The new decade of 2020s will usher Hattiloo Theatre into a celebration of its 15th season, a significant milestone for Memphis, as, despite the city’s 64% majority African American demographic, only a handful of tenured arts organizations survive to represent the vast experiences, expressions and imaginations of the black community.

Hattiloo, Memphis’ nonprofit black repertory theater, stands alongside predecessors such as Memphis Black Arts Alliance and Blues City Cultural Center, 38- and 40-years-old, respectively. 

The theater expanded and redefined what black art can be and mean, delivering Memphis the critically acclaimed plays that major metropolitans were enjoying: works by notable playwrights like August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks and Memphis’ own Katori Hall, as well as works by fresh, award-winning voices like Tarrel Alvin McCraney, Dominique Morisseau and another Memphian, Jiréh Breon Holder. 

The efforts to embrace and uplift contemporary artists, and to prioritize fiscal stewardship have gained Hattiloo and Memphis notice in the eyes of the world, and laid the foundation for partnerships from Washington, D.C., to Khartoum, Sudan, to Milan, Italy.

At the same time, in the grand scheme of things, 15 years does not equate to longevity for an arts organization. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra began operations in 1965, 55 years ago. Theatre Memphis has been around for 100 years, the Brooks Museum of Art for 104.

So, while the brief histories of institutions like Hattiloo and ballet company Collage Dance Collective have been remarkable, and there are periodic, independently-produced black arts performances for the general public to experience, the persisting imbalance is clear. The opportunities for black arts participation, either as a practitioner or audience member, remain relatively few and far between.

Memphis’ black creative community existed decades before Hattiloo opened its doors in an Edge District storefront, but it lacked consistent opportunities to further develop talent. Hattiloo worked to fill this void, enabling local black actors, directors, stage managers and costume designers to enhance their resumes with Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning plays.

Some who got their start at Hattiloo have gone on to perform in more prominent venues. Jennean Farmer, who made her first stage appearance at Hattiloo in 2008, debuted on Broadway in March 2019 as an understudy in Lydia Diamond’s “Toni Stone.” Bertram Williams, who also made his first stage appearance at Hattiloo in 2008, recently wrapped up a recurring role in Katori Hall’s new Starz series “P-Valley.”

For the new decade, Hattiloo is renewing its vow to amplify the voice of the African American community within the arts community, and doubling down on that effort by investing more in developing artists.

Black art deserves to be more than just a niche on Memphis’ cultural landscape. There is much to celebrate going into the next decade, at Hattiloo, in the arts community, and in the city at large.

While bridging cultural equity gaps is unglamorous, it is work that Hattiloo is honored, privileged and duty-bound to take on. To achieve whatever vision we hold for the next 10 or 100 years, the work begins now.