Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Posters

Series

Identifier: 7420-03

Scope and Contents Note

Collection of posters highlighting events offered at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute over the course of almost 40 years. Represented events include: All City Youth Summer Musicals, Chipupugwendere African Harvest Festival, Back to its Roots Hip Hop Weekend, African American Film Festivals, Jackson Street Jazzwalk, Adefua-Odunde Festival and Jazz Festivals, as well as other plays, performances, dances, live music and musicals. Highlighted performers include Josephine Howell, Medearius MD Dixson, Yamandu Costa, and Julian Priester. Some of the posters have been signed by the performers.

Dates

Creation: 1986 - 2023

Creator

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (Seattle, Wash.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

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The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute was founded as part of Seattle’s Model Cities program. Housed in the former Chevra Bikur Cholim synagogue at 17th and Yesler, it was originally called the Yesler-Atlantic Community Center when it opened in 1972 and was managed by the Parks Department. The name was changed in 1973 to the Langston Hughes Cultural Center to reflect its focus on providing access to arts and culture from the African diaspora. The center offered classes and activities ranging from puppetry and flower arranging to karate and public speaking. It also had a food program for young people and hosted performing arts events. In 2013, the City’s management of the center moved from the Parks Department to the Office of Arts & Culture, and (after several other interim name changes) it became known as the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. The nonprofit LANGSTON was formed in 2016 to handle programming at the center and eventually take over management entirely.