New Arts Director Named

Mayor Justin Elicker has tapped a state arts program manager with a background in promoting youth professional development and cultural equity to be the city’s next top arts and culture official.

In a Thursday morning press release, Elicker announced that he has appointed Adriane Jefferson to serve as the city’s next director of arts and cultural affairs.

According to her bio as listed in the mayor’s press release, Jefferson has spent the past three years working as an arts program manager for the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development/Office of the Arts, where she developed the state’s Arts Workforce Initiative paid employment program for young people interested in working in the arts.

“I believe that to have a thriving landscape of arts and culture, it must be approached through a lens of cultural equity,” Jefferson is quoted as saying in the press release. ​“The arts, when utilized to its fullest potential, is a tool that has the power to break down socioeconomic barriers, fight systemic oppression, and provide opportunities in education and employment. It provides platforms to curate meaningful conversations and action-oriented planning around issues of social justice, civic engagement, and cross-sector relationships. As the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven, I will do as I have always done and lead with a people-first approach.”

“Ms. Jefferson brings a strong work ethic, backed with real experience to elevate the arts here in the Elm City. Ms. Jefferson will join our talented, experienced, and diverse team tasked with serving all needs of Elm City residents,” Elicker is quoted as saying in the release.

The top city arts position has been vacant since the death of former city arts czar Andy Wolf last summer.

Click here for a full interview with Jefferson in the New Haven Arts Paper, and see below for Jefferson’s full bio as provided by the mayor’s press release.

Adriane Jefferson biography:

Adriane Jefferson is an Arts Administrator and cultural equity leader who has worked professionally in the Arts & Culture sector for over 16 years. For the past three years she has served as an Arts Program Manager for the State of CT, Department of Economic and Community Development/Office of the Arts where she has developed groundbreaking programs for the State of CT such as The Arts Workforce Initiative paid Employment Program which has placed over 100 young people between the ages of 18 – 40 in arts jobs across the State.

Adriane is the creator and innovator of signature state programs such as The READI Music Conference and The READI Talk professional development Series, which has provided access and opportunity to hundreds of young creative professionals across the State who are seeking careers in arts and entertainment. In addition, Adriane has served as the CT State Coordinator for the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Out Loud program, Make Music Day CT, and The Regional Initiative Grant program. She manages a combined program budget of slightly over $450,000 to foster, support, and provide opportunities to the creative community through funding and professional development initiatives.

Adriane has expertise in program design, event & media production, grantmaking, development, external affairs, community partnerships, and strategic planning, which includes the development and implementation of new program initiatives. She particularly specializes in the areas of developing programs for creative entrepreneurs, programs that support people from historically marginalized groups, social change initiatives, and building cross-sector relationships between the arts and other business industries. Prior to her current position at the State, Adriane served as the Executive Director and Senior Director of programs for the Writers Block Ink in New London, CT. She also has served as a member of their Board of directors.

Adriane’s professional career began in 2004, where she worked behind the scenes in local television & production and special event planning in the city of Miami, Florida. Simultaneously she was also pursuing her B.A in Popular Music from Florida Memorial University in Opa Locka, Florida. She graduated Cum Laude in 2009. Developing much of her professional career in Miami, Florida from 2004- 2015, Adriane has worked in arts education as an educator in both music and theater arts. Between 2008 and 2010, she helped to develop the drama program for Alonzo Mourning Charities’ Over Town Youth center and The Gibson Charter School. Adriane Jefferson is known as a thought leader, adviser, and educator about issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Cultural Equity. Her unique approach to programming and her ability to think outside of the box has created many opportunities for creatives, arts organizations and creative businesses within the State of CT and beyond. She has dedicated her career to creating programs that result in a more equitable, vibrant, and sustainable arts landscape. Adriane has an M.A in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Art and Design. She is a mother of one and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.