Harvey B. Gantt Center facts for kids
Harvey B. Gantt Center, Opening Day
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| Established | October 24, 2009 |
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| Location | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Collections | African-American art |
| Founder | Mary T. Harper, PhD and Bertha Maxwell Roddey, Ph.D. |
| Public transit access |  Brooklyn Village |
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture is a special place in Charlotte, North Carolina. It used to be called the Afro-American Cultural Center. The center is named after Harvey Gantt, who was Charlotte's first African-American mayor. He was also the first African-American student at Clemson University.
This four-story building is very large, about 46,500 square feet. It was designed by Freelon Group Architects and opened in October 2009. It is part of a bigger area called the Levine Center for the Arts. The Gantt Center helps people learn about and celebrate African-American art and culture.
Contents
Discovering the Center's History
How the Center Began
The idea for the center started in 1974 with Mary T. Harper, Ph.D. She was a professor at the UNC-Charlotte. Dr. Harper worked with her mentor, Bertha Maxwell-Roddey, Ph.D., who led UNC-Charlotte's Black Studies Center. They wanted to create a place where people could learn about the amazing achievements of African-Americans, especially those from North Carolina.
Dr. Harper and Dr. Maxwell-Roddey noticed that many people didn't know much about these accomplishments. They dreamed of a center where African-Americans could celebrate their heritage and what their people had done. They started with a festival in Marshall Park, which was once the Brooklyn neighborhood. After a second festival in 1975, they helped create the Afro-American Cultural and Service Center.
Early Homes of the Center
For ten years, starting in 1976, the Afro-American Cultural Center had a small space inside the former First Baptist Church. This church was known as Spirit Square. The center later looked at other possible locations.
The center eventually found a permanent home in the old Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church. The church was building a new sanctuary across the street. People worried the old church building might be torn down. This historic brick building was designed by James Mackson McMichael and finished in 1911.
Little Rock Church sold its old building to the city in 1979. The building was named a historical landmark in 1982. The old church building was renovated using donations and a grant from the city. On March 15, 1986, the Afro-American Cultural Center officially opened its new home. This building had a theater and spaces for classes in music, dance, theater, and visual arts.
Moving to a New Location
In 2001, voters did not approve a plan to expand the Afro-American Cultural Center. However, the need for a larger space continued. In 2005, a new plan was announced for a bigger center. This new center would be part of the Wachovia Cultural Campus on Tryon Street.
A major reason for a new building was the Hewitt Collection. Bank of America had promised to donate this important art collection in 1998. But the old building was not big enough to hold it.
On December 7, 2007, the center announced its new formal name: The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture. This name honored Harvey Gantt, a key figure in Charlotte's history. The new building was designed by Philip Freelon, who also designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
After the center moved, the old Little Rock Church building was bought back by the church in 2009. It was reopened as the Little Rock Community Development Center. The new Gantt Center was the first part of the Wells Fargo (formerly Wachovia) Cultural Campus to be finished. It was four times larger than the old site.
The dedication ceremony for the new Gantt Center happened on October 24, 2009. Many people celebrated this important event. Former Mayor Pat McCrory praised Harvey Gantt as a great role model. Gantt himself said the building was "far beyond my wildest dreams" and represented how far the community had come.
In February 2016, the Harvey B. Gantt Center was featured in Google Cultural Institute's online gallery. This gallery celebrated black history, art, and culture. The center was one of 50 cultural institutions included.
Exploring the Building's Design
The Harvey B. Gantt Center is located at South Tryon and East Brooklyn Village Avenue. It is a "modernist structure wrapped in glass and metal." The building's design was inspired by the Myers Street School. This school was in the Brooklyn neighborhood, an African-American area that was torn down in the 1960s. The Myers Street School was Charlotte's only public school for African-Americans for many years.
The building's design also includes a feature called "Jacob's Ladder." This idea comes from the Book of Genesis and is seen in the stairs and escalators inside the building. Another cool part of the building is its "rain screen." This screen has metal panels and windows that look like a quilt with fluorescent lights that resemble stitches. This design reminds people of the history of the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Inside the center, on the east wing wall, you can see a work of art called Divergent Threads, Lucent Memories by David Wilson. This art piece is also inspired by quilts and remembers the history of Brooklyn. Outside, on the plaza, there is another artwork called Intersections by Juan Logan. This piece uses patterns from the Kuba Kingdom in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These patterns represent how different cultures connect.
The John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art
The Gantt Center is home to a very important collection of art called The John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art. Vivian Hewitt was the first African-American librarian hired by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Her husband, John, taught English at Morehouse College.
John and Vivian Hewitt were not rich, but they collected amazing African-American art over 50 years. They started in 1949. Many of the artworks were gifts they gave to each other. At first, these artworks were affordable because not many people were buying them. But as African-American artists became more recognized, the value of their art grew.
The Hewitt Collection was bought by NationsBank (which later became Bank of America) in 1998. The plan was to display these works in an expanded cultural center. The collection traveled around the country. Now, the 58 works make up most of the Gantt Center's permanent collection. This collection includes art by famous 20th-century African-American artists like Henry Ossawa Tanner, Ann Tanksley, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden.
When the Gantt Center opened in October 2009, 26 artworks from the Hewitt Collection were ready to be seen. Other works from the collection were planned to be shown over the next two years.
See also
