YoungArts + Aon Interdisciplinary Collaborations: Javon Jackson, Nikki Giovanni and 2022 Winners

Recognizing young artists’ need for a sense of community and desire to collaborate, YoungArts partnered with Aon on a series of virtual sessions focused on interdisciplinary collaboration and led by acclaimed jazz saxophonist and bandleader Javon Jackson and award-winning poet, writer and activist Nikki Giovanni. Modeled on their recently released album “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni”, Jackson and Giovanni led 13 YoungArts award winners in Jazz and Writing in collaborations to generate new work. Four 60-minute virtual sessions created space for the potential that arises from deep listening between artists working in different artforms. Giving feedback and using personal examples from their storied careers, Jackson and Giovanni fostered an atmosphere of experimentation and collaboration, focusing on process rather than final product. Our thanks to Javon Jackson, Nikki Giovanni and the participating YoungArts award winners for their insightful spirit and for allowing us to peer into the creative process; and to Aon for their continued support of artists. Participating artists: Aida Colvin (2022 Writing) Amy Wang (2022 Writing) Anouk Yeh (2022 Writing) Cheyenne Terborg (2021 & 2022 Writing) Divyasri Krishnan (2021 & 2022 Writing) Elyse Thomas (2021 Writing & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) Esther Sun (2020, 2021 & 2022 Writing) Joaquín Eaton Sharon (2021 Jazz) Joshua Wong (2020, 2021 & 2022 Jazz) Læsio Littlejohn (2022 Jazz) Leo Major (2019 Classical Music & 2020 Jazz) Michelle Qiao (2021 & 2022 Writing) Semilore Ola (2020 Writing) Tyler Bullock (2021 & 2022 Jazz) Learn more: youngarts.org Subscribe to our email news: youngarts.org/enews Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/YoungArtsFoundation Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/YoungArts View our Instagram: instagram.com/youngarts