Case Studies of Success

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

Cultural Safety – An Indigenous methodology: Dr Lilly Brown

For over a decade Gumbaynggirr woman Dr Lilly Brown has supported individuals and organisations to strengthen their capacity to value, see clearly, engage with, and respond to the diverse needs of First Peoples.

'for someone to feel culturally unsafe means that they’ve likely experienced a space which is underpinned by racism. So in the absence of cultural safety, there is a presence of racism. And that’s a really important point.'

Best Practice in the Visual Arts from a First Nations Perspective: Clothilde Bullen

Clothilde (Clo) is a Wardandi (Nyoongar) and Badimaya (Yamatji) woman and Senior Curator and Head of First Nations programs and initiatives at the Art Gallery of WA.

'I can’t decide for another mob what their idea of sovereignty is, or of where their cultural material should go or how they wish to be represented. So I too, have to respect those principles of that group being self-determining and autonomous. '

Jordan’s Books@Café

Books@Café began life as the first internet cafe in the Middle East, becoming famous for its cheese fries, as well as providing information about HIV, sex and the arts at a time when these topics were regarded as controversial and taboo.  Today, it's a multi-faceted hub promoting equality and tolerance. 

This case study looks at how Books@Café created a safe space to empower marginalised communities.

Colombia’s Corporación Afrocolombiana Son Batá

Son Batá runs music and dance workshops of Afro-Colombian and urban origin, such as hip hop, rap and salsa to strengthen the cultural identity of the Afro population in Colombia (Medellín) where racism and systematic discriminations are rife.

Son Batá works in school to empower the youth of Comuna 13 to help them escape the violence and poverty around them, foster cultural pride and provide pathways into arts careers, including performance and cultural tour guiding opportunities.

Indigenising the Arts: Jacob Boehme

For Jacob Boehme, a multi-disciplinary Narangga and Kaurna artist and Director of First Nations Programs at Carriageworks in Sydney, best practice in the arts begins with moving past inherited colonial systems of transactional art making towards trade systems influenced by traditional models.

‘Best practice’ is all First Nations teams not succumbing to the Western lens. ‘Best practice’ is foregrounding and centering First Nations’ performance methodologies at the beginning and/or centre.'

Self-determination in the creative arts: Ben Graetz

Darwin performing artist Ben Graetz has Iwaidja, Malak Malak and Badu Island heritage, was 2018 LGBTI Person of the Year and a member of Browns Mart Theatre First Nations Advisory Board.

'Sophia [Hall] understood that she had to do the work. We were there to give her advice on best practice and it was up to her to do the homework to make the changes and come back to us and go: Is this what you mean? ... she really understood that it was up to her to do the work, not the other way around.'

The Philippines’ Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival

The annual Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival is a recognised leader promoting marginalised filmmakers in South-East Asia.

The festival has supported the careers of filmmakers from Manila in the Philippines; Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia; and Jogjakarta, Makassar and Sumatra in Indonesia. It provides a rare platform for Muslim and indigenous voices in Mindanao in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia and offers screenings, training and international links.

Sri Lanka’s ‘It’s About Time’ travelling history museum

'It’s About Time’ uses interactive exhibitions, activities and events to strengthen the post-war reconciliation process. It challenges the rigid interpretations that once divided the nation, fuelling ethnic animosities and sourcing political ideologies to justify the civil war that ended in 2009.

The museum connects with communities to explore painful topics including the Easter attack and the foreign debt crisis, using cutting-edge curation and museum methodology.

Change is trickling in, but our arc leans towards self-determination: Tony Briggs

Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri creative Tony Briggs is the creator and writer of the Helpmann award-winning play, The Sapphires.

Tony reflects on the ubiquitous expectation that First Nations practitioners are ready to double as “First Nations consultants”, beyond the scope of their work, and self-determination’s role in distributing the economic benefits of First Nations content to communities.

'I don’t want to be the answer to every white producer’s cultural problem or the advisor for everything.'

