HOL’ ON, I STAY HERE! is ART 180’s 2025 thematic focus: an affirmation of presence, belonging, and Black resilience. This theme anchors all of ART 180’s creative youth programs in an effort to reflect on Richmond’s layered histories and reimagine its future through art, storytelling, and intergenerational collaboration.

Rooted in the history and spirit of Jackson Ward, this initiative uplifts the voices of Black Richmonders—past, present, and future—who have shaped the city in the face of systemic displacement, cultural erasure, and economic injustice.

Jackson Ward was once known as the “Black Wall Street of America,” a thriving center of Black entrepreneurship, culture, and civic power. Home to pioneers like Maggie L. Walker and countless Black-owned businesses, the neighborhood became a symbol of Black self-determination. But like so many historic Black communities across the country, from Tulsa’s Greenwood District to D.C.’s Anacostia, Jackson Ward has endured decades of displacement due to redlining, gentrification, and urban renewal.

Today, Richmond’s Black neighborhoods continue to face rising home values, biased appraisals, and the slow erosion of cultural landmarks. But the response has never been silence, rather: resistance, creativity, and reclamation.

HOL’ ON, I STAY HERE! draws from that legacy. Through programs that bridge generations, amplify youth voice, and dive into local histories, ART 180 invites young people to reflect, remember, and imagine new futures for our communities, starting right where they are.