The Ana & Adeline Foundation is the active expression of Jana Napoli’s commitment to the vital role of the arts in human development and securing social justice.

 

In 1988, Jana founded Young Aspirations/Young Artists -- YAYA -- as a nonprofit teaching and design program for New Orleans youth. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, YAYA has helped thousands of young artists meet their artistic and professional goals.
 

A few years ago, Jana saw a need for continuing support for the YAYA graduates as they moved into adulthood and began their professional careers in New Orleans and beyond.

 

In 2011 she established the Ana & Adeline Foundation to complement YAYA’s programs by making possible individual pursuits – such as university-level education, travel, internships, and creative ventures – that help the artists realize their personal aspirations. In 2015, Ana & Adeline Foundation launched its current programs, which offers scholarships, individual grants and professional development opportunities to the extensive YAYA community.

 

Jana Napoli is an artist who has had the opportunity to travel the world and immerse herself in diverse creative communities. She has lived in Guatemala, Mexico, France, Japan, Poland, Iceland and spent time in many other places where she has worked with artists.

 

The Foundation is a tribute to, and recognition of, two formidable women in her life -- her mother Ana Napoli, who was Caribbean, and Adeline Edwards, an African-American woman who lived with the Napoli’s for decades. Neither of whom had a formal education. Jana’s father, Jasper Napoli, was a successful entrepreneur.

In their spirit and for the gifts these women gave her, Jana Napoli’s vision is to provide further education and grand opportunities for the artists who have participated in YAYA.

 

She is grateful for the opportunity to invest her family’s bounty in the YAYA community. She believes their generations of artists will actively work to design new institutions and a more just society.