Sidney Saltner – Youth Program Director, Bangarra Dance Theatre

Wulli Wulli and Wakka Wakka man Sidney Saltner helped establish intergenerational knowledge-sharing program 'Rekindling' as Youth Programs Director for Bangarra Dance Theatre. It links youth and Elders to collaborate on a dance work with a focus on identity and pride.

'In our communities there is a strong need for our youth and Elders to be brought together, to share knowledge and stories and rekindle that connection to culture and strengthen their identities.'

Tanzania’s Muda Africa Dance School

Located in the heart of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Muda Africa offers contemporary African dance programs aiming to build sustainable careers in the dance industry.

The dance school is on a mission to address the underrepresentation of Tanzanian women in dance by employing female choreographers and alumni to work as mentors and offering warparound life skills alongside dance training.

Cultural governance, cultural equity and self-determination in the dance sector: Merindah Donnelly

Wiradjuri woman Merindah Donnelly is the co-CEO and Executive Producer at BlakDance.

'Let’s not get distracted from our own self-determination by trying to ensure that non-Indigenous organisations are doing cultural engagement better. They got to do that. But we also have our own thing and that’s a human right and we can live in a world where both of those things coexist.'

Singapore’s Teater Ekamatra

Teater Ekamatra in 1988 as a Malay theatre company in Singapore focusing on Malay socio-political themes. It has since evolved into an arts company that champions intercultural collaboration, exploring the idea of 'being Malay' as well as spotlighting other diverse ethnicities and global issues.

The company operates without an exclusive membership or audition model to increase accessibility and works with a network of social workers, educators and lawmakers on sensitive topics.

Making Safe Spaces at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School’s Talent Camp

Sometimes telling your story can expose the most raw and vulnerable parts of yourself – so a safe space is essential. Talent Camp works with emerging creatives from diverse communities. Their stories are timely and compelling, but telling them can bring up experiences of discrimination, injustice and trauma.

Strategies to ensure safety include mental health first aid training for facilitators, quiet spaces for participants and a solid group agreement to articulate shared accountabilities.

Best Practice Flows From My Connection to Community: Libby Collins

Libby Collins, Tiwi Islander and Producer at GARUWA, gave her checklist:

Engage early with mob when developing blak-specific work
Value the information you receive and the people who have given it to you
Have the cash to pay people what they’re worth
Value the connections they bring that you wouldn’t have without them
Ensure that your people are with you throughout the whole process
Bring community in and find initiatives that allow for your finished projects to be accessible for community mob.

First Nations First — Best Practices for Creating with Community: Genevieve Grieves

Worimi educator and storyteller Genevieve Grieves co-created storytelling and production company GARUWA with her brother Kieran Satour.

'We’re interested in shifting that dynamic by exploring new models of co-creating that bring the storyteller — the person whose story we are sharing — to the fore, giving them complete control over how their story’s represented… the person who would normally be the director takes the role of producer and the person whose story is being told is the director.'

Performing Lines WA's Layla Majnun

For the production of Muslim love story Layla Majnun, Performing Lines WA paired culturally and linguistically diverse creatives behind-the-scenes with experienced mentors over a long development period.

'Layla Majnun highlights how the hiring of even one culturally diverse staff member can completely transform an organisation, and make arts spaces safe and inviting for communities not accustomed to seeing themselves on, off or behind the stage.'

Fostering a Safe Space with Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra

To create a safe space in his 20-piece Queensland ensemble, Obscure Orchestra, Matt Tsu makes the safe space explicit, paying everyone equally and ensuring minoritised artists lead.

“Can you play your instrument? Cool. But do we align when it comes to anti-racism, being allies to queer, non-binary, trans people? Are we pro-refugees coming here and making a home for themselves? That sort of thing.”

The Story of Race: Dianne Jones and Odette Kelada

Ballardong artist Dianne Jones, anglo and Egyptian writer Dr Odette Kelada and Worimi educator and storyteller Genevieve Grieves on the story of race, intercultural collaboration and race literacy.

Kelada: 'People really want to talk about race, they just need to know how to do it.'

