The African American Arts Alliance (AAAA) will host the 20th annual Black Excellence Awards, an evening celebrating Black artists, Black voices, and Black stories across various artistic disciplines, on December 27, 2021 at 7pm Central. The 2021 virtual celebration will honor selected honorees who have exhibited artistic excellence throughout the past year. The live ceremony, to be broadcast on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/aaaachicago, is free and open to the public.
The 2021 Black Excellence Awards is proud to honor:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Illinois Poet Laureate Angela Jackson
Music
Buddy Guy
Tricia Tribble
Theater
Ronald L. Conner
Aimee K. Bryant
Lili-Anne Brown
Congo Square Theatre
Literature
Bryant T
Asadah Kirkland
Dance
South Chicago Dance Theater
Homer Bryant
Visual Arts
Blanc Gallery
Bryant Lamont
Film
David Weathersby
Technology
Covana Washington
Free Spirit Media
“The Black Excellence Awards have been honoring Black artists for more than 20 years. With the Black Excellence Awards, we uplift each other as we celebrate Black achievement and come together to acknowledge the contributions that the African American arts community have made to the cultural fabric of Chicago,” comments AAAA Board Chair and Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor.
African American Alliance Executive Director Jackie Williams adds, “We invite community to share a virtual celebration of Black artists who contribute so much to Chicago’s cultural community. The Black Excellence Awards supports our mission to increase awareness of African American arts organizations and artists and we celebrate some of Chicago’s most distinguished citizens.”
The Black Excellence Awards provides recognition of professional African American artists for their achievements of excellence and creativity in the areas of dance, theater, film, literature, music, technology, and visual arts. More information is available at https://www.aaaachicago.org/
About the African American Arts Alliance
In 1997 a group of Chicago’s leading African American artists and arts organizations came together and formed a new organization; incorporated as the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. This organization embraced the history of the original 1977 Chicago Black Theater Alliance while expanding their scope to include diverse groups of artistic mediums which includes theaters, dance, music, literature, film, visual arts organizations, and individuals.
The mission of the African American Art Alliance is to increase public awareness, interaction, communication and development of African American arts organizations and artists within the city of Chicago.