The Gantt Center’s staircase-inspired architecture rises from a powerful idea: African-American culture belongs at the center of the city’s story — literally, on South Tryon Street in the Levine Center for the Arts. Named for Harvey Gantt, Charlotte’s first Black mayor and a Clemson trailblazer, the center (founded 1974 as the Afro-American Cultural Center) is a cornerstone of Uptown culture.
Its foundation is the John & Vivian Hewitt Collection — one of America’s great collections of African-American art, with Romare Bearden (a Charlotte son), Henry Ossawa Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence. Rotating exhibitions, rooftop gatherings, film series and dance performances keep the calendar as rich as the galleries.
The Gantt is both museum and meeting place — where Charlotte comes to celebrate the art that made it.