Jones: 'We start with the fact that race is a story, and it’s a story that hasn’t been told in a way that’s clear and visible.'

Boundaries in the Arts and Culture Industry: Caleb Nichols-Mansell

Caleb Nichols-Mansell is a palawa graphic designer and founder of Blackspace Creative, Tasmania's only First Nations-owned arts and cultural hub.

'When I’m told the budget or timeline ...it can become really clear that my involvement in the project has been a last minute decision.'

'A lot of companies will approach you and ask for Black artwork so that they can position themselves as Black-supporting or Black allies. But they also use that artwork in a way that builds their capital.'

Intercultural Collaboration and the Responsibilities of Representation: Dalisa Pigram

Yawuru and Bardi woman Dalisa Pigram is the Co-Artistic Director of dance company Marrugeku.

'Working with those Elders and with other artists at a young age, you develop a sense of responsibility. Best practice is to accept that responsibility – where you sit in the group.'

'We did this as a collective – it wasn’t one person at the front telling everybody what to do... it was 'listen to these people who hold that story and everybody brings their strength to work out the best way.'

Screen Tasmania's Diversity Project

The Diversity Project connects First Nations, racially marginalised, disability and migrant community groups with the aim of creating an increased pool of diverse talent for casting. It provides free, comprehensive training in “acting for the screen” for participants from age 10 to adult.

The project allocated time and resources to finding the right grassroots organisations to partner with, creating a safe environment and bringing in well-connected allies to create career pathways.

Bilingual Story Time with Libraries ACT

Bilingual Story Time, runs in three branches with songs, stories and language resources, benefitting kids raised in multilingual homes and those who only speak English.

Asefeh Charandabi suggests, “Start running Bilingual Story Time in a commonly spoken language, such as Mandarin and Hindi, to gauge interest. Next, look into bilingual organisations (e.g. ACT Bilingual Education Alias, ACT Community Language Schools) for help. Start sourcing books early, also.”

Melbourne Rebetiko Festival

It’s not easy to attract a huge mainstream crowd to a festival dedicated to a culturally specific music style. But the Melbourne Rebetiko Festival has done just that – selling around 800 tickets for its full-day events dedicated to the ‘Greek blues’, including an estimated 25% non-Greek audience.

How did they do it? Through edgy branding, power partnerships and clicky content.

Perth's Portside Review

Portside Review is an international literary journal publishing essays, short stories, and poetry for and from the regions bordering the Indian Ocean. Its principles include:
* Locating your own centre - to liberate from prize and market culture and emphasise community definitions of 'good' writing and art
* Foregrounding cultural and ethnic identity - beyond national borders
* Artist support & pay parity - no matter where an artist is located or how difficult the times

Mulatu Astatke at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival

Ethiopian muso Mulatu Astatke, the ‘father of Ethio-Jazz’, is a living legend with a huge global fan base. When the Melbourne International Jazz Festival invited Astatke to perform in 2016, it saw an opportunity to engage with Melbourne’s 7000-strong Ethiopian community. The strategy involved
* Research into the local Ethiopian community
* High-profile community allies
* Safe spaces for the community
* African media outreach
* Discount group tix

Regional Arts Australia’s Fellowship program

Flexibility is key in the National Regional Arts Fellowships, which support regional creatives with a guaranteed income for a short period. It means they can put time towards whatever they need to further their creative practice. It’s called applicant-led support.

“For a lot of regional artists that have had droughts and fires and COVID, and now floods, there has to be a flexibility in how you’re supporting people, given the environmental factors at play.”
Ros Abercrombie

Collaboration with Greek-Australian communities

The British Museum’s controversial collections include the Parthenon Sculptures, or Marbles, taken in 1804 by Thomas Bruce (also known as Lord Elgin) from the Parthenon with the collusion of the Ottoman colonial rulers of Greece and the museum has refused to repatriate them.

When Canberra’s National Museum of Australia (NMA) planned to exhibit 170 Ancient Greek art works housed at the British Museum, they knew they needed the support of the Greek community in Australia. Here's how the did it.

