🔒Jefferson eyes more events, cultural hub, for New Haven in 2023

The facts make a compelling case: Adriane Jefferson owned 2022.

She’s the director of cultural affairs for the city of New Haven and her list of 2022 wins is impressive:

• She successfully navigated the city’s sometimes treacherous political waters to win approval of a 59-page long-term framework for moving toward equity in the community’s cultural affairs;

• She checked off the first of the plan’s goals with completion of a training program for city staff;

• She spoke truth to power in branding the 1960s-era urban redevelopment project that resulted in the construction of the crosstown freeway (Route 34) as a racial disaster for the city and laid a healthy share of blame at the feet of Yale University;

• In her secondary role as director of New Haven Festivals Inc., she oversaw a range of successes from the inaugural Black Wall Street Festival to the returning International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

For her efforts, Americans for the Arts presented Jefferson its American Express Emerging Leader Award. Nolen V. Bivens, president and CEO of the national organization, said Jefferson “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.”

That’s a tough act to follow but Jefferson seems ready for the challenge. She sums up her plans for 2023 in a single word: “More.”

More listening. More collaboration. More partnerships. And more capacity for her department to do more events.

She’s looking forward to adding a new position to her two-person department. In weighing what she’s looking for in the new hire, she pointed to an ability to expand outreach to potential new audiences.

Black Wall Street will be back, bigger and better, she predicts. Plans are underway for a music conference and workforce summit, both in collaboration with the state. And talks are progressing on a COVID-19 Memory Park.

The national exposure, often the precursor to offers from larger markets, has caused Jefferson to take a step back and think about her legacy. She worked in the arts and cultural community for 17 years before joining the city shortly after Mayor Justin Elicker took office in 2020.

“I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon,” she says.

But the reflection served as a reminder that some day her stay will end and there are some things she is determined to leave in place for her successor.

One is the creation of a “cultural hub,” a flexible space where arts and cultural organizations can come together to achieve both administrative and performance synergies. That’s a priority, she says, while acknowledging what that hub might look like remains a fuzzy concept.

Infrastructure improvements are high on the list, including adding a sizable performance venue, perhaps in collaboration with Yale. The New Haven Green is a wonderful site but it has limitations, not the least of which is weather, she points out.

And then there’s Jefferson’s personal goal of establishing a Dixwell Heritage Area that can present the black community’s influence on the development of New Haven and its culture.

In terms of her big-picture strategy, she says “Equity helps us all.”

Positive reaction

She also makes the point that arts and culture deserve a seat at the table when important decisions are made. Together arts and culture have a $5.7-billion economic impact in Connecticut, she says.

Jefferson reports a positive reaction to her efforts, including closer relations with some Yale departments.

Two of New Haven’s major arts institutions — the Shubert and Long Wharf theaters — have embraced the push for cultural activity.

The Shubert — under the leadership of Anthony McDonald — is diversifying its programming with an eye toward expanding its audience. And Long Wharf is taking the show on the road — into community venues — also in search of new audiences.

It seems the lights are all green for New Haven to enhance its reputation as Connecticut’s cultural — and equity — capital.