“ART IS NOT A LUXURY — IT’S A
PRESIDENT AND CEO
In The Returnal and Returnal were groundbreaking exhibitions created by visual artist Radcliffe Bailey in 2007. Commissioned by NBAF, the project offered those of us involved a rare and intimate view into the alchemy of creation. We embarked on a journey with Bailey as he explored what it might mean to collaborate with musician Marc Anthony Thompson and choreographer Fatima Robinson. How would they find common ground? What language might they share? At the same time, Bailey was shifting and leaning more deeply into installation work, seeking to “come off the wall” and build immersive space around memory. Always moving through ancestral and spiritual dimensions, his continuous weaving of the concept of returnal, DNA, and memory as medicine has never left me.
And now, I find myself in my own Returnal as I step into the role of President and CEO of NBAF and return to source. The foundation of my professional life was built here. NBAF shaped me, sharpened me, and became the bedrock of a 26-year journey in arts and culture. At a time when Black culture is being challenged, censored, and rewritten in both policy and public discourse, NBAF holds a renewed opportunity to activate its mission and vision in bold, definitive ways. I’m committed to stewarding this institution with integrity and purpose; amplifying truth, celebrating artistic brilliance, and protecting cultural legacy. As Toni Morrison reminded us, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work.”
What a pivotal moment we find ourselves in. Perhaps one of the most consequential in our 38-year history. The future we’re building is only possible because of the staff, board, artists, and community members who have continued to believe in and carry this institution forward. Now, we must once again define the full breadth of our work. But more importantly: What is the lasting impact we want to make? We invite you to help shape what comes next. It is the collective support and energy that will move NBAF into our next chapter.
Here’s what you can expect! Picking up the baton from former Executive Director Stephanie Owens and Artistic Director Oronike Odeleye, NBAF is actively preparing for the return of our iconic 10-day citywide summer festival in 2027. The summer festival will anchor our year-round activity which will include an expansion in youth programming, deepened investments in artists, and reestablishing a curatorial model rooted in cultural art and intentionality. This issue of NBAF Guide reflects our past, present, and future. The returnal has begun. And there’s room for all of us.
Onward,
Leatrice Ellzy President & CEO NBAF
YOUTH PROGRAM
How Move/Dance Is Changing the Way Students Experience the Arts
By Krystal Odom, Director of Move/Dance! Youth Program
When I think about why Move/Dance exists, it’s simple: every child deserves access to the joy, discipline, and freedom that dance, and movement can bring. As the program director, I’ve had the privilege of building and growing Move/Dance into something that’s more than just a support activity in Atlanta Public Schools, it’s a catalyst for confidence, creativity, and connection.
We’ve now partnered with 7 schools, 7 incredible teaching artists, and reached over 600 students. That’s hundreds of young people who are learning how to express themselves, to collaborate, and to show up in the world a little bit bolder than they were before.
This year, at the end of the school year, I met oneon-one with each teaching artist to debrief, learn, and celebrate what went well. These conversations were honest and energizing. It reminded me that
the strength of this program lies in the artists who bring their full selves into classrooms, adapting to school cultures, building trust with students, and
MOVE/DANCE! YOUTH PROGRAM
helping them find power through movement. One of the most affirming moments this year was when WSB-TV visited Sylvan Hills Middle School to cover a story on how the arts are transforming student engagement. They highlighted Move/Dance and interviewed students who spoke—on camera—about how dance has helped them build confidence and express feelings they didn’t have words for. Watching our students light up on camera and speak from the heart about what this program means to them hit me hard. This moment wasn’t just about dance. It was about being seen, being heard, and being valued. That kind of impact sticks.
We’re not slowing down. This summer, Move/Dance supported I AM ARTS’ Summer Intensive, June 23–27, by funding one of their teaching artists and providing meals on show day. Our collaboration with I AM ARTS and the ArtsXchange has deepened, and we’re proud to keep building together. They were key partners in our own summer dance intensive last year. Looking ahead we build on the success of last summer’s dance intensive and continue the momentum with a Move/Dance Fall Intensive, October 13–17. It’s another
opportunity to pour into our students, deepen their training, build community, and expand how they see themselves through movement. Same mission, new season.
What keeps me grounded and inspired is knowing that every lesson, every moment of encouragement, and every breakthrough contributes to something much greater. While Move/Dance is about dance, it’s also about cultivating the whole child and nurturing them into expressive, confident, and productive human beings. That’s the real movement.
Our academy prepares aspiring dancers for the rigor and beauty of professional performance.
Professional Opportunities - Ballethnic Dance Company
Ballethnic elevates classical ballet by fusing it with African dance concepts placing it sur la pointe We nurture homegrown talent and showcase excellence on local, national, and global stages.
