August Wilson Archive

August Wilson Archive

Current Events

August Wilson: The Writer's Landscape

Ongoing

August Wilson: The Writer's Landscape

August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape utilizes timed entry to help ensure each guest has adequate time to experience the full impact of the exhibit. Dates are available to schedule up to three weeks in advance, with new dates being added each Monday at noon. If you do not see any available times for your intended date, please ensure there is no more than three weeks preceding before calling the ticketing staff. Web registration is available up until 30 minutes before the exhibit opens that day. Entry is available until 90 minutes before the exhibit closes. It is strongly encouraged to reserve in advance. Same day reservations can be accommodated but are not guaranteed; walk-ins are highly encouraged for same-day reservations.

FREE ADMISSION. Reserve your spot today!

Location:   August Wilson African American Cultural Center
980 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

For more information

How To Write About Place with Damon Young

Friday, March 22, 2024

August Wilson Headshot

How do we write about Place? Damon Young, the writer in residence at the University of Pittsburgh Honors College is leading a workshop to answer just that. Using inspiration from the August Wilson Archive, this workshop intends to take writers through the journey of writing about place.

This is a Hybrid Event.
Please register in advance.

Location:   Hillman Library
Archives and Special Collections Instruction Room, Room 340

or attend virtually on Zoom

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

Time: 5:30 p.m.

For more information

Past Events

Community Mapping with the August Wilson Archive

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Collage of some items from the August Wilson Archives

Join us for Community Mapping with the August Wilson Archive to celebrate the last library stop of the traveling exhibit about the playwright and archive! Identify and share welcoming community spaces in Hazelwood and beyond where you gather, interact, and hear the news, reflecting August Wilson’s appreciation for such spaces in developing his work. This program will also share space with items from the August Wilson archive, including a map displaying places from his plays.

Location: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Hazelwood
5006 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15207

Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023

Time: 11 a.m. - Noon

For more information

Theater Research and Performance in the August Wilson Archive

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Collage of some items from the August Wilson Archives

Die-Cast is an artist's collective that is dedicated to creating site-specific immersive performances and installations that explore the intersection of history, science, and art. Our past projects include mixed media installations that delve into the science behind NASA's tragic Columbia shuttle, as well as the behavior of viruses within the human genome. In addition, we have created immersive performances that examine the real lives of artists such as Bertolt Brecht and Otto Dix.

We are excited to continue our exploration of art and history with our latest project, "A Study of August." This solo performance piece will delve into the life and legacy of the renowned playwright August Wilson. This project uses the August Wilson Archive as both a point of inspiration as well as research. Our goal is to create a performance piece that explores the intersection between academia and artistry in the study of theatrical icons.

In this presentation, Die-Cast cofounder, Brenna Geffers, and performer, Steven Wright, will share a sample of the developing work as well as how they have used research as performance in the past.

Location: Hillman Library
Archives and Special Collections Instruction Room, Room 340

Date: Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Time: 4 - 5 p.m.

For more information

Archives & Special Collections Exhibit Talk

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Close up of Lending Library Books

Join us to hear directly from a student curator and view their exhibit in the Gallery @ Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Main (Oakland). Trinidy Manison is a high school junior at University Preparatory Milliones. Her exhibit explores the history of the Hill District interwoven with themes from August Wilson's King Hedley II.

Her creative work and research are based in materials from the University of Pittsburgh Library System's Archives and Special Collections especially materials from the August Wilson Archive.

Location: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Main (Oakland),
South Wing Reading Room
4400 Forbes Ave Carnegie Lecture Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Date: Thursday, April 13, 2023

Time: 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

For more information

August Wilson Monologue Competition

Monday, April 17, 2023

August Wilson Headshot

The Bill Nunn Theatre Outreach Project presents the 2023 Pittsburgh Regional August Wilson New Voices (AWNV), a city-wide competition featuring Pittsburgh high school students in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, August Wilson. The competition will feature 15 students from West Mifflin High School, CAPA, Alumni Theater Company, UPREP, Winchester Thurston, Hope Academy, and Oakland Catholic performing a 2-3 minute monologue from one of the ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. 

The top two students from the Pittsburgh Regional Finals receive a cash prize and are granted the opportunity to compete at the AWNV National competition with students from across the country. 

FREE ADMISSION. Reserve your spot today!

Location:   Pittsburgh Public Theater, O'Reilly Theatre
621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Date: Monday, April 17, 2023

Time: 7 p.m.

For more information

Teaching August Wilson: A Pedagogy of Self-Determination

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Join the Center for Urban Education, in partnership with the Pitt Library, for a virtual panel celebrating the life and work of August Wilson and the importance of teaching his writings. This panel launches a deeper collaborative relationship in which CUE will lead a series of workshops with educators about how to develop curriculum and pedagogy that center the August Wilson archive. In addition, the panel invites educators across contexts to a conversation about fostering creative and inventive teaching designs.

Location: Virtual (Zoom)

Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Time: Noon - 1:30 p.m.

For more information

August Wilson Society's March 2023 Colloquium

March 2-4, 2023

August Wilson Society is thrilled to announce its March 2-4, 2023 Biennial Colloquium, Excavating New Landscapes for August Wilson Studies -- 3 days of informative, exciting events to underscore the profound relevance of the August Wilson Archive housed within the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS).

August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Date: March 2-4, 2023

From the Hill to the Stage: Celebrating the August Wilson Archive
with the University of Pittsburgh Library System

February 24 – March 3, 2023

Guided Tours of The Writer’s Landscape

Date: Friday, February 24, 2023

Presented by: August Wilson Cultural Center

For more information

Biography and Social Relations

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023 

Presented by: August Wilson House

For more information

From Archive to Creation

Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 

Presented by: Center for Creativity

For more information

The Six B’s that Influenced August Wilson

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Presented by: #ArtsInHD

For more information

Encounters in the August Wilson Archive

Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Presented by: August Wilson Society

For more information

Archive Grand Opening Celebration

Date: Friday, March 3, 2023

Presented by: University Library System

For more information

Photos from the Grand Opening Celebration

August Wilson with a theatre cast.
August Wilson with a theatre cast.
Jumole Davis (Host, Reporter, Producer, and Director) and Carl Kurlander (Screenwriter, TV writer/producer, and Documentary Filmmaker)
Constanza Romero (August Wilson's wife) and Kornelia Tancheva (Hillman University Librarian and Director of the University Library System)

Partners

The University of Pittsburgh Library System in partnership with August Wilson African American Cultural Center, August Wilson House, August Wilson Society, and University of Pittsburgh’s Department of English, Department of Theatre Arts, and the Center for Creativity.

On-Demand Videos

Recordings of selected events will be available shortly after the event.

Introduction to the August Wilson Archive

In this short video, Outreach and Engagement Curator Diael Thomas describes the contents of the August Wilson Archive held by the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Theater Embraces the Archive

Eight theater professionals – Broadway and regional, directors and actors and others – enthuse over how the Archive can enhance artists and productions to come.

Biography and Social Relations

What the August Wilson Archive reveals about the playwright and/or the Hill District