Elene Mechitova is the founding director of the Kavkaz Jazz Festival which brings together young musicians from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan to perform, develop projects and to attend workshops and concerts. The festival serves as a cultural bridge and provides an opportunity for audiences to hear diverse styles of music by emerging artists from the region. In 2014, the Kavkaz Jazz Festival expanded to include musicians from Lithuania, Poland and Austria. In 2012, Mechitova founded the independent organization Art-Bridge to provide professional support for artists through educational and exchange programs.
She wanted to invite American musicians to participate in the Kavkaz Jazz Festival and she was eager to meet festival organizers, educators and musicians and to learn about music education and management models in the U.S.
