Support Arts for Art
Through the performances we present, events we host, and classes we teach, Arts for Art aims to restore the reputation of the Lower East Side as a hotbed for the creative arts and a center for innovation within New York City. Our initiatives influence infrastructure at every level involving the entire community, from students to seniors, to create a stronger sense of collective identity and pride in the neighborhood. We hope you'll join us in our effort and contribute to the health of the creative arts in Lower Manhattan

What We Do
Through building awareness and participation in avantjazz and other innovative art forms, we are building a sense of community not only among artists and their audiences, but also between the artists and their neighborhoods in which they live and work. We believe that thriving innovative arts scenes strengthen the social fabric of neighborhoods and ensure their economic well-being, because:

• Innovative art scenes reinvigorate neighborhoods by attracting newcomers, increasing property value, bringing in new businesses and adding a sense of community identity.
• Exposing youth to innovative arts helps them to build skills useful in their private and professional lives while adding to their own sense of personal potential and future possibilities. Arts education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has been proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries.*
• A community rich in the innovative arts will become rich in innovative thinking, among the young and the old, developing the kind of problem solving / thinking-outside-the-box skills that are now highly valued in the business and political communities.
• By bringing individual artists and small groups together, they are able to amplify their message and increase the effectiveness of their organizational efforts. There is power in unity: A network of small groups will be able to compete on a higher level than would have ever been possible on an individual basis, increasing both profile and production.

How We Do It
The breadth of AFA productions has grown exponentially over the last thirteen years. While the Vision Festival remains at the center of our efforts and has become a jazz world institution, we strive to offer innovative programming all year round. Everything we do is ultimately about strengthening our community and our sense of place as a community, from our concert series to our educational programs.

• The Vision/RUCMA Series' continues the strong presence of innovative music in the Lower East Side where much of it originated during the 1960s by focusing on the local artists that make up the community.
• The Vision Collaboration Festival brings the arts together around dance and avantjazz, incorporating dancers, musicians, visual artists and spoken word performers.
• The Vision Festival is an annual, six-day, multi-arts festival has been the primary focus of AFA's efforts in raising the awareness and reputation of avantjazz music. This festival, now in its thirteenth year, attracts audiences from all over the world and has become the most significant avantjazz festival in the U.S. and one of the most prestigious in the world.
• RUCMA Meetings provide a forum in which all artists in the community are able to participate and discuss the state of the arts creating the future of their music through articulating their needs and working to solve problems together, using their common voice to create a better climate for their work to grow.
• Workshops for youth in schools and after-school programs introduce students of Tompkins Middle School and Humanities Prep to the world of innovative arts.