African Diasporic Arts & Education
Culture moves when we teach, gather, and perform.
ADAE (pronounced “ade”) connects artists, youth, and communities through school residencies, festival performances, storytelling, and civic arts programs rooted in African diasporic traditions.
Impact in motion
Arts learning with community reach.
school and community partners
program pathways
arts-centered cultural learning
Our mission
Arts education that carries memory forward.
Inspired by traditions of performance, folklore, rhythm, and community teaching, ADAE creates spaces where young people and families can learn through culture, movement, music, and story.
What we do
Programs built for participation, preservation, and joy.
Schools
Artist Residencies
Bring teaching artists into classrooms and community spaces for hands-on cultural learning.
Stages
Festival Performances
Present dance, music, and storytelling that celebrates the breadth of African diasporic traditions.
Families
Storytelling & Music
Invite audiences into folktales, rhythm, song, and participatory traditions for all ages.
Community
Civic Arts Programs
Use creative practice to build dialogue, belonging, and leadership across generations.
Culture in practice
Learning happens in the circle, on the stage, and in the story.
Like the strongest Black dance and folklore institutions, ADAE treats performance as education. Students do more than watch. They move, listen, respond, remember, and create together.
Meet the artistsFeatured pathway
Rhythm, folklore, and performance for young people.
ADAE programs can support classrooms, assemblies, family events, and community gatherings with experiences that honor African diasporic arts as living knowledge.
Why it matters
Cultural memory becomes real when students can see it, hear it, and move with it.
Join the circle
Help expand access to diasporic arts education.
Your support helps ADAE create learning spaces where cultural memory, creative practice, and community care can thrive.