental invitation to awaken the Messiah that lives in us all.
We the Messiah is produced by DNAWORKS and was developed through partnerships with the Inheritance Theater Project, Lab/Shul, and St. James Presbyterian Church, was workshopped at the St. James Presbyterian Church and The Flea Theater, and is made possible through the generous support of New Music USA, The Mac Miller Fund, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Opportunity Fund, and the Arts, Equity, and Education Fund. Handel’s Messiah samples licensed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Don't miss the Work in Progress Showings of We the Messiah at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater on December 19th and 20th - FREE FOR ALL!
Join fellow AWAACC supporters at We the Messiah
on Friday December 19 at 7:30pm
at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh.
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This holiday season, claim your part in our shared story. |
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We are delighted to offer a unique opportunity for our dedicated supporters, arts lovers, and community champions. Secure your own legacy at AWAACC by dedicating a seat in our theater.
As we celebrate our 15th Anniversary and advance the Fuel the Future fundraising drive, naming a seat allows you to honor a loved one, celebrate a milestone, or affirm your commitment to Black arts and culture in Pittsburgh and beyond.
To claim your seat and secure your place in our story, please complete this form and make your gift today. |
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