Mission Statement
The mission of New Village Arts (NVA) is to create adventurous artistic experiences to awaken the human spirit.
We provide:
• a collaborative and inspiring home for performing and visual artists
• a forum for laughter, discussion, and deeper thinking within our community
• a training ground for future generations of art-makers and art-lovers
Founded in 2001 in Carlsbad by graduates of the Actors Studio Drama School. Its first production at The Granary in Magee Park earned critical acclaim. Over the next five years, NVA transformed the Jazzercise corporate headquarters into a theatre space several times a year. In 2006, the City of Carlsbad designated the former Bauer Lumber Building in Carlsbad Village as NVA’s permanent home, and significant renovations were completed in January 2023, reopening as the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center. In 2024, NVA received a generous gift from the Ray Charles Foundation and named the stage The Ray Charles Stage in his honor.
Next year marks our 25th anniversary as a vital part of North County San Diego’s artistic community, welcoming over 30,000 visitors to our home in Carlsbad Village annually. Each year, we produce a full season of professional theatre, showcasing the talents of award-winning actors, directors, and designers. In addition to our productions, NVA hosts talkbacks and community events to spark meaningful dialogue and allow audiences to engage more deeply with the themes of our work by connecting directly with its creators. In 2023, NVA opened the White Family Next Stage, a smaller stage that hosts comedy, opera, spoken word, salsa, and more.
As an advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, NVA believes that everyone should have access to the arts. Our wide-reaching education and outreach programs include acting classes and camps for children, teens, and seniors, as well as theatre programs in partnership with local schools.
We take great pride in our initiatives such as The Mainstage Players, which supports teens and young adults with neurodiversity, and Mindful Theatre, which offers creative classes tailored for seniors and those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Additionally, it is our great honor to serve as the administrative hub for The Dea Hurston Fellowship, a vital program created to address the scarcity of paid opportunities for women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented theatre artists and students in San Diego. Today, The Dea Hurston Fellowship offers essential arts training and leadership opportunities to traditionally underserved communities, fostering a more inclusive and equitable future for the arts.
NVA has been fortunate to receive support from the City of Carlsbad and other local businesses, who recognize the importance of a resident professional theatre company as a crucial component of an inclusive and creative community. In turn NVA prioritizes serving its community by presenting works that respect its diversity, engaging every citizen with relevant and inspiring stories.
Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge that The Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center operates on the unceded land of the Payómkawichum (Pye-om-ko-wi-chom) (Luiseño) and Kumeyaay peoples. We further acknowledge that NVA was founded upon exclusions and erasures of many Indigenous peoples, including those who are the traditional Custodians and First people of the land on which we work, play, gather, share, and learn. New Village Arts honors the over 20,000 current tribal members living in the San Diego area, and promises to create a safe space for the local Native Communities to share the art, accomplishments, and history of their peoples. This is a starting point in our efforts to be more active in our local communities and we acknowledge that we have much further to go.
New Village Arts is a community-supported not-for-profit company. Your contribution will qualify as a charitable contribution.
NVA’s Federal Tax ID Number is: #52-2320930.