Ballethnic Way - A Cultural Gathering Place
Host your next event or join ours! Ballethnic Way is a hub for community, celebration, creativity, and connection.
Global Performance Outreach
Invite Ballethnic to your venue! Our dancers tour globally, offering powerful, performances that reflect cultural pride and technical mastery.
YOUTH PROGRAMS: NEXTGEN ARTISTS
By Kerri Garrett, Director of NextGen Artist Youth Program
This year, the NextGen Artist Youth Program created space for high school students to explore their identities and communities through music, fashion, photography, acting, visual art, and film. From classrooms to galleries, sound studios to stages, students were encouraged not only to develop their craft but to discover the power of their own voice.
In a moment when education and artistic freedom are increasingly under pressure, this work feels more urgent than ever. Through residencies, competitions, exhibitions, and field trips, students engaged in creative practice while also cultivating essential life skills: self-advocacy, confidence, collaboration, and care.
In their Soundwave Music Residency with REC ATL, students composed original mixtapes and learned the business of music. The Photography Residency, in partnership with Positive Impact Health Centers
and Piera Moore, challenged students to document real-world narratives, from fashion editorials to stories around HIV and resilience, developing both technical skills and emotional intelligence. In the Sustainable Fashion Residency with Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week, students explored eco-conscious design and showcased their work through editorial shoots and runway shows. The new Acting Residency invited students to reflect, write, and perform original monologues rooted in their lived experience.
NBAF also expanded public platforms and field trips for student work. At the Morehouse Human Rights Film Festival, students from the Film Residency premiered short films and participated in panel
YOUTH PROGRAMS: NEXTGEN ARTISTS
discussions. NBAF brought back the NextGen Visionary Competition, presented by Kaiser Permanente, held at the Atlanta History Center, which celebrated visual art inspired by the theme Thriving Together. Students received a private tour of SCAD and select winners now have their work displayed in Kaiser’s Atlanta headquarters for a full year. As Carver STEAM student and NextGen Visionary Competition participant JaNyla Reeves shared, “The competition made me realize there’s actually a future in this for me.”
@kimevansphotos
This programming prepares students for creative careers and helps them build healthy, expressive, and self-aware lives. In today’s political and cultural climate, we believe that mental wellness, storytelling, and imagination are just as essential as technical training. This is what it means to invest in the next generation: to give them tools and to trust their voices.
FASHION FORWARD COMPETITION
The NBAF Fashion Forward Competition was established in 2010 as a part of the organization’s mission to expose, educate and engage diverse audiences about the art and culture of the African Diaspora, and to provide opportunities for artistic and creative expression. The award recognizes students of African descent who have distinguished themselves as cutting edge, creative and innovative, and provides tangible recognition to emerging student fashion designers.
This year, NBAF is proud to launch its inaugural Fashion Forward Mentorship, designed to support and elevate emerging young talent in fashion design. At the conclusion of the program, the selected honoree will receive a cash award of $1,500 and the opportunity to present their work in a Neiman Marcus store.
Montanna Dupree was the 2025 Fashion Forward Student Design Mentorship Award recipient. A senior Fashion Design student at Clark Atlanta University, Ms. Dupree is from Detroit, MI where her
passion for fashion began in childhood. Encouraged by her parents who gifted her with sketchbooks and stencils, she developed a deep love for creativity and design. As she continues to shape her artistic voice and build her career in the fashion industry, NBAF is proud to recognize her vision, talent, and commitment to her craft through this meaningful mentorship experience.
Designer Montanna Dupree
ARTIST PROJECT FUND
Launched in 2020 as a COVID-relief initiative, the NBAF Artist Project Fund (APF) now serves as a cornerstone of NBAF’s year-round support for working artists. Each year, the program provides 20 professional artists with a $2,000 cash award to advance an ongoing artistic project.
APF offers immersive career development experiences, peer collaboration opportunities, and a supportive community that nurtures both artistic growth and creative entrepreneurship. By investing directly in artists, the program strengthens the cultural ecosystem and affirms NBAF’s commitment to sustaining Black creativity across disciplines.
Congratulations to the 2025 Recipients
THRIVING TOGETHER
Thriving Together Atlanta An Initiative of Art,
NBAF is thrilled to be a partner in Thriving Together Atlanta, an innovative collaboration between the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF), the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and Out of Hand Theater. Rooted in the power of arts and culture, this cross-sector partnership addresses urgent civic issues, specifically health disparities, structural inequities, and the ongoing impact of racism on public health.
