IDEAS xLab

What IDEAS xLab does

IDEAS xLab (legal entity: Creative Agents of Change Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013 and headquartered in Louisville, KY, with additional employees in Denver, CO. The organization operates as an artist-run nonprofit that leverages arts, culture, and creative industries to drive public health, racial healing, and community wellbeing outcomes. Its core methodology — the HEAL Community Approach — deploys artists with lived experience of partner communities to co-create programs across visual, spoken word, music, photography, culinary, performance, and digital arts, targeting populations including LGBTQ+ youth, Black communities, women, individuals with paralysis, and rural Appalachian residents.

IDEAS xLab's "products" are a portfolio of community programs rather than a software platform: the (Un)Known Project (artistic spaces honoring enslaved Black people in Louisville, launched 2020 with Frazier History Museum and Roots 101), One Poem At A Time (replacement of 30 billboards in Smoketown with positive imagery and community-authored poetry, 2017-present), Our Emotional Wellbeing (2019-2020 youth initiative ages 12-20), Our Breathitt (rural Kentucky community arts experience, 2017-2020), Hero + Shero Journeys (150+ sixth graders at Meyzeek Middle School), Urban Green (25 jobs created via YouthBuild partnership), Universal Art, Whole Teacher Whole Community, and the heARTstory partnership with the American Heart Association. The organization also publishes the Belonging Through Creative Arts Activity Book and operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront selling (Un)Known Project merchandise ($30-$560 items). No proprietary technology stack, AI/ML capability, or software platform is described in source materials.

The business model is grant-funded nonprofit operations: tax-deductible donations from individual donors, foundation grants (NEA, Mellon, Ford, Humana, Foundation for a Just Society, Sutherland, Gheens), corporate sponsorships (Brown-Forman, Humana), and modest merchandise sales. Specific grant amounts disclosed are limited to a $50,000 NEA Our Town grant in 2014 and a $75,000 NEA Our Town grant in 2020. Go-to-market is community-led engagement through partnerships with schools, museums, community centers, and local government. Leadership: Co-Executive Directors Josh Miller and Hannah Drake (appointed January 2025, formerly CEO and CCO respectively), with co-founder Theo Edmonds holding a faculty position at the University of Louisville's Center for Creative Placehealing.

Name

IDEAS xLab

Legal name

Creative Agents of Change Foundation (d/b/a IDEAS xLab)

Website

https://ideasxlab.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IDEAS xLab is a 501(c)(3) artist-run nonprofit (founded 2013, Louisville KY) that uses community arts and the HEAL Community Approach to advance public health, racial healing, and wellbeing for underserved communities including LGBTQ+ youth, Black communities, and rural Appalachian residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Arts and Public Health Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAC

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Community arts programs
• Arts and public health
• Nonprofit community engagement
• Culturally responsive communications
• Community-based public art

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, IDEAS xLab relies heavily on tax-deductible donations from individual donors. The organization maintains donation pages on its website for general support and specific projects like the (Un)Known Project.
2. Foundation and Government Grants: IDEAS xLab receives significant funding from foundations and government agencies including National Endowment for the Arts, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Humana Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society, and others.
3. Product Sales (Merchandise): The (Un)Known Project operates an online shop selling apparel including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tote bags, photographs, and artwork. Products include 'est. 1619 (Un)Known Project T-Shirt' ($30), sweatshirts ($50), and wearable photographs ($47-$560).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IDEAS xLab is an artist-run nonprofit organization that delivers community arts and public health programs by leveraging arts, culture, and creative industries to transform lives and address health, justice, and wellbeing outcomes. Its core offerings include arts-based community initiatives (such as the (Un)Known Project and One Poem At A Time), youth arts engagement, culturally-responsive communications services, and a merchandise e-commerce shop supporting the (Un)Known Project.

