Nvak Foundation

Nvak will help more women and non-binary artists from under-resourced communities thrive, while scaling our model for building safe, creative ecosystems to new markets. 

I launched Nvak in 2016, and know our mix of music education and mentorship works. Artists find their unique voices, produce incredible original music, and land exciting career opportunities. Last year, two graduates became the first Malawian women to sign with a major music publisher, changing the perception of what is possible for women creators.

Now, our growth edge is to sustain and innovate. We are creating a self-sustaining model in Malawi and Armenia, by improving local fundraising and program development, securing new educational partners, and creating a safe community space.  

We’re also evolving our model to impact more creatives globally. Along with Nvak’s intensive program in Malawi and Armenia expanding to new regions, we’ve launched an e-curriculum in partnership with startup, Song Start, and Spotify. In the coming years, we plan to bring our education to under-resourced US cities and regions worldwide, and continue to cultivate an online network that connects young artists to peers and experts. Our vision is to uplift overlooked voices and stories in music for generations to come.

My name is Tamar Kaprelian, and I’m an Armenian-American singer/songwriter and recording artist. I began working in the music business at an extremely young age. Without mentors to guide me through the industry or look out for my well-being, I was placed in many unsafe spaces. After signing two major record deals, I was burnt out, and felt the industry was in need of major change. In 2015, I spent months working directly with young artists in my homeland of Armenia. I fully realized the complex challenges facing young women and girls in underserved communities outside of the U.S., recognizing that talent is equally distributed where opportunity is not.

I launched Nvak in 2016 with a vision of breaking down the barriers blocking women and non-binary artists from pursuing their passions in music. My mission is to create a safe ecosystem for young female artists to take ownership over the creative process from start to finish, and thrive in their careers and local communities. In 2021, our program has transformed into a year-round, innovative e-curriculum, which empowers young artists globally with world-class music education and mentorship, and connects them in a vast community of over 3,500 artists.

Women and non-binary creative voices are missing in music, an industry that shapes our social and cultural values. As few as 2.6% of music producers and 12.6% of professional songwriters in popular music are women (Annenberg). Music institutions and creative production rooms are often spaces of gender discrimination and sexual harassment (MIDiA). It is also a U.S.-dominated industry that overlooks the diverse voices of artists from under-resourced countries like Armenia and Malawi. These artists face barriers like underemployment, poor technology infrastructure, and few options for quality education. Women and non-binary talent from these communities are eager to make their voices heard, and need holistic access to supportive mentors, resources, education, technology and infrastructure within their local communities.

Nvak trains and empowers these young artists to build the skills and confidence necessary to launch careers in music and associated fields. Our innovative program leverages a vast network of A-list educators and mentors (hit producers, Grammy-nominated songwriters, A-list recording engineers) to provide world-class music education and mentorship. Women and non-binary creatives graduate the program with connections to an expansive community of thousands of passionate female creatives, and the ability to take ownership over their lives and their artistry.

Fast Company identified Nvak as one of 2020’s most innovative music organizations for globalizing access to resources for overlooked voices. Our program model leverages a vast, volunteer network of A-list creatives, university educators, and local leaders, to serve as remote mentors and instructors in a year-round, virtual program. The Nvak e-curriculum is both localized and remote, and creates cultural exchange by showcasing regional perspectives on a global platform.

While other remote music education programs exist, Nvak Foundation’s is the only program which poses no cost to participants, and addresses educational barriers to entry such as cultural stigma and digital access. Perhaps most importantly, our education is co-created with local leaders to ensure we tailor our program to the community it serves, providing a safe space where students thrive in their communities and beyond.

Nvak is a cross-cultural organization rooted in high-quality music education. We not only teach music skills, but build spaces that value free expression, creativity, personal growth, and mutual support. Our theory of change is based on the understanding that women and non-binary artists, when properly invested in, can break barriers for the next generation of creatives in their communities. 

Over 5 years, professionals have donated over 10,000 hours of time, we’ve served 3,500 creatives, and we’ve developed our program into a year-round incubator. Graduates have partnered with major labels and have had original songs licensed by MTV.

This year, Nvak’s program will super-serve 40 artists (ages 16-30), and strengthen their relationships with a larger network of U.S. and local mentors. Each artist, on average, creates 8 local job opportunities in creative industries from photography to marketing. When women constitute only 23% of the workforce in Malawi, our program changes this reality. The four-phased program: Songwriting; Music Business & Mental Health; Production; and Amplification, tackles integral components of pursuing music. In the next few years, we plan to expand our reach to new regions, scale our digital education for global distribution, and create self-sustaining models in underserved communities.