Made possible by a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge, Thriving Together Atlanta exemplifies how cities, artists, and communities can come together to spark dialogue, mobilize action, and imagine more equitable futures through temporary public art interventions. NBAF’s contributions to the initiative include:
• The commissioning of two large-scale public murals by Atlanta-based artists
• A mobile bus experience that brings interactive art pop-ups to neighborhoods across the city
Health, and Equity
• An Art & Wellness Festival on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at Fourth Ward Skatepark Field, 830 Willoughby Way, Atlanta, GA 30312 .
Our public art activities began in April with the unveiling of Old Fourth Ward to Victory, a mural by artist C. Flux Sings, on view at 455 North Avenue NE. As C Flux Sing explained,
“With this mural, I wanted the community to see a reflection of themselves from youth to elder and everyone in between. I wanted people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to see how their aspirations aligned. We all seek health and safety. I wanted them to feel empowered and contribute to building this organic, organized positive force–a movement that can directly lead them to their collective desire: Victory.”
At each Thriving Together Atlanta event, Out of Hand Theater presents a 15-minute play, followed by an
Ribbon Cutting with Partners, Credit Anthony Truth Gary
Equitable Meal and a guided discussion led by trained facilitators. These meals bring together strangers and neighbors from diverse backgrounds to share a meal and a meaningful conversation, using theater as the catalyst for change.
NBAF has the pleasure of collaborating not only with our core partners but also with The Atlanta BeltLine, MARTA, Darwin Hotel Atlanta, The New Freedom Project, NEXT, Rival Entertainment, and others who will join us before this work is complete. Additional funding for this initiative has been contributed by Cousins Foundations and Gucci Changemakers.
Together, we are building a city that thrives—through creativity, connection, and care.
Lisa Bonner, Esq. (NBAF Board Chair), Mayor Andre Dickens, C. Flux Sing (Artist), Stephanie Dockery (Bloomberg Philanthropies), Credit Anthony Truth Gary
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts, and the National Black Arts Festival
On view July 18, 2025 - December 14, 2025 at Hammonds House Museum 503 Peeples Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
Hammonds House Museum and NBAF proudly present Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts, and the National Black Arts Festival, a landmark exhibition celebrating the artists who have defined the visual legacy of NBAF since its founding in 1987.
Spanning nearly four decades of artistic mastery, Black Zeitgeist brings together iconic works by some of the most influential Black artists of our time, including Radcliffe Bailey, Romare Bearden, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Louis Delsarte, Thornton Dial, David Driskell, Sam Gilliam, Varnette Honeywood, Jacob Lawrence, Samella Lewis, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Carrie Mae Weems, and many more.
Together, their works tell a dynamic story of artistic innovation, cultural memory, and the evolving spirit of Black expression in Atlanta and beyond. The exhibition, co-curated by Anne Collins Smith and Amalia Amaki, honors the enduring partnership between artists and institutions that have shaped the National Black Arts Festival’s impact on the global arts landscape.
As two of Atlanta’s premier Legacy Organizations, Hammonds House Museum and NBAF come together
to spotlight a shared commitment: celebrating Black art not only as a form of expression, but as a force for cultural continuity, education, and transformation. This collaborative exhibition invites audiences to experience the power of visual art as a living archive which captures the past, present, and future of Black creativity.
Carrie Mae Weems, A Woman Observes (2008)
Wynton’s
Tune by Faith Ringgold (2004)
Sam Gilliam, Wind (2005)
FINE ART & FASHION
On April 30, 2025, NBAF’s 19th annual Fine Art + Fashion benefit took center stage at the Atlanta History Center. Presented in partnership with Neiman Marcus, the evening brought together art lovers, fashion enthusiasts, and rising creatives for a dynamic celebration—all in support of NBAF’s youth arts education programs.
Fine Art + Fashion celebrates the visionaries who are defining the future of Black fashion and visual arts. The evening honored powerful journeys and creative excellence, with fashion stylist J. Bolin receiving the Fashion Architect Award, designer LaQuan Smith honored with the Fashion Designer Extraordinaire Award, and visual artist Amanda Williams recognized with the Radcliffe Bailey Award for Excellence in Visual Arts.
NBAF also proudly showcased the brilliance of emerging talent through the NextGen Artist Visionary Competition, presented by Kaiser Permanente, and the Fashion Forward Student Design Competition. A special congratulations to Joshua Coleman of Maynard Jackson High School, recipient of the NextGen Artist Visionary Award, and to Montanna Dupree of Clark Atlanta University, honored with
Dr. Tiffany Rand, Chrystal Love, Angela Watts, Lisa Bonner, Camille Love, J. Bolin, Amanda Williams, Montanna Dupree, Karen Greer, Bianca Blades
Lisa Bonner, LaQuan Smith, Jamie Tankersley
The Centre for Dance Education has been inspiring future dancers for nearly 30 years.