Exploding traditional ideas of leadership

Styled as a ‘leadership program for non-leaders’, Front & Centre works with creative women and nonbinary people with disability or who are d/Deaf. Central to the program is a total reimagining of the concept of leadership. The program encourages looking beyond the usual suspects to affirm and support potential leaders.

"When people are feeling safe, they are empowered to speak up about what matters to them, what is meaningful to them, what is passionate to them."

Eugenie Lee

Artists first in Tasmania’s Inspire Program

The Inspire Program supports culturally diverse performers in Tasmania, created in 2017 by Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania. The program's website serves as a talent database and every performer gets a ‘promotion pack’ with professional photos, free business workshops (with language support where needed) and mentoring from a performing arts company.

“We are a service provider; we’re not an arts organisation. But, we knew an enormous amount of talent in the community that wanted opportunities."

Adelaide's ActNow Theatre

Adelaide-based ActNow Theatre works with professional artists to engage diverse communities in conversations around challenging and contemporary issues, including racism, Islamophobia and sexual assault. It plays close attention to facilitation, community engagement, power structures and giving artists room for error.

“That’s what the democratisation of storytelling feels like to me—when it’s not an obligation or a burden to share that story.”

More capacity, more equity at Footscray Community Arts

Founded by unionists in the 1970s and famous for their long-running Indigenous Advisory Group, Footscray Community Arts takes ‘Access for All’ as its mission. But how does that work in terms of governance?
* Indigenous-led advice
* Relationships before mechanisms
* Support for board members
* Continual training
* Co-CEO model
* More than one mechanism
* Equity at the centre

Digital formats bring in new artists and audiences

Campbelltown Arts Centre (NSW) and Arts House (Victoria) collaborated on BLEED, focusing on how to interrogate the online realm through artistic expression. The program ensured in involved:
* Diverse reference groups
* Capacity building and flexibility
*Digital programming to enable increased accessibility beyond Auslan interpretation

“It was really good for us to just focus on what we were doing, and not being worried about being the only ethnic person or people performing our ethnicity”

Metanoia works beyond the paradigm

For four years, Metanoia Theatre turned the Mechanics Institute in Brunswick, Melbourne into an artist-led contemporary arts space. Metanoia believes in cross-cultural/culturally diverse casting because it show an Australia of the future.

‘On the streets, we can see, in almost all places of Australia now, it’s completely culturally diverse [but] in all of the ways we reflect ourselves we don’t see that in an authentic way at all. It supports our ability to see ourselves as we truly are.'

Using media to reach diverse audiences

According to Independent Multicultural Media Australia, ethnic, or, multicultural media reach five million people in Australia per month, not including SBS Radio. For arts organisations, it's well worth engaging due to the reach, trust, professionalism and cost-effectiveness of local-language media. Most outlets have multiple channels, including online and social media. Plus foreign-language media will translate your story for their audience.

Education, empathy and escapism under the big top

Fekat Circus is an organisation founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which was established by a group of six artists from underprivileged backgrounds.

Besides providing education in the circus arts, Fekat Circus also supports many impactful and meaningful initiatives to improve the livelihood and social and mental well-being of disadvantaged people in the community.

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)

Fostering Inclusive Success

Dahlia Books is an independent press based in Leicester that champions regional and diverse voices and provides a platform for original fiction and writers who are ignored by the mainstream.

Their leading programme is The Middle Way Mentoring Programme, a two-year professional development project that supports Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. The program helps participants to examine the craft and the journey a writer needs to take to be published and become a professional creative.

Suriya Women’s Development Centre

Suriya Women’s Development Centre has been working with women in Sri Lanka since 1990 with the aim to create an equitable and peaceful society which treats women with dignity.

The key attributes of Suriya's cultural activism are:
* Integrating cultural activism into programs
* Applying culturally appropriate methods
* Adopting a collaborative creative development process
* Building a resilient community arts practice

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.

Collaborative performances with migrant women

Tu cuerpo/El mío (Your Body/My Body) is a series of creative works featuring performance, action, texts and videos that are collaboratively created by women from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds.