At present, Nvak’s Artist Incubator empowers women and non-binary music creatives to reach their full potential and build careers locally and globally. In 2020-2021, despite reduced access and finances due to COVID-19, we beta-tested a remote Incubator model, innovating ways to offer our mix of education, mentorship, community support, and super-served 20 Malawian women. We supported aspiring singer-songwriter-producer Esther Lewis connecting her to production mentor Bubele Booi (Beyonce’s Lion King), aiding her in signing a global publishing deal, and creating pathways for greater inclusion of Black, African women artists. We also sustain Nvak’s network of 3,500 creatives, supporting them with long-term access to peers and experts to advance their work. 

With three signature initiatives, we will:

-super-serve 40 women through our Artist Incubator

-scale Nvak’s venture and e-learning platform, Song Start, to 1M global users. Launches with partner Spotify in September 2021. Nvak will work to target distribution of this digital tool to thousands of under-resourced students, partnering with educational institutions and public schools.

-support 250 creatives through our Artist Care program with small grants and referrals for critical needs. COVID-19 clarified that health services, mental health counseling, and digital access are essential for artists to break barriers.

Music is a powerful tool for creative expression, shaping cultural and social values that impact gender equity and women’s economic security. Nvak works to change educational opportunities (SDG-4) and the cultural representation of women and non-binary people (SDG-10), seeding new ecosystems of underrepresented creatives able to participate in the global marketplace (SDG-8,11). 

Outcomes include: democratized access to contemporary music education through our digital platform Song Start, increased representation of women and non-binary artists in music, careers launched by artists and value created among local and global economies, music produced from diverse voices generating global audiences, collaborative networks established ensuring an ongoing pipeline of diverse creators. 

Output indicators measuring progress are as follows: 

1. Number of youth and partners accessing Song Start

2. Number of creatives served by Nvak network, Artist Incubator and Artist Care programs

3. Hours donated by mentors providing professional development

4. Number of artists accessing Nvak peer network

5. Songs and music videos produced and released; Nvak events hosted in-person and remotely

6. Number of local jobs created in collaboration with our programs

7. Number of artists with increased access to technology and equipment

8. Number of artists with increased access to resources for critical needs from small grants and referrals

Macro-level barriers include systemic gender bias within industries and communities, inequitable access to resources, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this context, we have made significant strides towards inclusion in music, and in the past year shifted to a completely remote model, finding opportunity and navigating changes to continue our mission. Learnings contributed to our recent expansion of services with our Artist Care program, supporting creatives beyond education to meet critical needs like healthcare that can become roadblocks for under-resourced artists.

Operational barriers we face relate to scaling our current models for change. MIT Elevate Prize’s mix of unrestricted financial support and guidance would be invaluable as we roll out Song Start among new partners, sharing our Song Start education toolkit and reaching significantly larger audiences of diverse youth and aspiring artists. In each community, we will need to tailor to our partner’s digital access requirements and community assets.

Our Artist Care program will expand our current network of mentors and professionals, including new partners for referral networks, culturally relevant resources for global artists, and that critical needs support is cost effective. Artist Care’s roll out will occur in phases in tandem with our fundraising success, outlined in sections below.

At this moment, there is significant momentum in mass media and among global stakeholders on the value of building more inclusive societies. I will leverage MIT Elevate Prize’s partnership to bring Nvak’s stories to these inclusion conversations, specifically around underrepresented artists, demonstrating how we can transform artists’ participation and help them thrive in music, and build larger audiences for the unique global perspectives represented by Nvak’s community of creatives. 

In the coming year, we are hyper-focused on scaling our current education model with increased financial investment. We hope MIT’s platform will help garner new investment partners for the Nvak Foundation through press, marketing opportunities and exposure to companies, educational institutions, and philanthropic partners in music that value our mission. We also hope to build out our relationships with community-based supporters through social media marketing strategies, small dollar donor fundraising campaigns, and expanding funding streams with a capacity to propel our work year after year.

Nvak’s culture is open and collaborative, creating an empowering space for everyone no matter where they sit within the organization. We are nearly all women-led with staff also based in Malawi and Armenia. I view inclusivity as respecting and creating awareness around intersectional aspects of identity: gender, race, culture, geography, class, age, and mindset. Over time, we have included male volunteers and staff who are passionate about Nvak’s work.

