JCTC’s Founder & EP Among Panelists For City Conversations, Building a Thriving Arts Ecosystem Together

Founder and Executive Producer of Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC), Olga Levina, joined other Jersey City arts leaders in a lively, informative, and enlightening discussion – City Conversations: Building a Thriving Arts Ecosystem Together, sponsored by the Jersey City Arts Council.

“Communities need artists and artists need community,” said Levina. “It was a privilege and honor to be asked by the Arts Council to participate in the City Conversations program, whose Thriving Arts Ecosystem theme is essential to the future of the arts in Jersey City.”

Founded in 2016, the JCAC’s primary mission is the “Empowerment of the arts community.” The JCAC’s City Conversations program is one of a series of open meetings that, according to the organization, “are designed to bring together voices from across sectors—artists, arts workers, businesses, civic leaders, and policymakers—to explore the forces shaping Jersey City’s creative landscape.”

The discussion-prompting theme of the evening – Arts Ecosystem – actually comes from a revision of the JCAC’s mission statement. “Building upon Jersey City Arts Council’s newly refined mission to ‘advance and cultivate the city’s arts and cultural ecosystem,’ this City Conversation will convene voices from across Jersey City’s creative landscape to explore what it means to build an arts ecosystem that is resilient, equitable, and sustainable. Through thought-provoking panels and open exchange, the series aims to fuel collaboration, deepen understanding, and strengthen the vitality of our arts ecosystem.”

Deonté Griffin-Quick, Executive Director of JCAC, moderated the lively discussion. The panel participants included Kristel Mejia-Asqui, Acting Director of Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs (https://jerseycityculture.org/); Terry D. Loftis, President & CEO of New Jersey Symphony (https://www.njsymphony.org/); Roxy Arrojo, Executive Director of Educational Arts Team (https://www.educationalartsteam.org/); Katelyn Halpern, Artist at SMUSH Gallery (https://www.smushgallery.com/); Bryan Beninghove, Executive Director of Riverview Jazz (https://www.riverviewjazz.org/); Kele McComsey, Director of Mana Contemporary (https://www.manacontemporary.com/); and Olga Levina, Executive Producer of Jersey City Theater Center.

Opening the Arts Ecosystem Conversation was a spoken word performance by Spotlight Artist Millicent “Millie” Ansah (Educator, Poet, and Community Curator), a 2026 Individual Artist Fellowship recipient.

Mari Gardner Leotis Clyburn