About the Fest

Begin with Art

“Begin with art, because art tries to take us outside ourselves. It is a matter of trying to create an atmosphere and context so that conversation can flow back and forth and we can be influenced by each other.” — W.E.B. DuBois, Civil Rights Activist, Co-Founder NAACP, Former Resident of St. Paul's Frogtown Neighborhood

Arts-Based Community Development

To provide the regionally underserved market with access to quality arts programming. We use the power of arts-based community development as a platform for individuals from all walks of life to be of one community through a shared arts experience, and to utilize the arts as a means to reposition Selby Avenue as a safe, cultural and hip destination.

Over its 20+ year history, the Fest has gained a strong reputation for attracting a genuinely diverse audience.

“Nearly two of three attendees came from Zip Codes where annual household entertainment expenditures were at least 20% less than the Twin Cities Seven County Metropolitan Area average.”

What They're Saying

The organizers of the Selby Avenue JazzFest, including founder Mychael Wright, should be heavily praised for their caring attention to nuance, which resulted in the most comfortable, yet tantalizing, JazzFest presentation that the Twin Cities has had in a long while.
— Insight News

The festival attracts an eclectic crowd from the folks who live around Selby and Milton in St. Paul all the way to the upper-crust denizens of Summit Avenue. It's got just the right free-spirited vibe.
— Mpls-St. Paul Magazine

From all walks of life, some in business, some in the arts, some in education… folk get to congregate, network, and just in general be about a community. As much as it is about the music, this is also about mingling with friends and making new ones.
— TC Daily Planet

Through investment from its strong small business owners and residents, Selby Avenue is well on its way to turning the corner of its checkered past. In 2019, two new developments totaling $13.2M (Selby at Victoria and Selby at Milton) were completed. Both feature a mix of affordable senior living spaces (which will keep community elders in their neighborhood) and retail storefronts.

As regional perceptions of Selby have changed, so has the make-up of Fest audiences. As late as 2008, 20% of JazzFest attendees came from outside the neighborhood's 55104/102 Zip Codes. Since 2015, over 60% do.

Begin with Art

Arts-Based Community Development

What They're Saying

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