I lead and approach DEI from my lived experiences. As an Armenian-American woman with an immigrant background, I know that male-dominated, U.S.-based thinking is not the only way to live, work, or see the world. Nvak values perspectives beyond the mainstream and we continually educate ourselves. I saw this early in the program when we began to introduce our Armenian artists to creatives in Lebanon, Malawi, India, and Israel. Everyone grew from learning about each other’s differences while connecting through their passion for music. Specific oppressions our artists face are real, as are the shared experiences and healing spaces they create as artists.

We started as a volunteer-led organization, and relationships are the basis of everything we do. We are a community and strong connections help us navigate conflict.

I started in the music industry when I was fourteen. Since then, I’ve developed as an artist, activist, and entrepreneur, understanding the nuances and structures of the industry while holding a vision for how it can change. I have built strong relationships with people at all levels of contemporary music in the U.S. and globally, many of whom have volunteered their time, over 10,000 hours, and understand Nvak’s mission.

I am an artist and understand artists. From this position, I ensure our programs are artist-centric, and that they provide the best education and supportive resources to elevate creatives as they develop.

When I founded Nvak, I spent years on the ground in Armenia, building relationships to better understand my family’s country of origin, and did intensive research so that I brought culturally relevant resources that were helpful to Armenian artists. We work to bring this level of rigor to all the places where we work. I prioritize hiring staff based in the countries where we operate and invest in established networks in these regions.

COVID-19 posed challenges for music organizations all over the world, Nvak included. The music industry was forced to shut down, music education became difficult to execute in-person, and artists struggled to collaborate with one another. As a leader, I understood that it was more important than ever to innovate and continue with this life-changing work. Instead of closing due to the challenges of COVID-19, I transformed our model into a year-round, remote curriculum empowering locals with the tools to spearhead in-country work and kept our global community of artists in one online collaborative network. 

Simultaneously, I was eager to transform traditional music education models and provide even greater access to digital music education. I approached my colleague and Nvak volunteer educator, Grammy-winning songwriter Ali Tamposi, to enter into a creative partnership to build a larger, modernized e-platform for music education called Song Start. In partnership with Nvak staff, Ali and I built the Song Start development plan over the course of a year. Together, and with a key relationship established garnering Spotify’s $1M investment in the production of Song Start, we built an e-platform from the ground up featuring talent such as John Legend, Phoebe Bridgers, Camila Cabello, and more.

NowThis News - Former Eurovision Star Starts Music Program to Empower Young Women

Amplify Music Conference- Rethinking Music Jobs (watch at 6:00 min; 10:35-13:37 min; 19:05 min)

Nvak Malawi Sizzle Reel (short form doc we shot from programming 2019)

Nvak Israel Sizzle Reel (short form doc we shot from programming in 2019)

If selected as an Elevate Prize winner, in 24 months, I will advance the global representation of women, girls and non-binary creatives in music by:

SCALING impact with Song Start’s free, digital music training program among U.S. and global schools and local arts organizations to reach thousands of youth and rethink public music education.

STRENGTHENING music creatives through our competitive beta-tested Nvak Artist Incubators, graduating cohorts of highly-skilled emerging artists.

SUPPORTING hundreds of emerging artists with vetted referrals and small grants for critical needs -- health and wellness, vocal and dental care, safe recording spaces, equipment, digital access -- through our Artist Care program.

SUSTAINING a pipeline of high potential women and non-binary creatives launching careers in music with Nvak’s local and global network of creatives, experts, and peers.

Nvak harnesses a vast network of volunteer A-list recording artists, music producers, professors, and industry professionals who support our education initiatives by serving as remote instructors, mentors, and collaborators. Professors from UCLA, NYU, and Syracuse University, led workshops on music business, marketing, entertainment law, and more. Expanding on these workshops, industry professionals led master classes for our community to learn of career opportunities that are available to them in music. For more direct collaborations with successful creatives in the business, A-list producers from Benny Cassette (Kanye West) to Alex Salibian (Harry Styles, Young the Giant) worked directly with artists on creative projects, serving as virtual mentors for artists eager to break into the industry.

Venture Song Start and our partnership with Spotify will expand our reach in the coming year, and we are partnering in all aspects of the creative development, production, launch, branding and marketing.

Nvak continues to partner with diverse financial contributors and partners, from music companies donating pro-bono equipment, recording labels and distribution companies licensing Nvak artists’ music, and charitable foundations like Raising Malawi and CARE hosting Nvak artists.