Artists Designing Evolution uses art as a vehicle to actualize equity, spark creative inquiry + reclaim the narrative. This is a space where imagination + community lead in response to systemic inequity and disparities. Art is our RESPONSE.
The Village: Artistic Leadership
Founder + Creative Community Organizer
Cortina Jenelle Caldwell, MAML is a Southern Appalachia native and Chattanooga, TN resident on a mission to make the world, or at least her corner of it, a better place. Since the age of 12, Cortina has been an entrepreneur and creative, learning at the hands of elders, mentors and teachers in the rural South about how to serve, how to build good business and how to be a leader in her own life. The early teachings through school and life ignited a passion to build the life of her dreams and go beyond the limitations imposed upon her by society. Today, Cortina is Founder, Teaching Artist + Creative Community Organizer for Artists Designing Evolution, which uses art as a vehicle to actualize equity, spark creative inquiry and reclaim the narrative. Cortina holds a Masters of Arts in Business Management & Leadership (MAML); is a certifed Creative Facilitator endorsed by PYE Global; a certified Grantwriter by way of Western Carolina University; certified DEIB Strategist through Racial Equity Institute, Building Bridges, GARE and others; a certified Full Stack Web Developer as a graduate of Savvy Coders; a certified Agile Professional through ICAgile; and holds rank as a travel planner with Travel Quest Network, first generation farmer with yields throughout the Global South and a self-taught UX/UI designer with nearly 10 years of hands-on project experience. Cortina has also been awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Univeral Life Minisitries for her research and contributions to the just treatment of all people. In 2022, Cortina self-published, part memoir + part DEIB playbook, How to Heal the Planet from Wherever You Are: Leaning Into the Cosmic + Planetary Link Between Ancestral Healing, Collective Liberation + Entrepreneurship, which is available at independent bookstores across the globe as well as Barnes & Noble, Abe Books, Amazon + Better World Books.
Cortina has received recognition as inaugural Equity Immersion Resident at Arcosanti (2022); Tzedek Impact Award Winner (2020-2019); KNOW Global Women of the Year (2020); WNC Women Leadership Award in Art + Culture (2019); is a Leadership Asheville nominee (2014); in the prestigious ranks of 40 Under Forty: Asheville (2013); and is WNC Minority Enterprise Development’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year (2012). Cortina’s collective body of work has been featured on NPR, Creative Mornings, PechaKucha, BET.com, National Guild for Community Arts Education, SHRM, Southern Equality Studio, Black Lives of UU and others.
The Village :: Youth Leadership [Alumni]
We honor the youth by designing programs that are experiential, hands-on, inclusive with a focus on afro-futurism, a celebration of the Black identity and self-efficacy in their capacity to design + shape their own lives. Here are our most recent leaders of the youth circle:
Seth Bellamy | Youth Advocacy Organizer (YAO)
Seth Bellamy is a straight As, Honor Roll student. He’s SILSA’s Sophomore Class President, a xylophone player in the Marching Band, an Extemporaneous Speaker for the Speech and Debate Team, a member of Dr. Patterson’s Superintendent Student Advisory Council, part of RHA Health Services’ Student Leadership Team and an Acting Attorney through Buncombe County Teen Court.
Spend just a few minutes with Seth, and its quickly evident that Seth has a passion for his community – a passion that has led him to become a Distinguished Finalist for The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Now in its 24th year, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Seth was honored for his co-creation of Keepin’ It Real, a club dedicated to providing “students with a safe space to talk about racial equity, issues within our community and ways we can move Asheville forward through volunteering.”
Miranda Williams | Youth Education Organizer (YEO)
Miranda Williams is Asheville’s youngest certified doula – by intention. As a teen, Miranda started designing her life early and set out with a mission to support those without the access, opportunities, and tools they need in order to THRIVE and improve their quality of life. In her early years, Miranda set out to be a criminal & justice lawyer and in pursuit of that goal, set out to learn as much as possible about the legal and criminal justice system so that this information can be shared and passed along to others. Presently, Miranda serves as a community facilitator as well as a spokesperson for the lives of Black babies, Black teens and communities of color in spaces such as Mother Love, MotherReed, and a girl’s empowerment group based at Asheville High School.