Harvey B. Gantt Center

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture is an African-American art museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Named for Harvey Gantt, the city's first African-American mayor and the first African-American student at Clemson University, the institution stands as a regional destination and statewide resource for African-American art, history, and culture. The center occupies a 46,500 square foot, four-story building designed by Freelon Group Architects at a cost of $18.6 million, dedicated in October 2009 as part of what is now the Levine Center for the Arts. Its mission centers on presenting, preserving, and promoting African American art, culture, and history for the education and enlightenment of all.

The institution's origins trace to 1974, when Mary T. Harper, Ph.D. (1935-2020), an assistant professor of English at UNC-Charlotte, proposed an Afro-American cultural center for Charlotte. Working with her mentor Bertha Maxwell-Roddey, Ph.D., director of UNC-Charlotte's Black Studies Center, Harper envisioned a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Afro-American Cultural and Service Center. The two scholars launched their effort with festivals in Marshall Park, the former site of the Brooklyn neighborhood, holding a second festival in 1975 before formally establishing the Afro-American Cultural and Service Center.

From 1976 to 1986, the center operated from 605 square feet in the former First Baptist Church known as Spirit Square. In 1979, Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church sold its historic Neoclassical Revival building, designed by James Mackson McMichael and completed in June 1911, to the city. After renovation by Dalton Morgan Shook & Partners using $1.1 million in donations and a $540,000 city grant, the Afro-American Cultural Center opened its 11,000-square-foot home at Myers and 7th Streets on March 15, 1986. This space included a 180-seat theater and 300-seat amphitheater.

When voters rejected a $95 million cultural facilities plan in 2001, which would have provided $10 million for expansion, the center pursued alternative sites. On November 2, 2005, a plan was announced for a new $17.9 million facility as part of the Wachovia Cultural Campus on Tryon Street. On December 7, 2007, the organization revealed its formal name: The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, later modified to include the plus symbol. The dedication ceremonies for the $18.6 million building at Tryon and Stonewall Streets were held on October 24, 2009. The center was subsequently featured in Google Cultural Institute's February 2016 online gallery celebrating black history, art, and culture among 50 cultural institutions.

The Gantt Center's collections focus on African-American art, with particular emphasis on works that illuminate the accomplishments of African-Americans, especially those from North Carolina. The institution positions itself as an industry leader among the nation's African-American cultural institutions, deliberately looking beyond traditional museum operations. Its programming embraces the concept of "arts as activism" while incorporating innovation and intellectual thought. The center's artistic vision rests on the premise that African-American art and culture, though historically under-represented and under-funded, must claim its place among mainstream cultural institutions. This orientation has led to exhibitions and programs that address societal inequities, access, inclusion, and equity in the community.

The center's signature acquisition is the Hewitt Collection, donated by Bank of America in 1998. This major collection was a primary factor in planning the new facility, as the existing Little Rock A.M.E. Zion building could not accommodate it. The Hewitt Collection donation preceded the center's move to its current location and served as a major attraction to draw visitors to the new facility.

The current Gantt Center building was designed by Freelon Group Architects, with Phil Freelon later named as lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The four-story, 46,500 square foot structure was built on a narrow site in what the architects described as a design challenge. Located in the heart of Charlotte's downtown cultural district, the building is flanked by mixed-use development and the Charlotte Convention Center, with close proximity to the Bechtler and Mint Museums and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The facility includes highly flexible space for exhibitions, presentations, receptions, events, and retail.

The previous home, the former Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church, was preserved through historic preservation efforts after the center's move. Little Rock Church paid $590,000 in April 2009 to buy back the old building, which was rededicated on December 13, 2009, as the Little Rock Community Development Center.

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture is located at the intersection of Tryon and Stonewall Streets in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of the Levine Center for the Arts. The center is accessible via public transit at Brooklyn Village station. As of 2024, Bonita Buford serves as President and Joni Y. Davis serves as Chairperson. The institution continues to function as a vital resource for music, dance, theater, visual and film arts, arts education, literature, and community outreach, maintaining its role as a regional destination for African-American art, history, and culture.