Art Hause Village Foundation: A Vision of Healing +Unity

This is the story of a woman who refused to disappear.
A survivor who turned trauma into transformation.
A builder of sanctuaries, systems, and second chances.
This is the story of Joi Adams.

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Joi Adams was born in Seattle, Washington, in the 1980s, into a world shaped by instability, violence, and poverty. Her mother — only 15 years old when Joi was born — was navigating domestic abuse, addiction, and economic hardship. Joi’s earliest years were marked by displacement and uncertainty, where safety was fragile and childhood innocence was often interrupted by chaos.

But even in the midst of disorder, there was resilience. Joi watched her mother fall — and rise. She witnessed despair transform into determination as her mother fought her way back to sobriety, education, and stability. That transformation planted something powerful in Joi: an understanding that survival could become strength, and pain could become purpose.

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By age 12, Joi had already been pulled into the dangers of her environment. She was arrested for selling crack cocaine — her first felony conviction. At 14, she faced one of the most extreme sentences imaginable for a child: juvenile life in prison for a gun charge. It was a moment that revealed the harsh reality of a justice system that often punished youth instead of protecting them.

But Joi’s story did not end there.

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A youth advocacy group stepped in, refusing to allow a child to be lost to incarceration. Their fight led to the landmark legal case Adams v. State of Washington, which helped reshape juvenile sentencing laws statewide. The ruling acknowledged the developmental differences between children and adults, ending automatic life sentences for minors in Washington.

Joi’s survival became more than personal.

It became policy, precedent, and reform.

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Still, legal victory did not erase lived reality. Trauma lingered. Poverty persisted. Joi left home at 15, and by 17, she had accumulated seven felony charges — a reflection not of her worth, but of the world she had been forced to navigate.

At 21, as a young mother, Joi was indicted and sentenced to jail as an alleged ringleader of a criminal organization. Her infant daughter was just three months old when Joi was incarcerated. The separation broke something open inside her.

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Alone in a jail cell, Joi made a vow:
She would not let her life be defined by cages, cycles, or systems designed to break her.

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When she was released, she walked out with nothing — except conviction, faith, and an unshakable determination to rewrite her destiny.

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In 2008, at just 23 years old, Joi moved to Baltimore, Maryland, with no money, no industry connections, and no safety net — only belief. Within three months, she shattered history.

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She became the first Black woman and the first person with a felony conviction to be hired full-time by Major League Baseball and the Baltimore Orioles, serving as Operations Manager.

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For eight seasons, Joi transformed Camden Yards into more than a stadium. She organized hundreds of free events, bringing thousands of Baltimore residents — many of whom had never been inside a ballpark — into a space of pride, joy, and belonging. For many families, it was their first time feeling included in a world that often excluded them.

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While rebuilding her own life, Joi began building platforms for others.

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In 2009, she launched A1 Radio: The Voice of the Streets, amplifying the voices of more than 100 emerging artists. It became more than a radio show — it was a cultural movement, giving space to raw truth, unheard stories, and creative freedom.

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In 2010, remembering how isolated she felt during incarceration, Joi launched a prison newsletter serving more than 500 inmates.

 

In 2011, she published a book written by a man serving a double life sentence — personally typing his manuscript and selling over 1,000 copies from the trunk of her car.

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Together, they founded Behind the Wall Mentors, empowering incarcerated writers and leaders. Today, incarcerated authors connected to that foundation have published more than 10 books, extending Joi’s impact behind prison walls.

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By 2012, Joi had transitioned into artist management and public service campaigns, proving that art could heal, educate, and mobilize communities.

 

In 2013, she guided artists to national recognition, bridging grassroots culture with industry power and mentorship from legendary executives like Kevin Liles.

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In 2014, Joi left Major League Baseball to fully commit to music, culture, and community leadership. That same year, she launched Baltimore’s largest record pool event, providing a platform for emerging talent.

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When her daughter’s father was sentenced to 14 years in prison, Joi transformed grief into service. She created Daddy Daughter Day, welcoming over 100 fathers and daughters into spaces of healing, reconnection, and love — restoring bonds fractured by systemic hardship.

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In 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore erupted in grief and protest. Joi partnered with the Hip Hop Caucus to lead Solutions for Baltimore, organizing city hall forums, youth programs, and community initiatives to channel pain into dialogue, peace, and opportunity.

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From 2016 to 2024, Joi evolved into a filmmaker and storyteller, directing more than 100 music videos, commercials, mini-documentaries, and short films, capturing the resilience and spirit of urban communities.

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In 2017, Joi relocated to Los Angeles, balancing work in television — including Love & Hip Hop — while managing major artists and leading a commercial real estate firm specializing in multifamily housing. She moved fluidly between entertainment, business, and advocacy — never losing sight of her mission.

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By 2019, burnout forced Joi into a season of reflection and rebirth. She turned inward, embracing fitness, herbal medicine, spirituality, and ancestral healing. She lost over 50 pounds, reclaiming her health — not as vanity, but as survival. From this rebirth came The Art of Healing and Happiness, a movement rooted in creative therapy and spiritual restoration.

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In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Joi returned to Baltimore, transforming her basement into a free music studio and opening The Baltimore Art Hause — a sanctuary for women and youth healing through art, meditation, herbal medicine, and community care.

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Soon after, Joi faced a near-fatal battle with addiction. Hospitalized and confronted with mortality, she envisioned a future where her pain would become a pathway for others. She chose sobriety.

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By August 2021, Joi transformed survival into service, launching Hip Hop Taught You, a free summer youth program using poetry, music history, and trauma-informed music therapy. This initiative evolved into Lyrics Do Matter, now taught in schools, jails, and youth centers across multiple states.

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In 2022, Joi returned to Seattle and experienced homelessness — living in shelters while writing the blueprint for what would become The Art Hause Village Foundation. Even in instability, she continued building vision.

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In 2023, Joi led Baltimore’s 50th Anniversary Hip Hop Celebration, organizing street renamings, tributes at Camden Yards, sold-out concerts, and free cultural experiences for hundreds of youth — honoring legacy while creating access.

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In 2024, she founded The Art Hause Village Foundation in Spokane, Washington. Within 90 days, the Mayor of Spokane proclaimed October as National Art Heals Month — a recognition later expanded statewide in Maryland.

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In 2025, the Governor of Maryland officially declared October as Art Heals Month, cementing Joi’s work as a statewide cultural and healing movement. That year, she planted the foundation for Lady Day Hause, a trauma-informed transitional home inspired by Billie Holiday, set to open in 2026.

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In 2026, Joi returned to Seattle, launching Legacy Lab, a school-based art and healing curriculum empowering youth to transform pain into creativity and leadership. That same year, she launched Lyrics Matter on Skool, expanding her trauma-informed music education into a global digital learning community.

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Rooted in her Indigenous heritage as a descendant of Chief Kiutus Tecumseh, Joi weaves ancestral wisdom, spiritual practice, and natural medicine into every facet of her work.

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Today, Joi Adams stands not only as a survivor — but as a visionary architect of healing. A poet. A filmmaker. A mentor. A curriculum creator. A nonprofit founder. A builder of sanctuaries.

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She is not just telling stories.
She is rewriting systems.
Rebuilding communities.
Restoring sacred space.

And proving that healing is not a destination — it is a revolution.