Legacy and evolution: The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture

Abstract

In 2024, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded as the as the Afro-American Cultural and Service Center in 1974 by Mary Harper and Bertha Maxwell-Roddey at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, this case study reflects on the Gantt Center's evolution from a community-based cultural space to a full-fledged arts and cultural institution in uptown Charlotte. It focuses on the opportunities and challenges this Black-centered and Black-led institution has faced over the past half century as it has evolved from a grassroots cultural organization to a hybrid fine arts, education, and cultural institution, negotiating the needs of a growing array of funders, leadership, artists, culture keepers, and audiences. Integrating historical material, interviews with past and current Gantt Center staff, and ethnographic observation, this case study describes how this historic institution honors its deep roots as an organization serving to Charlotte's Black community as it grows into a national and international center of Black arts.