Kente Arts Alliance, a 501c 3 non-profit is an African American arts organization whose mission is to present high-quality art of the African Diaspora. Kente’s aim is to present art with a purpose by presenting programs that entertain, inform, and uplift the residents of underserved communities.
Goals:
Kente Arts Alliance formed to address the noticeable disparity between the quality and quantity of cultural programming that takes place in the Pittsburgh Downtown Cultural District versus the programming that is presented in Pittsburgh communities, especially in neighborhoods with a high concentration of African Americans. Kente believes that the disparity is both indicative of and contributory to inner-city social and economic underdevelopment. Kente ascribes to the idea that a vibrant local arts community heightens the quality of life for the residents of those communities. While the organization is relatively new, individual members of the alliance have many years of experience presenting community arts programming. The members have seen the transformation in those communities and the pride that residents take in well-planned and presented programs.
The Alliance’s goal is to expose the community to art that reflects the best in human ingenuity and creativity. In doing so, Kente aims to raise the consciousness of its audiences in order to help them understand the world around them. In the end, Kente asserts that audiences will develop tastes for an art alternative outside of popular culture and gain a heightened awareness of non-mainstream cultural choices. By consistently setting a high standard, Kente is eroding the myth that high quality art does not take place in community settings.
K. Mensah Wali
Gail Austin
Aisha White
Harry Clark
Dr. Herman Jones
Phone: 412-204-7291
Cell: 412-657-6916
SembeneFilmFestival.org
City of Asylum creates a thriving community for writers, readers, and neighbors. We provide sanctuary to endangered literary writers, so that they can continue to write and their voices are not silenced. We offer a broad range of literary programs in a variety of community settings to encourage cross-cultural exchange. We anchor neighborhood economic development by transforming blighted properties into homes for these programs and energizing public spaces through public art with text-based components.
City of Asylum
40 W. North Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Phone: 412-435-1110
Web: CityOfAsylum.org
Email: contact@cityofasylumpittsburgh.org
