With a Newly Appointed Executive Director and Nationwide Programming Launching this Summer, the Nonprofit Organization Aims to Connect Communities, Cultivate Creativity, and Build Pathways For the Next Generation of Artists
NEW YORK, NY (July 23, 2025). GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, producer, and activist Alicia Keys announces the official launch of a new nonprofit organization inspired by her Tony Award®-winning musical Hell’s Kitchen, Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation. Following successful pilot programming, the Foundation recently appointed its inaugural Executive Director, Asad Ali Jafri, and is expanding its reach with a fellowship program in partnership with the upcoming Hell’s Kitchen North American tour and new education and community initiatives in New York and cities across the country.
“With Kaleidoscope Dreams, we’re creating something that makes people feel seen, heard, and inspired to believe in their own stories. We want people to know: you belong here, your dreams matter, and your voice has power.” – Alicia Keys, Founder and Board Chair
“Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation is rooted in the belief that creativity is a powerful force for connection, healing, and transformation. We’re proud to build programs that expand access to the arts and support communities that have long been left out of these opportunities. We’re creating spaces where dreams can take root and thrive.” – Asad Ali Jafri, Executive Director
Born from the energy and impact of Keys’ hit Broadway musical Hell’s Kitchen, Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation was founded in 2024 to open doors, spark dreams, and create space for joy — both on and offthe stage. The Foundation collaborates with local communities to build and share multi-disciplinary arts programming designed to spark creative potential. By leveraging the transformative power of the arts,
Kaleidoscope Dreams partners with community-based organizations to foster belonging, educational enrichment, and professional pathways for historically underrepresented communities.
Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation’s core work is focused on four pillars of engagement:
Since its founding in 2024, the Foundation has successfully piloted programs and initiatives to achieve its mission that it will continue to build upon under Jafri’s leadership:
To support this important work and remain responsive, bold, and future-focused, Kaleidoscope Dreams is an Innovation Fund with resources to pilot new ideas, test promising strategies, and address emerging needs within its current programs or in entirely new areas of opportunity.
Visit our press page: www.kd-foundation.org/press to access downloadable press materials, including the Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation logo, headshots of Alicia Keys and Asad Ali Jafri, program photos, and production images from Hell’s Kitchen.
ALICIA KEYS (Founder and Board Chair) is a 17-time GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, producer, and activist who consistently uses her platform to advocate for equity and visibility. Through her work, she bridges art and activism—amplifying underserved voices and creating real pathways to access and opportunity. In 2024, Alicia brought personal and powerful stories to Broadway with Hell’s Kitchen—a critically acclaimed, two-time Tony Award®–winning and GRAMMY®-winning musical inspired by her teenage years in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. The show explores identity, creativity, and what it means to find your voice in spaces that often leave you out.
ASAD ALI JAFRI (Executive Director) has over two decades of experience honing an intentional and holistic practice as an arts leader, cultural organizer, producer, and artist. Using a grassroots approach and global perspective, Asad connects artists, communities, and resources across imagined boundaries to create meaningful relationships and sustainable initiatives. Before joining Kaleidoscope Dreams, Asad was the inaugural Executive Director at the South Asia Institute in Chicago, where he helped establish the institute’s strategy, programs, and exhibitions. Asad has held leadership positions at the Shangri La Museum in Honolulu, where he reimagined public programming and artist residencies, and Words Beats & Life in Washington DC, where he directed an annual festival and built a new fellowship program. Asad is a co-founder of SpaceShift Collective, a collaborative of artists experimenting with the ways in which we work, live, and create.
The Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation Board of Directors includes Joseph Benincasa, Steve Chazaro, Cole Cook, Victoria Detres, Deeksha Gaur, Nicole Johnson, Alicia Keys, Aaron Lustbader, and Devon Miller.
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