"Tu cuerpo/El mío provides support and generates empathy through artistic exchange. The project stems from individual problems of exclusion, migration, poverty, machismo, racism and xenophobia. It responds by presenting society with collective artistic, collaboration and networks of support."

Co-creating an accessible arena for visually impaired creatives

Founded by artist Alecia Neo in 2014, Unseen Art Initiatives is a platform which organises socially engaged, interdisciplinary and experiential projects that focus on the production and curation of inclusive art projects.

“It is important for industry professionals to commit and support access work on a long-term basis because it builds trust and serves as advocacy for disability-led works.”

Desde Adentro

The Santa Margarita Youth Center is the only youth detention center for girls in Peru.

A filmmaking project, Desde Adentro, enabled detainees to take ownership of their own stories and replace stigma with pride. When young women are being deprived of their freedom, the opportunity to create becomes an important tool for them not only to feel heard, but also to reimagine and take back control of their own stories.

Life Jacket Project

In Palestine, the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation developed The Life Jacket project, to collaborate with communities to restore threatened historic buildings and to repurpose them as community spaces.

“Riwaq prioritises protecting and using local knowledge when preserving history, and adapting it to contemporary societal needs. This creates a dialogue that considers young people, heritage and indigenous knowledge.”

Ramallah’s Al-Mustawda3

Al-Mustawda3 is an independent cultural space in the city of Ramallah, Palestine. It hosts an event space, second-hand shop, design arena, gallery space, activity room and even a small organic cafe. The space brings diverse sections of the community together around arts, culture and upcycling and has become a beacon of creativity and innovation in an otherwise industrial area outside the city centre.

Note: This case study was produced in 2020, and the centre closed in 2022.

The art-ivism of Malaysia’s Pangrok Sulap

Pangrok Sulap is an art collective which engages with a diverse range of performers, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the public in their art-ivism. This group is famously known for creating woodcut prints to tell the unknown stories of Sabah’s rural community, helping to preserve rural culture and traditions as well as amplifying calls for environmental protection, democracy and human rights.

Jordan’s National Centre for Culture and Arts

The National Centre for Culture and Arts of King Hussein Foundation (NCCA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to incorporate performing arts in all levels of education, to encourage change in creativity and humanitarian values and cross-cultural understanding and to bring about social change. NCCA has been a pioneer in the development of dance and theatre in Jordan and in the region.

Koalisi Seni

Koalisi Seni (‘Arts Coalition’) is a non-profit organisation in South Jakarta that focuses on public policy in arts and culture. Their strategies include:
* Bottom-up process
* Legal analysis
* Keep your government
* Keep the agenda

Redefining Afro-Colombian culture and traditions via dance and movement

Sankofa Danzafro is a dance company that creates new discourses through Afro contemporary dance as a means to revindicate the Afro-Colombian culture in Medellín and other regions of Colombia.

“In this way, the voice of the ignored ones is amplified, people who for centuries have been considered objects of study claim, through dance, to be treated as subjects of knowledge to be heard and seen for the right to self-representation.” - Rafael Palacios , Founder, Sankofa Danzafro

Jesuit Cairo Film School

In Egypt, where more than one-quarter of the population lives in poverty, art has become a marginal part of daily life. But for the founders of the Jesuit Cairo Film School, art is a crucial aspect of life that should be accessible to everyone, and not just as audiences but also as creators. For the school, the arts enable marginalised communities to express themselves and relieve the burdens of everyday life.

Blind Women’s Orchestra – Al-Nour Wal Al-Amal

Girls with disabilities in Egypt face stigma and discrimination within a conservative society that limits their education, employment, and decision-making opportunities. But Orchestra Al-Nour Wal Al-Amal (‘Light and Hope’), which is composed entirely of blind women, has broken stereotypes and provided a new narrative about Arab women living with disability.

Marginalised Voices in Midtown Cairo

El-Dammah Theatre has presented diverse and displaced musicians to mainstream Egyptian audiences since August 2010.

