As of April 1, 2018, Kore Press’ new home will be inside The Dunbar Pavilion: An African-American Arts and Culture Center at 325 W. Second St. in Tucson. We are so thrilled and honored to align our work of keeping marginalized voices at the center with the Dunbar revitalization project, and to work with the brilliant visionary Debi Chess Mabie. Debi (with The Dunbar Coalition, University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Southwest Folk Alliance) is leading the Dunbar Pavilion into its next 100 years of cultural significance.
“When you walk in, you should know what this space is about,” Mabie said. “You should know that school segregation created an environment where many African-Americans thrived despite inequities. This was the heart and soul of the community for so many years. . . The Dunbar is one of the last remaining physical representations of the African-American community here in Tucson,” Mabie said. “What we are doing will not only support and promote the accomplishments of African-Americans, but create opportunities to reverse the effects of segregation in this community.”
Kore joins the two main tenants at Dunbar, the barber academy and the Barbea Williams Dance Academy Company. Tucson’s Black Film Club also screens movies at the pavilion every three months. Mabie wants to animate all 60,000 square feet of the Pavilion, to create a space where different organizations share the facility and resources, and she is looking for groups whose goals aligns with the five pillars of the pavilion’s mission: health and well-being; education; art and culture; economic development and entrepreneurship; and civic engagement.