Creative Equity Toolkit

Interweaving cultural traditions and artisan skills to build a better life

Shiro Meda in Addis Ababa is known as the epicentre of weavers, with many from the Gamo community in Southern Ethiopia. Many seek work in the Gundesh Meda Textile Production and Sales Centre, the government-built buildings that have brought hundreds of weavers, Gamos and others alike, together.

“…being in an association has allowed them to share experiences with other weavers, created job opportunities for them and provided them with a child-friendly work environment."

Malaysia's Gerimis

Gerimis works with Malaysia’s indigenous Orang Asli communities to showcase their histories and traditions through the lens of arts and culture. As a collective of primarily non–Orang Asli members, Gerimis uses five principles as guideposts:
* Building allyship
* Free, prior and informed consent
* Credit
* Compensation
* Accuracy and respect

Nurturing the Activist Heart of an Archival Organisation

Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is a national organisation based in London, and is one of the first national heritage organisations to prioritise a living archive of the story of Black people in British society.

“I want to see the UK’s heritage sector being welcoming to everyone and telling stories in an engaging and inclusive way.” - Lisa Anderson, Managing Director of Black Cultural Archives (BCA)

Participatory Grantmaking Aims to Dismantle Power Imbalances between Funders and Communities

An interview with Urban Institute fellow Jasmine Johnson about participatory grant making. It provides insights into some of these knowledge gaps through a qualitative study of 10 funders in small, midsize, and large cities across the USA. Johnson gives key takeaways from her study in this interview, three things to consider before adopting participatory grant making and the challenges of using this funding model.

Korin Gamadji Institute, the Sovereignty exhibition and contemporary Indigenous youth culture

This is a discussion between young First Nations participants in workshops by the Victorian Digital Storytelling Project, which eventually culminated in an exhibition outcome at the Sovereignty show at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. The writers reflect on Indigenous inclusion into non-Indigenous institutions like ACCA, and the constraints these spaces - consciously or not - impose on First Nations speaking about their art, culture, and history.

Preserving indigenous heritage and showcasing the arts of the Agta people

The Agtas are the aboriginal Filipinos who have been driven out of their lands to live on mountain tops and far-flung lakeshores. The Savage Mind Bookshop and its offshoot, Kamarin Art Gallery, have reached out to the Agta people of Lake Buhi to provide a means for them to create art, preserve their language and history, and ensure that their heritage and culture are not erased by the country’s rapid industrialisation.