ArtVolution Cultural Innovation Project is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
Mission
Celebrating the Power and Beauty of the Global Black Experience
by advancing and empowering American communities through high-quality arts,
innovative educational opportunities and health and wellness programs.
by advancing and empowering American communities through high-quality arts,
innovative educational opportunities and health and wellness programs.
Vision
Art, culture and legacy represent a portrait of common interests of who we are, where we have been and where we are going. We envision people of African descent born in the United States of America to have equal access to educational and
culturally-rich experiences throughout the duration of their lives. From these opportunities, we aspire to create positive sustainable environments that boast career advancement and upward family mobility.
culturally-rich experiences throughout the duration of their lives. From these opportunities, we aspire to create positive sustainable environments that boast career advancement and upward family mobility.
Background
ArtVolution Cultural Innovation Project, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2014 by Vena Jefferson as a multi-dimensional arts , culture and science program as a submission for Artplace America Creative Placemaking Grant. We were chosen as one of 130 finalists out of 1300 submissions. That was the catalyst to develop this idea into an ongoing organization. ACIP was created with three distinct areas of programming; youth initiative, presenting and preserving and neighborhood beautification.
Core Values
Founder and Chief Creative Officer
Vena Jefferson is an award-winning cultural event curator and producer, dancer, arts activist, consultant and writer. Jefferson is a graduate of Temple University's School of Communication & Theater and earned a certificate in arts management from UMass Arts Extension. She has produced and performed projects in Jazz, African, Soul and World Music including live music, dance and theater shows in the U.S.A, Mexico, Caribbean and West Africa. She has garnered a reputation for creating cutting edge concepts in the traditional and contemporary performing arts with legendary performers and contemporary artists in a variety of genres while staying closely connected to the grassroots community movements. As a recipient of the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award for Art and Social Change and a finalist In ArtPlace America's Creative, Jefferson has made great strides in youth education programming and cultural preservation and development. Known also among peers for her work as a special projects consultant for Preserving Diverse Cultures for Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, she is well known in various professional arts festivals and community activated programs. Her latest programs include; The Afrosphere Festival and The Celebration of African and Diaspora Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Vena Jefferson is an award-winning cultural event curator and producer, dancer, arts activist, consultant and writer. Jefferson is a graduate of Temple University's School of Communication & Theater and earned a certificate in arts management from UMass Arts Extension. She has produced and performed projects in Jazz, African, Soul and World Music including live music, dance and theater shows in the U.S.A, Mexico, Caribbean and West Africa. She has garnered a reputation for creating cutting edge concepts in the traditional and contemporary performing arts with legendary performers and contemporary artists in a variety of genres while staying closely connected to the grassroots community movements. As a recipient of the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award for Art and Social Change and a finalist In ArtPlace America's Creative, Jefferson has made great strides in youth education programming and cultural preservation and development. Known also among peers for her work as a special projects consultant for Preserving Diverse Cultures for Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, she is well known in various professional arts festivals and community activated programs. Her latest programs include; The Afrosphere Festival and The Celebration of African and Diaspora Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Communications and Program Administrator
Eugene Holley, Jr. has been writing about jazz and culture for thirty years. He currently writes for Down Beat, Publishers Weekly, Hot House, New Music Box, Chamber Music, and Playbill. His byline has appeared in The Village Voice, NPR: A Blog Supreme, Vibe, Wax Poetics, and The New York Times Book Review. He’s contributed to three books: Writing Music: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, Albert Murray and the Aesthetic Imagination of a Nation, and Best Music Writing: 2010. He was the Program Director of WCLK-FM, Clark-Atlanta University, a freelance arts reporter/producer for NPR, and he co-produced two radio documentaries: Dizzy’s Diamonds and The Duke Ellington Radio Project. He’s written over twenty-five liner notes including, Michael Olatuja, Lagos Pepper Soup (Whirlwind Recordings), and Wallace Roney, Blue Dawn, Blue Nights (Savant). He lives in Wilmington, DE.
Eugene Holley, Jr. has been writing about jazz and culture for thirty years. He currently writes for Down Beat, Publishers Weekly, Hot House, New Music Box, Chamber Music, and Playbill. His byline has appeared in The Village Voice, NPR: A Blog Supreme, Vibe, Wax Poetics, and The New York Times Book Review. He’s contributed to three books: Writing Music: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, Albert Murray and the Aesthetic Imagination of a Nation, and Best Music Writing: 2010. He was the Program Director of WCLK-FM, Clark-Atlanta University, a freelance arts reporter/producer for NPR, and he co-produced two radio documentaries: Dizzy’s Diamonds and The Duke Ellington Radio Project. He’s written over twenty-five liner notes including, Michael Olatuja, Lagos Pepper Soup (Whirlwind Recordings), and Wallace Roney, Blue Dawn, Blue Nights (Savant). He lives in Wilmington, DE.