Product overview

IDEAS xLab is a dynamic artist-run nonprofit organization that leverages the power of arts, culture, and the creative industries to frame, seed, and scale innovation in health and wellbeing. The organization operates a portfolio of community arts and public health programs rather than a traditional product platform. Key offerings include the (Un)Known Project (flagship initiative creating artistic spaces honoring enslaved Black people), One Poem At A Time (billboard replacement with community poetry), Our Emotional Wellbeing (youth arts initiative), Our Breathitt (rural community arts and health), and the Belonging Through Creative Arts Activity Book (educational resource). The organization also operates an e-commerce shop for (Un)Known Project merchandise and provides culturally-responsive communications services. Programs are delivered through the HEAL Community Approach methodology, with projects spanning Louisville, KY, Jackson, KY, and Natchez, MS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• (Un)Known Project A flagship initiative creating artistic spaces and experiences to support learning, healing, reflection, reconciliation, and action by honoring the names and telling the stories of both known and unknown enslaved Black men, women, and children in Louisville, Kentucky and beyond. Includes the On the Banks of Freedom installation, the (Un)Known Project Trail, and the Journeys to Freedom river cruise.
• One Poem At A Time A community arts initiative that replaced 30 billboards in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood with positive historical and contemporary images paired with one-line poems written with community members, serving as culturally-responsive public health communications.
• Belonging Through Creative Arts Activity Book An activity book for teachers, artists, and leaders engaging young people in the community. Includes session-to-session activities designed to build on each other, distilled from the Our Emotional Wellbeing initiative focusing on hope, belonging, and youth leadership through arts-based activities.
• Our Breathitt A community arts and health experience launched in fall 2017 through IDEAS xLab's HEAL Community Approach, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Included the Our Breathitt album featuring original work inspired by Breathitt County history, heritage, and assets, and culminated in the Our Breathitt Summit in Jackson, KY.
• Our Emotional Wellbeing A two-year initiative (2019-2020) designed to measurably impact the hope and belonging of young people 12-20 years old through an arts-based co-creation process. Partnered with Louisville Youth Group (LGBTQ+ youth) and after-school programs engaging young people to select artists for the project.
• Whole Teacher, Whole Community A partnership (2019-2020) with community members utilizing both in-person and digital arts-based engagements designed by the Kentucky Artist Innovator in Health, focusing on cultural drivers of trust, hope, and belonging with active and retired teachers in Louisville and Jackson, KY.
• Universal Art An initiative (2019-2020) bringing together individuals with paralysis and their support networks with artists to participate together in arts-based experiences.
• Hero + Shero Journeys A series of artist engagements (2017-2018) combining community with art, data science, mythology, and storytelling to engage sixth graders at Smoketown's Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville, KY to learn about civic engagement and policy-making impacting environmental health.
• Urban Green An ongoing initiative transforming fallow urban land into productive and engaging greenspace fueling local entrepreneurship through training and employment of opportunity youth. The King's Garden Exchange is a collaboration with YouthBuild Louisville, NYC-based Christian Duvernois Landscape/Gallery, and French partners.
• heARTstory A 4-month artist engagement (2016) organized in partnership with American Heart Association Open Your Heart committee, featuring an interdisciplinary group of artists who highlighted the impact of heart disease on women through a contemporary lens.
• Arts + Public Health (OPAAT) Services Culturally-responsive communications services that leverage arts and culture to frame, seed, and scale innovation in health and wellbeing. Delivered through community-based programming and public art installations.
• (Un)Known Project Shop Online shop selling (Un)Known Project merchandise including apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers), wearable photos, accessories (hats, beanies, totes, masks), art prints, and the Broken Wings Still Fly hardcover notebook. Products priced $30-$560.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 billboards replaced with positive imagery and community poems in Smoketown neighborhood
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Frazier History MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey collaborator on the (Un)Known Project. The museum serves as a central partner in creating artistic spaces and experiences for learning, healing, reflection, reconciliation, and action around Louisville's enslaved history.
• Roots 101coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican American museum collaborator on the (Un)Known Project, contributing to the creation of cultural heritage destination experiences.
• Louisville Metro GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVarious departments within Louisville Metro Government collaborate on the (Un)Known Project, supporting public art installations and community programming.
• American Heart AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with IDEAS xLab on heARTstory project, featuring interdisciplinary artists creating work highlighting the impact of heart disease on women through contemporary lens.
• YouthBuild LouisvillemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Urban Green project creating 25 jobs for young adults. Collaboration includes YouthBuild students in urban greening and entrepreneurship training.
• Louisville Youth GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLGBTQ+ youth organization partnered for Our Emotional Wellbeing initiative, engaging young people 12-20 years old in arts-based activities focused on hope and belonging.
• Christian Duvernois Landscape/GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC-based landscape/gallery collaborator on Urban Green: The King's Garden Exchange project.
• National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Southwest Mississippi Chapter for Equity Platform project in Natchez, MS, including 'Girls'n Pearls' program for girls ages 8-18.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• A Blade of Grass: National funder and field-builder supporting artists working at the intersection of art and social change. Directly comparable as a nonprofit using artist-led practice to drive community health and justice outcomes.
• The Laundromat Project: NYC-based nonprofit that creates arts-based community development programs in neighborhoods. Directly comparable in its use of co-created arts projects to drive belonging and health in under-resourced communities.
• Alternate ROOTS: Network of artists and cultural organizers in the U.S. South advancing social justice through arts and culture. Directly comparable in geographic base (Southeast), arts/social-change model, and community-engaged practice.
• Center for Performance and Civic Practice: Supports artists engaging in civic and community-based work through research, funding, and convening. Directly comparable as a nonprofit bridging artists, communities, and public outcomes like health and policy.
• National Performance Network: National network supporting performing artists and presenters working in communities, with a focus on cultural equity and social justice. Comparable as a community-engaged arts intermediary.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Time: NYC-based nonprofit producing public art projects that engage communities on social issues. Broader incumbent with overlapping practice of art-driven public engagement but at much larger scale.
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Bay Area arts nonprofit whose programs intersect culture, community, and social justice. Broader incumbent with overlapping thematic focus but operates at a larger institutional scale.

Others

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Large national community development financial institution with creative placemaking programs. Comparable ecosystem participant funding community-based cultural projects but at much greater scale and capital intensity.
• Americans for the Arts: National service organization advancing the arts in America through advocacy, research, and programming. Adjacent enabler rather than direct competitor; shares the arts-and-community impact space.
• National Arts Strategies: National nonprofit providing leadership and strategy support to arts and culture organizations. Adjacent enabler in the arts nonprofit ecosystem; not a direct competitor but shares audience of community-based arts leaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ideasxlab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ideasxlab
• Facebookfacebook.com/IDEASxLab
• Instagraminstagram.com/ideasxlab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ideasxlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IDEAS xLab