Atlanta’s new cultural affairs director brings global vision and passion for culture

Loving arts and culture while growing up in New London, Connecticut, Adriane V. Jefferson did not set out to become Atlanta’s executive director of Cultural Affairs by age 39. But she kept saying yes to the small inclinations that spoke to her creativity and community.

Each step — including earning a bachelor’s degree in popular music and a master’s degree in arts administration — was rooted in her love of culture and passion to bring equity to artists. The journey has brought Jefferson to a role that appears to be a natural fit.

She was hired in February, succeeding Camille Love, who had led the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs since the 1990s. Jefferson arrived in Atlanta after serving five years as New Haven’s director of arts, culture, and tourism.

Since then, she says she has been listening closely and engaging with local artists and creatives to help shape a vision that positions Atlanta internationally as a destination for arts and culture.

She describes the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs as “a convener of culture,” bringing together the city’s sectors that can often operate in silos fashion —  fashion, visual arts, music, theater, entertainment, and more — and branding them as one entity showcasing Atlanta internationally.

That vision connects to Mayor Andre Dickens’ goal of establishing designated cultural districts across the city, Jefferson said. Unique neighborhoods would become destinations for cultural preservation, heritage, entertainment, visual arts and other interests. 

Jefferson recently joined the mayor and more than 60 artists on a trip to South Africa to explore opportunities for cultural exchange and international commerce. The Cultural Affairs department is preparing to host the Elevate fall festival on Oct 11, which will showcase local, national, and international artists. This year’s theme, “Rooted and Rising,” will pay homage to people and places in Atlanta that have shaped the city’s culture and inspired music — past and present.

“I see the arts as something that’s actually necessary to the fabric of society, to our economy, to our infrastructure of resources, and to our cultural vitality,” Jefferson said.

In 2022, she led the creation of New Haven’s Cultural Equity Plan, which has become a national model for cultural equity by helping artists gain access to funding, jobs, education, healthcare, and resources to live and thrive. 

“I’m deeply passionate. I’ve been in the arts my whole life. I deeply believe in it and I’ve seen what it can do for people in communities; the impact that it can have,” Jefferson said. “It’s not just a job for me, it’s a way of life.” 

Her perspective and passion for culture are grounded in both professional experience and personal resilience. In middle school she was writing scripts and performing in oratory contests. By high school, she was performing spoken word and participating in a workshop that encouraged students from marginalized communities to share their stories through hip-hop and other music genres.

In college in Florida, Jefferson worked as a TV production assistant, interviewing celebrities and organizing hip-hop competitions. That experience shifted her focus from performance to advocacy. She began producing a music festival in Miami that gave local hip-hop artists a platform to showcase their work.

“I loved giving people the opportunity to shine, creating impact for other people,” she said. “[The artists] were looking for resources, and being able to be a vessel in that did something for my soul that I couldn’t really explain.”

Another defining chapter while in college came at Miami’s Overton Youth Center, co-founded by NBA Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning, where Jefferson built out music and drama programs for young people.

“That’s when I said I want to do something creative, I want to be in arts administration,” she said. “What I was seeing in kids starting to be exposed to things they had never been exposed to before; that just changed my whole life.”

But her journey is also one of resilience. Jefferson grew up with the realities of poverty and devastating loss and recognizes her inner drive to keep moving forward. When she was 13, her brother was killed in Baltimore, Maryland. He was 21 years old.

“It changed the way I saw the world,” she said. “That’s why I fight for equity and for people to understand the Black American experience. It’s not the only experience, but it’s one that shaped me.”

Jefferson’s resilience has been coupled with an instinct to say “yes” to the opportunities that resonated with her passion for arts and culture. 

“I’m a woman of faith and God shows us signs,” she said.  “I was just saying yes to what felt right, and now here I am in a role that I never could’ve imagined when I was 10 years old. I didn’t even know roles like this existed.”