National Black Arts Festival

The National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) is an organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1987.

[1] It was started after the Fulton County Arts Council (in Atlanta, Georgia) commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of creating a festival dedicated to celebrating the work of artists of African descent.

Among the participants in the festival have been Maya Angelou, Charles Dutton, Wynton Marsalis, Amiri Baraka, Avery Brooks, Nancy Wilson, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Spike Lee, Ousmane Sembène, Pearl Cleage, Kenny Leon, Carrie Mae Weems, Radcliffe Bailey, Sonia Sanchez and many other artists from the US and around the world.

As the festival established itself as a showcase for the art and culture of the African Diaspora, it expanded to include year-round educational activities.

The festival's artistic leadership has included Avery Brooks, Dwight Andrews and Stephanie Hughley and has reached over five million people since the first year.