ARTS & IDEAS LAUNCHES NATIONAL SEARCH FOR NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Partnership with Creative Evolutions Opens Application Process Through March 9, 2026
New Haven, CT (February 16, 2026) — The International Festival of Arts & Ideas announced today that a national search for its next Executive Director is now officially live. In partnership with executive search firm Creative Evolutions, Arts & Ideas invites visionary leaders from across the country to apply for this pivotal role as the organization enters its 31st year of cultural leadership.
The position offers an annual salary of $150,000, with an anticipated start date of June 2026....
ARTS & IDEAS NOMINATED FOR USA TODAY 10BEST “BEST ART FESTIVAL” AWARD
VOTE HERE
EVERY DAY UNTIL MARCH 2, 2026 at 11:59AM
New Haven, CT (February 12, 2026) — The International Festival of Arts & Ideas has been selected as a nominee for Best Art Festival in the prestigious USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards, a national recognition program that highlights outstanding attractions and cultural experiences across the country.
The nomination was determined by USA TODAY editors and a panel of subject matter experts, placing Arts & Ideas among the top art festivals nationwide.
Public voting is open now through Monday, March 2 at 11:59...
ARTS & IDEAS ANNOUNCES INTERIM LEADERSHIP TRANSITION
Rev. Kevin Ewing Concludes Service as Interim Executive Director; National Search Underway
New Haven, CT (December 17, 2025) — The International Festival of Arts & Ideas announced today the departure of Rev. Kevin Ewing, who has served as Interim Executive Director during the organization’s milestone 30th Anniversary Season. The Festival’s Board of Directors has initiated a national search process and engaged a professional search firm to support the leadership transition.
Ewing stepped into leadership during a pivotal moment for the Festival, guiding the organization...
Ancestral Nourishment & Food Tours at the 2024 International Festival of Arts & Ideas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ancestral Nourishment & Food Tours at the 2024 International Festival of Arts & Ideas New Haven, CT
This year the International Festival of Arts & Ideas (IFAI), brings two pioneers in the agriculture and culinary world that understand this intricate relationship between humans, the land and the nourishment we have co-evolved with.
The May 21 screening of Farming While Black, featuring the celebrated Soul Fire Farm’s Leah Penniman, explores the challenges faced by Black farmers in the United States and the deep historical roots of African...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS PRESENTS A NEW LINE-UP TO KICK OFF THE SUMMER
THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS PRESENTS A NEW LINE-UP TO KICK OFF THE SUMMER, featuring Grammy Award Winners, National Humanities Medal winners and more, 29 years and counting!!!
April 15th, 2024 (New Haven, CT) - The International Festival of Arts & Ideas (IFAI) turns 29 this year and it is excited to announce its summer line-up with new ideas and a new approach to take festival goers on an unforgettable journey from June 14 to 29. The Festival was recently featured by the New York Times.
“We are allowing ourselves to dream in multiple ways this year, so we...
Our 2ND ANNUAL HOLIDAY GUIDE FOR FESTIVAL FANS
Can you believe it's already the holiday season? It feels like just yesterday we were all gathered on the New Haven Green, rocking out to the awesome tunes of Stout or dancing along to the smooth grooves of O'Sound. Festival 2023 taught us all how to RISE above all, with ART being our superpower! The 2023 Festival celebrated self-determination and transformational creativity, powered by the ART we share in community.
In the sprit of Festival 2023 we've handpicked a selection of unique and inspiring gifts, podcasts, streaming music selections and experiences to help bring 2023 to a...
The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Festival Fans
Do you have a special friend or family member that seems to be impossible to buy for? We've all been there. Whether it is your best friend, your mother-in-law or your boyfriend's sister's significant other who you have never met before - we're here for you.
Festival 2022 helped us all CONNECT - with music, with fashion, with great ideas, over the historic bridges of New Haven, through a Jazz Orbit and with a Parable to inspire us all.
Do you need a little extra inspiration to help CONNECT with your hard to buy for friends and family? We've pulled together a list to guide...
The LIT Kwanzaa Celebration
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ELM CITY LIT FEST
In accordance with Mayor Elicker’s December 26 health and safety guidelines suspending in-person events to prevent the spread of COVID, the Festival and Elm City Lit Fest are transitioning the Lit Kwanzaa Celebration to a virtual event that will take place Monday, January 17 at 6pm.
Featuring drummers, interviews, a doll making demo, and more, this 90 minute virtual event will celebrate the seven pillars of Kwanzaa and honor its values all year long! Learn more about Elm City LIT Fest
A Poem by Andres Camilo Madariaga
When we sent out an open call to have workers submit a picture of themselves, we also asked them what essential work meant to them. Here, Andres Camilo Madariaga, restaurant worker & volunteer at the Greater New Haven Cat Project, wrote a poem on what essential work means to him:
What Essential Work Means to Me, by Andres Camilo Madariaga
Sometimes we forget, as we go on with our daily life, all the essential workers still selflessly serving all of us. The same essential workers that sacrifice themselves and their time-- every day-- so we all have a better life.
The farmers and restaurant...
Building the Stage: An Interview with a Stagehand
An interview with Jim Shea, Business Agent for IATSE LOCAL 74 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
As the steel skeleton of the Festival’s iconic stage rose on the Green this week before the return of in-person programming on Friday, a crew of workers lifted beams, laid floor, and--quite literally--set the stage.
These are workers for Local 74 for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the stagehand’s union, and they work behind the scenes across southern Connecticut to bring theater, concerts, graduations, and other live events to...
Where to Get your Copy of Joy Harjo's AN AMERICAN SUNRISE for the NEA BIG READ
The International Festival of Arts & Ideas invites you to join us as we celebrate US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's An American Sunrise, the Festival’s choice for the 2021 NEA Big Read. Harjo’s poems sing of beauty and survival, illuminating a spirituality that connects her to her ancestors and thrums with the quiet anger of living amid the ruins of injustice.
The Festival is partnering with the New Haven community to offer free events highlighting the book’s themes. This year’s programming will include Native Writers in Conversation, a panel discussion on New England’s rich...
