Youth Programs

NBAF prides itself on helping the next generation of young artist develop and grow their talents, personalities, and futures.

NBAF has established a deep and sustained partnership with local APS middle schools through a Move/Dance! Program, working closely with the administration and teachers to define needs, structure, approach, performance/success metrics and outcomes that best supports the school’s academic, health and arts education goals.

Move/Dance! Program offers a new curriculum on Black dance, a dance competition and public presentation, dance instruction by teaching artists, scholarships linked to a small-scale financial literacy program. The project is designed to have a measurable impact on the school, specifically on academic achievement, arts education and appreciation, the health of the students and, by extension of their families. The program and project is replicated within Atlanta and potentially throughout the region in years to come.

The NBAF NextGenArtists Program is a signature program for young artists that identifies and recognizes the next generation of talented artists and supports them in the early stages of finding and developing their creative voices and in establishing themselves as professionals. The goal of nurturing the creativity, supporting the talent and professional development of emerging artists of African descent is a core value of NBAF’s mission. The NextGenArtists Showcases offers public showcases of the artist’s work in creative disciplines and industries, including the performing, visual arts, film, multimedia, and fashion-artists in select public schools.

Move/Dance! Program

The Move/Dance! Program was established by the National Black Arts Festival as part of its new Adopt-A-School arts education initiative. It brings much needed arts education and physical education back into local Atlanta middle schools. Move/Dance! is an interventionist project because of the focus on improving the health and wellness of the students, and by extension their families, through fun dance lessons that support movement and exercise. The project also promotes educational enrichment and learning. The classroom experience is augmented with journal writing and research about the rich history of Black dance and about the dancers, choreographers and dance companies that have paved the way. The project also encourages the students to improve their communication and presentation skills in preparation for the public dance competition.

The project encourages and nurtures the talent and the ‎aspirations of middle school students while supporting the school, parents and guardians with their academic as well as their health and wellness goals. Through the Move/Dance! Program NBAF marries the creative arts with the goal of addressing prevalent health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and other ‎ conditions that plague our communities.

The Move/Dance! Program is sponsored by:

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

NextGen Artist

NextGen Artist program is a youth arts education program of the National Black Arts that aims to nurturing the dreams, creativity and artist talents of high school students who are emerging artists of African descent. The program provides a structured artistic experience with workshops, classes, lectures, mentoring, business and professional development, and opportunities for competitive scholarships. This transformational experience is designed to support the goals of our partner schools. With this support the NextGen Artist Program can provide resources and access to leaders in film/media, visual arts, and fashion design for the students engaged in the program. The program goals include increased presentation skills (written and verbal), creating academic success, an appreciation for the arts, and pathways to higher education.

Once a week (depending on the school’s schedule), participants will be offered instruction and exposure to art experiences through the NBAF NGA Teaching Artists in areas such as film/media, fashion and visual arts.

NextGen Artist is sponsored by:

Fashion Forward

A Competition for Emerging Fashion Design Students

The awards were established in 2010 to recognize student fashion designers of African descent who have distinguished themselves for their academic achievement, talent, creativity, cutting edge and innovative approach. Each award recipient is selected for having excelled academically, mastered their field of study and having been recognized by their peers, their school and the Fine Art + Fashion judges as an emerging talent on the rise. Along with a cash award, their winning design is exhibited in the Neiman Marcus windows and they receive special recognition at the Fine Art + Fashion event.

2021 Winners (from Left to Right): Ifeade Adedokun, Ian Carlo Vincent, E’Naiyah Frazier