Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture
Website: https://www.ganttcenter.org/
Facebook: @HBGanttCenter
Instagram:@HBGanttCenter
Twitter:@HBGanttCenter
KEY PERSONNEL
President & CEO: David Taylor
Email: david@ganttcenter.org
Chief Operations Officer: Bonita Buford
Email: bbuford@ganttcenter.org
Program Coordinator: Public Programs + Educational Initiatives: Afeni Grace
Email: afeni@ganttcenter.org
ABOUT: The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture (formerly the Afro- American Cultural Center) celebrates the contributions of Africans and African-Americans to American culture and serves as a community epicenter for music, dance, theater, visual art, film, arts education programs, literature, and community outreach. The Harvey B. Gantt Center aims to ignite engagement and conversations that inspire, empower, and enlighten all.
The Harvey B. Gantt Center established Initiative for Equity + Innovation (IEI), in partnership with Bank of America and former Bank of America Chairman and CEO, Hugh McColl. Through the arts, the initiative addresses unconscious bias, discrimination and social injustice. IEI is a bold and direct response to the findings in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force's 2015-16 study on intergenerational poverty and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) "Breaking the Link" study on poverty and educational outcomes. Both reports illuminate long-standing issues of economic mobility, educational inequity and racial divides and issue calls to action from organizations in the community. The Gantt Center's Initiative for Equity + Innovation (IEI) leverages the Gantt's art exhibitions, its programs and its relationships with the community and business leaders to help close the cultural divide and to develop sustainable ways to promote diversity, inclusion and equity across the community.
The Gantt also offers a wide variety of K-12 educational in-school and on-site programs. Click here for a full description.
The Gantt Center was designed by The Freelon Group, under architect Phil Freelon. The Center draws design inspiration from the historic Myers School that once stood nearby in the Brooklyn neighborhood, a thriving African American community that was displaced by expansion of the central business district. The school’s prominent exterior staircases inspired the nickname “Jacob’s Ladder School.” The Center’s stairs and escalators pay tribute to “Jacob’s Ladder,” linking the building to its historic context. The exterior facade of the Center is inspired by African textile designs and African American quilting patterns.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Part of the Solution - Southpark Magazine
New Gantt Center Initiative Uses Art To Break Down Barriers, Activate Change - Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture
Powerful Gantt Center exhibit examines America’s high prison rate and its impact - The Charlotte Observer
How the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture is answering the call on every front - Charlotte Business Journal
