About us

MISSION: The AAAI seeks to promote and preserve African American culture through:

• Performances featuring its music and dance ensembles
•Lectures,workshops,and other special events
•Innovative approaches to teaching students of diverse backgrounds

 

• Original artistic works
• Performance training and professional work experience for students
• Management and promotion of touring ensemble activities that reach people of all ages and social, ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds The ensembles are offered concurrently as courses through the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies. Membership is open by audition to all students on the IU Bloomington campus.

The AAAI has provided opportunities for thousands of Indiana University students to explore their talents in performance and arts management and gain knowledge of the history and culture of African American music and dance while pursuing degrees in a broad range of fields. A number of AAAI alumni have used their training as a foundation for professional careers in the arts as performers, producers, technicians, writers, and managers.

The AAAI's ensembles are available for concerts, festivals, ceremonies, workshops, and lecture-demonstrations from October through April. For more information, contact Joii Byrd, Performance Manager, at (812) 855-3676.

HISTORY:

The African American Arts Institute was founded in 1974 by Herman Hudson, former Director of the Institute and founder of the Department of Afro-American Studies (now the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies) at Indiana University. Office of the Vice President of Institutional Development and Student AffairsHudson, recognizing that the reservoir of student talent and interest in African American performance styles at IU could foster the development of African American performance as a vital part of academic coursework, established the IU Soul Revue in 1971. In 1972, the IU Soul Revue was first offered as a credit-bearing ensemble under the title, "Soul Music: Culture and Performance."

The Revue's success provided the foundation for the establishment of the African American Dance Company in 1974. In addition to developing performing arts ensembles, Hudson initiated several research projects among African American scholars on the Bloomington campus. The combination of research activities and the two ensembles led to the Institute's establishment that same year, under Hudson's directorship.

In 1975, the African American Choral Ensemble was founded, thus completing the academic/performance component of the Institute as it exists today. The IU Soul Revue, African American Dance Company, and African American Chorale Ensemble continue to provide performance and arts management opportunities for IU students. Their calendar year is filled with concerts, workshops, and demonstrations on the IU campus, in the Bloomington community, throughout Indiana, much of the Midwest, and beyond. The Institute remains one of the few performing arts programs at a college or university with an emphasis on African American performance traditions that features credit-bearing ensembles.