Our Mission

651 ARTS’s mission is to deepen awareness of and appreciation for contemporary performing arts and culture of the African Diaspora, and to provide professional and creative opportunities for artists of African descent.

To fulfill our mission we:

  • Present live dance, music, theater, and other performance-based art
  • Invest in artists in a variety of ways, including professional and artistic development, commissions, and residencies
  • Support cultural exchange between US-based and international performing artists in both the United States and abroad
  • Produce programming for our immediate community and the general public to participate in intergenerational lifelong learning, civic, and social engagement through meaningful exposure to art, artists, and ideas
  • Provide young people with educational arts programming

Our Vision

To be a leading institution in the performing arts ecology that illuminates the evolving stories and varied cultural experiences of the African Diaspora, an institution whose impact and influence transforms individual lives, neighborhoods, and global communities.

Our Values

In the pursuit of this mission, 651 ARTS believes in the following values and principles to guide our work and inform our relationships.

  • A Diverse Local and Global Diaspora
  • Community and Place
  • Authentic Representation
  • Artistic Excellence
  • Innovation
  • Intersectionality
  • Social Justice
  • Education
  • Professional Training and Artistic Development
  • Knowledge and Learning
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism
  • Collaboration
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Our Team

Headshot of Toya Lillard

Toya A. Lillard
Executive Director
Toya.Lillard [at] 651ARTS.org

Toya Lillard is a theater artist, director, arts educator, and facilitator. Toya currently serves as Executive Director of 651 ARTS, a nationally renowned arts presenting organization. Before joining 651 ARTS, Toya was Executive Director of viBe Theater Experience, an arts education organization and theater company in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to her role at viBe, Toya was Director of School Programs for The New York Philharmonic’s Education Department, where she helped develop its nationally recognized School Partnership Program. Toya is part-time faculty at The New School, where she teaches Collaborative Theatre Practice. Toya serves on the Board of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, and co-chairs the TaskForce on Equity and Inclusion, and serves on the Board of viBe Theater Experience. Toya holds a B.A. from Vassar College, and an M.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo of Robert W. Henderson, Jr.

Robert W. Henderson, Jr.
Director of Production & Operations
Robert.Henderson [at] 651ARTS.org

Robert W. Henderson, Jr., has been with 651 ARTS since 2005, managing a wide range of live performance events, including 651’s 25th Anniversary Celebration at the BAM Harvey Theater with the Mississippi Delta Heritage Project, a 2-week celebration of the artistic culture of the Mississippi Delta. He has been since 2011, and continues to be, the primary lighting designer for Tiffany & Co. Fifth Ave Flagship windows; and the Production Coordinator for Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He was the resident lighting designer for Theatre Three Productions in Port Jefferson, NY, for 18 years. He has production managed ceremonies for Pratt Institute and NYU Steinhardt at Radio City Music Hall; Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s Silent Voices workshop and premiere at BAM Opera House; Season of Cambodia, a month-long festival featuring 125 Cambodian artists throughout NYC; and Thirsting for Peace, commemorating 70 years of UNESCO at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, among many other events in NYC and internationally. Robert has a BFA with Honors in Theatre Production with an emphasis in Lighting Design from the University of Florida and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Department of Design for Stage and Film.

Farren Wood
Manager of Programs & Community Engagement
Farren.Wood [at] 651ARTS.org

Farren Wood is a South African/Australian arts manager, creative professional and fierce community advocate. An inherent and culturally inherited love of storytelling has seen her dedicate her career to either telling the story or cultivating a place and space for stories to be told. Farren has worked as an actor, writer, performer, producer, event and artist manager. She has created and produced events for multiple West-Australian arts organizations including Fringeworld Perth. Her most recent work includes events for the capital city local government, the City of Perth. These range from small community gatherings to large-scale commercial music festivals. Wood has a BA in Arts Management from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Alisha Delissaint
Program Assistant
Alisha.Delissaint [at] 651ARTS.org

Press and Public Relations
Flowers Communication Group

Pro Bono Legal Counsel
Meredith Kane and Ruobing Chen
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Capital Projects
CJAM Consulting, LLC
Landair

Development Consulting
Advance NYC

Accounting Services
Rich & Bander, LLP

Board of Directors

Yvonne Joyner Levette, Chair
Obadele O. Davis, Esq., Vice Chair
Andrea E. Smith, Treasurer
Theodore Bennett, Esq., Secretary

Johari Jenkins
Claude M. Johnson
Robyne Walker Murphy
Bahia Ramos
Lise Suino
Malik Yoba