Americans for the Arts announced today that Adriane Jefferson, director of the Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven and the executive director of New Haven Festival Inc, has been awarded the 2022 American Express Emerging Leader Award at Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention. The award recognizes an exceptional new and/or young arts professional for their exemplary leadership, deep engagement with community, and strong commitment to advancing the arts.

Jefferson is an arts administrator and cultural equity leader who has worked professionally in the arts and culture sector for over 17 years. As director of cultural affairs for the City of New Haven, she leads the city on cultural equity and anti-racism initiatives. Jefferson and her department have created the Arts for Anti-racism Pledge, The Unapologetically Radical Conference, and the City of New Haven’s and State of Connecticut’s first-ever cultural equity plan.

Prior to her current role, Jefferson served as an arts program manager for the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development/Office of the Arts, where she developed groundbreaking programs such as The Arts Workforce Initiative paid Employment Program and the READI (Relevance, Equity, Access, Diversity, and Inclusion) Music conference, which has placed hundreds of young creative workers of color in arts jobs and professional development opportunities across the state.

As part of Jefferson’s most recent work with the City of New Haven, she oversees the City’s membership in the Government Alliance of Race & Equity and has formed the Core Race Equity Task Force. The task force plays an advisory and leadership role to the mayor and executive leadership on internal and external race equity issues in the city of New Haven and practices equitable systems changed. Jefferson is also a member of the Closing Gaps Network, Living Cities Initiative, which provides ongoing leadership training on community organizing, anti-racism principles, equity assessments, and capacity building. Jefferson oversees the civic space, which is a multipronged civic engagement platform where community members communicate directly with city officials on the changes they wish to see in their neighborhoods.

Jefferson currently serves as a councilwoman for The State of Connecticut Arts Council, an advisory board member for New England Foundation for the Arts, and as an ex-officio board member for the Shubert Theater. She has received the 40-Under-40 award from the Urban Professional Network and the 40-Under-40 award from CT Magazine. Her arts-for-anti-racism work has been featured in Americans for the Arts’ Arts Link magazine.

Nolen V. Bivens, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, commented, “Americans for the Arts has been a strong proponent for the advancement of new arts leadership, and Adriane Jefferson exemplifies that next generation. She is a thought leader and her expertise and passion for the arts, diversity, access, inclusion, and social change makes her a true asset in community arts leadership. Adriane has dedicated her career to fostering a more equitable, vibrant, and sustainable arts landscape. I congratulate her for this recognition—she is a leader who highlights the transformative impact that the arts can have.”

Through its Emerging Leaders Network, Americans for the Arts works to identify and cultivate the next generation of leaders in the arts and arts education. Currently, Americans for the Arts serves a network of approximately 6,000 members in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 60 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.