Atlanta’s Center for Civil and Human Rights has named a chief creative officer.

George Wolfe, a Tony Award-winning theater director, will work in close partnership with architectural and exhibit teams to oversee design concepts and themes throughout the center’s construction. 

The $125 million, 100,000-square-foot center will be an interactive museum commemorating the tragedies and triumphs of Atlantans during the civil rights movement.  It will link the experience of African-Americans in the U.S. to an ongoing dialogue about the struggle for human rights around the world.

The center is slated to open in 2012 next to the New World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. Coca-Cola Co. donated the land at the Pemberton Place development.

Speaking to the Ireland Chamber of Commerce of the USA on June 9, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said she hopes the center will be an important crossroads for global scholars examining the quest for freedom and human rights.

“We view this as an international center,” she said.

Mr. Wolfe said in a statement that he is excited to work on a project that has the potential for global impact.

“It’s amazing to be a part of an organization which is going to be located in Atlanta, yet by virtue of its subject matter and vision is connected to the entire world,” he said.

The Center for Civil and Human Rights will be the new home for the Martin Luther King Jr. papers, a collection of handwritten notes and sermons by the civil rights leader.

Kevin Conboy, president of the Ireland chamber, said Irish President Mary McAleese and Minister for Family and Social Affairs Mary Hanafin both viewed the papers during their trips to Atlanta in 2007 and 2009, respectively. 

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