National Black Arts Festival announces new vision, schedule

The National Black Arts Festival, an Atlanta institution, will mark its 26th year in June, with a new vision, new partnerships and a plan to make it the “epicenter” of arts in the African diaspora.

The festival, one of the longest-running in the nation, runs from June through September and will feature some of the most prominent and promising musicians, artists, playwrights and actors around.

The strategic plan will put the festival “back on the map in a new way and give it a new direction,” said Sonya M. Halpern, chairwoman of the board of directors. The focus is on fewer — but higher quality — events.

Events will revolve around music, dance, theater, film and visual arts. This season, however, has been designated the year of music at the NBAF.

Mayor Kasim Reed also announced that the city was pumping $20,000 into the NBAF, which ended the last season in the black with five months of cash on hand and met its $1.2 million fundraising goal.

Reed, who once served on the NBAF board, urged festival coordinators to “keep the momentum going.”

Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis will serve as the NBAF’s inaugural Spotlight Series curator and named a mentor, peer and protege to join the summer’s program. They are Jimmy Heath, Marcus Roberts and Jason Marsalis, respectively.

A new annual event, NBAF Global, will highlight one aspect of the African diaspora. Another, the Legends Celebrations, will take a fresh new direction honoring five legends through performance tributes. There also will be enhanced educational initiatives such as the Youth Empowerment Series (YES!) and various programs for younger audiences.

NBAF NEXT will feature emerging artists and those working on social justice.

Tickets to NABF events go on sale at noon Friday. Wynton Marsalis tickets are currently on sale.

Here is a wrapup of events:

• Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis — "Modern Life, Modern Music," 8 p.m. July 25 at Symphony Hall. Tickets from $45.

• The Heath Brothers Quartet with Jeremy Pelt, 8 p.m. Aug. 23 at Rialto Center for the Arts. Tickets from $25.

• The Jason Marsalis Quartet, 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Tickets from $15.

• The Marcus Roberts Trio will perform, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Tickets from $15.

• Harlem Fine Arts Show, June 26-29 at 200 Peachtree St. Tickets from $10 at http://hfas.org/events/atlanta/.

• A symposium on "Black Aesthetics and African Centered Cultural Expressions: Sacred Systems in the Nexus between Cultural Studies, Religion and Philosophy," at varying times July 13-Aug. 1 at Emory University.