why artspark?
Artspark is a community-powered music & arts event series based in Boston, Ma. We independently organize live music events, and facilitate community classes that are accessible across ages and levels of experience. The distinct branches of our programming work together, contributing to our goal of taking the power and privilege out of the creative arts.
In Boston, careers in the arts are made inaccessible by high-costs of living, the racial wealth gap, and lack of infrastructure existing outside of higher education. What is needed to remedy these issues are spaces for artists of all ages and levels of experience to converge through accessible resources for professional development in the arts. We offer a solution with our high quality live music experiences, community-centered education, and integrated workforce-empowerment approach to music education (We Inspire, We Care, We Rise). The intermediate and long term outcomes of these efforts will constitute a thriving creative economy that prioritizes pathways for our city's most marginalized voices.
Mission
The mission of Artspark is to provide excellent live music experiences, empower young artists to construct successful futures, and build an inclusive, equitable, and thriving creative economy.
Vision
A city and a world in which equal access to career paths in the arts are accessible to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. We believe that finding solutions to barriers and challenges faced by the most targeted and marginalized communities will create economic mobility in the arts for all people.
Our Theory of Change
Meet the Founder
Ava Sophia
Ava Sophia is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, educator, and community organizer. Originally from the Allston-Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Ava is dedicated to the growth of art spaces in the city of Boston and beyond as opportunities for community building and economic empowerment.
Ava is a graduate of the world-renowned Berklee College of Music and she is continuing to share her music locally in and around New England. In October 2019, Ava released her debut EP, “To See and Hear Hxrself”, a project dedicated to exploring the relationship between femininity and vulnerability, and empowering women/femmes of color to feel and express our emotions to the fullest extent. In 2023, Ava released her second project “You Are Where You Belong”. This project was funded by the City of Boston and included a stipend for three youth musicians to contribute as interns to the writing and production of the album. She has performed at stages all over Boston and curated numerous event spaces as well.
Ava considers education and community work to be at the center of her artistic practice. She has built and supported high quality music programming within arts non-profit spaces across Boston, solidifying her as a leader within the Creative Youth Development sector. She has served at organizations including Sociedad Latina, Boys and Girls Club of Boston, and Zumix. In her current role as Manager of Programs at Boston Raising Powerful Musicians, she continues to strive for students to foster their most authentic selves through music education.
Ava’s skills intersect at the heart of her mission to use music as a tool to elevate underrepresented voices and in doing so, create a more equitable world.