Earlier this summer, as the National Black Arts Festival’s leadership team began rolling out its schedule for its 25th anniversary season, it did so with an optimism that seemed in contradiction to its reality.
Its full-time staff of six had been laid off, its executive director post was vacant, its operating budget for this year was slashed at least in half, down from a 2012 projection of $2.2 million. But since the season kicked off a month ago, things are beginning to turn for the organization in a direction it hopes will lead it back to the glory days when it was a can’t-miss event that drew legions of attendees from across the country.
The festival will announce Friday that it has raised almost $700,000 in corporate, foundation and individual donations, just $300,000 short of its season fundraising goal. It will also announce a new “Conversations with Masters” series, to include arts legends such as Judith Jamison, former artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and acclaimed jazz pianist and MacArthur fellow Jason Moran.
“Though we, like every other arts organization, have struggled through the recession, our commitment to mission has not wavered,” NBAF board chairwoman Sonya Halpern said. “Through the years we’ve always tried to maintain the integrity of the work we’re doing.”
About $500,000 of the target was raised through the NBAF gala on July 20. The other $200,000 came from its Silver Circle fundraising initiative, which includes tickets to all NBAF paid events, special receptions and performances. While 75 percent of NBAF events are free to the public, the big-ticket items such as the gala, at $500 per ticket, and its Legends Celebration at $35 per ticket, bring in the bulk of the operating budget. The money raised in this seasonal campaign will pay expenses for the current season, though Halpern said it will not be used to retire any of the organization’s outstanding debt from past festivals, which stands at about $270,000.
No dates have been set yet for the “Masters” series, though the programs are expected to begin this fall. Apart from Jamison and Moran, the lineup will include soprano Harolyn Blackwell, who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Keith Sanders of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
The NBAF is contracting with the DeVos Arts Management Institute at the Kennedy Center for the Arts to help the festival stabilize itself both financially and administratively. The silver anniversary festival is being produced through consultants and volunteers, though Halpern said she expects the organization to begin a search to hire a new executive director once the current season ends in mid-September.
“We’re being conscientious in terms of programming, conscientious in terms of governance,” Halpern said. “When people see that you’re helping yourself, people respond positively to that.”