Whether your child loves to skip and twirl, enjoys ballet technique at the barre, or is ready to take the leap into a professional career, our qualified and experienced instructors will be with them every step of the way.
To register for Fall, visit
OPEN HOUSE Sun., July 20 2–4 pm
by Kim
Photo
Kenney
the 2025 Fashion Forward Student Design Mentorship Award!
This unforgettable evening was co-chaired by Lauren Kiefer and Condace Pressley, with honorary co-chairs Charlene Crusoe-Ingram and Ingrid Saunders Jones.
FINE ART & FASHION
19th Annual NBAF Fine Art + Fashion-Neiman Marcus @kimevansphotos 4/30/2025
19th Annual NBAF Fine Art + Fashion-Neiman Marcus @kimevansphotos 4/30/2025
Jennifer Christian, Leatrice Ellzy, Stephanie Owens
Kerri Garrett, Joshua Coleman, Lisa Bonner
Lisa Bonner, Amanda Williams, John Palmer, Ernest Greer
Richard Calmes Photography
At this year’s Fine Art + Fashion event, incoming CEO Leatrice Ellzy drew on the words of visionary writer Octavia Butler about change and spoke to the transformative future of NBAF:
FESTIVAL FUND
“The only constant in this journey is change. And while it can be daunting, it’s also what keeps us relevant and connected to the heartbeat of Black culture. Our challenge is to ensure NBAF not only celebrates Black art and culture, but actively drives and shapes its evolution — locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Our goal in year 1 is simple: 10,000 people giving $100.
• Accessible and welcoming events for our entire community
— Leatrice Ellzy
Transformation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s cultivated. That belief is what sparked The Festival Fund, NBAF’s new annual community giving initiative. The Festival Fund is a powerful step toward broad community ownership, representing a shared investment in the future of Black art, culture, and creative legacy.
Every gift supports:
• The return and continuity of NBAF’s iconic 10-day summer festival
• Year-round programs that elevate and amplify artists and cultural visionaries
• Educational initiatives that inspire the next generation of artists, creatives and thought leaders
• New commissions and artist awards that stretch imagination and expand legacy
• This is your invitation to invest in something timeless at a time when it matters most.
Give what you can to honor the past, activate the present, and inspire the future. Join the movement and Fund The Festival at www.nbaf.org/donate.
Philadanco, Photo courtesy of Gudrun Stone
Forward To Victory Mural, Credit Anthony Truth Gary
NBAF SPONSORS
NBAF extends our sincere gratitude to the many funders and individuals who make this important work possible. Together, we create impactful arts programming for the community while championing the art and artists of African descent across the disciplines of music, film, theatre, dance, visual arts, and literary arts.
Major funding provided by Fulton County Board of Commissioners and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
NBAF BOARD & STAFF
NBAF BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Lisa Bonner, Esq., Chair Managing Attorney, Bonner Law, PC
Carole Irene Sykes, Vice-Chair Director of Communications, Georgia Public Defender Council (Atlanta Judicial Circuit)
Felicia McDade, Treasurer
Principal Business Dev & Strategy SE, Engie
Demetria Ali, Secretary
Technical Program Manager, Microsoft
DIRECTORS
Bianca Blades Sr. Lead Advisor Franchisee Selection, Chick-fil-A
Cecilia Cheeks
AVP Marketing and Communications, Clark Atlanta University
Jennifer Christian Quality Manager, McKesson
Kimberly Fisher Director of Operations, Fisher Orthodontics
Malik W. Hakeem
Assistant Executive Director, Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation
Fredrick Hicks
Founder/CEO, Hicks Evaluation Group
Mychal Jackson
SE Head of Enterprise Partner Sales (Retired), Google Cloud
Derek Johnson
Media Personality and Celebrity Hair Stylist, The J Spot Salon
Dr. Tiffany Rand Founder/CEO, Polish Dental Centers
Angela Watts Founder/CEO, 10 Squared Agency / RAGTRADE ATLANTA
Preston Wilson
Engineering Consultant, Intuitive Surgical
Leatrice Ellzy President & CEO, EX-OFFICIO
NBAF STAFF
Leatrice Ellzy President & CEO, EX-OFFICIO
Kerri Garrett Youth Programs Director, NextGen Artist
Judy Hanenkrat Special Events & Fundraising
Anshul Hans Wesley Accountant
Anita Hicks Managing Director
Krystal Odom Youth Programs Director, Move/Dance!
April Wright Development Manager
Page Yang Director of Operations
