Mission: The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center celebrates, nurtures, presents and preserves African American performing arts and cultural legacies.

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, located in the heart of Seattle within the vibrant Central Area neighborhood, is an historic cultural arts

institution, established in 1972 as a home for artistic and cultural expression. Operated by the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, the Center has provided 36 years of continuous programming for youth, adults and families.

Langston Hughes Performing Art Center is housed in what was formerly the Jewish Synagogue of Chevra Bikur Cholim. The building is listed in the National Registry as a historical landmark.

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center was established in 1969 as a dynamic and creative cultural arts center under the Model Cities, Urban Renewal program. Created to provide a cultural institution in  Seattle’s Central Area, LHPAC has been at the core of experimental, cutting edge, traditional, and emerging art forms for more than 30 years. LHPAC became a program of Seattle Parks and Recreation in 1972.

It has been an essential gathering place for an African American canon of work in a neighborhood that has seen numerous demographic changes over the past three decades. The Center is committed to championing a cultural and artistic voice while building powerful connections with the diversecultures in our community. This is accomplished through the creation of dynamic performing arts experiences for all.