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The Harlem Festival of Culture has entered a new partnership with AMC Networks as they prepare for the launching of their festival next year.
AMC Networks announced their commitment with the HFC, which formed in April of this year as a contemporary edition of the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, which was chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots, Summer of Soul(…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised). The aim of the new group is to revitalize and celebrate Harlem much as the original festival did.
The multi-year deal will see AMC Networks help the HFC put on the inaugural multi-day festival in the summer of 2023, and that will be a tribute to the original festival that took place at Mount Morris Park. In addition, the Harlem Festival of Culture will be bringing back the iconic Mart 125 Marketplace that puts a spotlight on Black-owned businesses by Harlem residents. AMC will support this initiative, and they are also lending support to the HFC’s plans to host screenings and robust live entertainment events leading up to the festival next year.
“We are so excited to partner with AMC Networks! Not only will this partnership ensure that we are able to realize a full experience leading up to and for the festival, but it will also help set the standard for our partnerships moving forward,” said HFC Co-Founder and Technical & Talent Producer Yvonne McNair in the statement announcing the deal.
“AMC Networks partnering with us on the ground level like this shows a deep understanding of the significance of this festival and that they really see the value of what we are doing.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Harlem Festival of Culture and supporting this yearlong event in a truly meaningful way,” AMC Networks chief commercial officer Kim Kelleher said in the same statement. “We are so excited to leverage our portfolio and be a part of this incredible cultural moment, and to give advertising partners the opportunity to access this incredibly compelling slate of activities as well.”
