IX ART PARK FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS "SPARKING CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION IN PEOPLE'S EVERYDAY LIVES." WE PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE ART AND CULTURE ON OUR GROUNDS AND IN OUR PROGRAMMING FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, OLD AND YOUNG, RICH AND POOR, REGARDLESS OF RACE, ETHNICITY OR PERSUASION. WE AIM TO GATHER AND CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY. WE BELIEVE CULTURAL INTERACTION CREATES BEHAVIORAL AWARENESS. WTIHIN AN INFRASTRUCTURE OF IMMERSIVE VISUAL ART, WE CREATE ARTS EDUCATION PLATFORMS AND PRGRAM MULTI- CULTURE, MULTI-GENERATIONAL PERFORMANCE EVENTS WITH LOCAL AND REGIONAL PARTNERS. THE IX ART PARK SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE'S STRATEGIC INVESTMENT AREA ("SIA"), A NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATED IN AN OPPORTUNITY FUND ZONE THAT PRIMARILY CONSISTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS. THE ART PARK HELPS TO ACHIEVE THE SIA'S GOAL TO CREATE A SENSE OF PLACE AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE ART, IN ALL ITS FORMS, THEREBY CREATING A HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD.