CMU School of Drama


Thursday, February 14, 2019

August Wilson Center Stabilizes, Plans For The Future

90.5 WESA: The August Wilson Cultural Center, long financially troubled, is now on solid footing and planning more growth.

That’s according to the Center’s president and CEO, Janis Burley Wilson, who spoke at a press event Monday.

2 comments:

Alexander Friedland said...

This is a great article to read. I loved seeing the article about how there is more diverse casting but it is even better to see centers like the August Wilson Center succeed as it is an organization specifically focused on helping to highlight the black experience. It is also good to hear that the government stepped in when the center hit bankruptcy as it shows that the government still cares about its arts organizations. It is no surprise to read about how donations are the biggest source of income for the organization. This is quite common in non-profit and I would be surprised if the organization said otherwise. The most surprising part of the article is how quickly the organization went from bankruptcy to having a budget surplus. It is somewhat confusing as it is near impossible for non-for-profit organizations to have surpluses. I wonder if this is because they cut spending costs or increase the cost of some events. This article makes me excited for the arts community in Pittsburgh and is a good reminder that I need to get down to the August Wilson Center.

Mirah K said...

I was really happy to read this article about the success of the August Wilson Center. At the beginning of the year, I did a presentation on the August Wilson Center and I was discouraged to see that it had so many financial troubles and lacked support from the Pittsburgh community. I think the center is incredibly important, in its promotion and support of minority groups, and I thought it was telling and tragic that it had so many troubles when it was first created and in the first ten years of its existence. I am really impressed that there were enough people fighting for it that now it has the chance to really reach its full potential and expand into the community. I think the Pittsburgh community can really benefit from learning more about the incredible August Wilson and also from witnessing and participating in events that feature more people of color.