In the new era of economic openness, art became a commercial enterprise. I want to restore its spiritual value by establishing and sponsoring bands, producing albums and documentaries about them, and connecting them with other bands through international tours.” - Zakaria Ibrahim, Founder, El Dammah Theatre

Showcasing the talent of artists with disabilities on the big stage

The Inclusive Young Company (iYC) program from the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) focuses on nurturing and showcasing the talent of young people and adults aged 16 to 35, who identify as persons with disabilities.

“The long-term goal of iYC is to not only have artists with disabilities in the performance making, but also to take on and contribute to the industry via leadership roles.“ - Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Inclusive Young Company program

Storytelling for social change

Founded in 2013, not-for-profit organisation Tai Tanzania uses storytelling tools such as 3D animation, radio dramas and short comics to influence positive behavioural change in adolescents by raising awareness about critical social community issues.

Building libraries to improve literacy

In the Philippines, the Library Renewal Partnership is working to change low literacy rates by building libraries in poor communities. Since 2010, they have helped build over 1,110 libraries, in areas populated by minorities and marginalised citizens.

Groundbreaking feminist journalism for everyone

Magdalene, a bilingual online magazine, was created to inform and empower women with a range of feminist perspectives on sensitive and often taboo issues, such as gender and sexuality, in Indonesia’s patriarchal society.

"As a media company, Magdalene supports diversity, equality and inclusivity in the workplace by employing staff from various gender and sexual orientations, races and backgrounds." - Magdalene

Recovering lost history through theatre

Made in Nigeria is a theatre performance that educates communities about their lost history, and spreads the message of unity in diversity, hope and civic responsibility.

‘It is TOTAL THEATRE – dance, drama, music, art, fashion and, of course, poetry – that come together to tell the story of our 108 years of shared history. All told in 120 minutes that will pass sooner than you think.’ - Dike Chukwumerije, founder, Made in Nigeria

Cultural immersion for young people through dance

At Nigeria's prestigious Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival, performers are required to present a dance from a different cultural group, fostering engagement and understanding across the nation’s 450-plus ethnicities.

“We want to accommodate these cultural and ethnic diversities and see how we can harness them for our growth and the unity of Nigeria” - Makama Shekwo’aga, Festival Curator

Arts create safe spaces for difficult conversations

In Nigeria, the Literary Evenings held by the Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation (YELF) attract a hugely diverse crowd. They provide a rare safe space for divided communities to enjoy the arts together and often spark difficult and sensitive conversations.

Combining the traditions of Forest Theatre and Street Theatre

Brazil's Vivarte focuses on research and promotion of Amazonian traditional cultures. It works with the storytelling and mythology threaded through the daily life of indigenous communities and their environment.

“Forest Theatre is alive, because the forest is alive. Like the forest, it is in constant transformation.” - Dani Mirini, Director, Vivarte

Pride and passion in arts from poor communities

Teatro Zona Norte means ‘North Zone Theatre’, referring to a territory in Rio de Janeiro where middle class and poor people live. The theatre began in March 2019 and holds drama, dance, visual arts and performance workshops for predominantly Black communities with low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Encouraging peace and harmony through collaborative theatre productions

‘Janakaraliya’ (‘Theatre of the People’) was a group of Sinhala and Tamil bilingual artists who travelled around Sri Lanka to present theatre performances in multiple settings through professional stage plays, forum theatre and street theatre.

“Collaborating with rural communities, Janakaraliya had conducted forum theatre performances to tackle the various challenging problems in the rural communities"

A home where creativity, diversity and architecture meet

Darat al Funun – The Khalid Shoman Foundation is a home for the arts, dedicated to promoting art and artists from the Arab world by providing a platform for contemporary Arab artists, and by supporting art practices and artistic exchange.

“Since the beginning, our spaces have been an oasis for the arts, open to the public to explore and appreciate various forms of contemporary Arab art.” - Luma Hamdan, Director, Darat al Funun

Transforming lives by turning trash into treasure

AfriCraft is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization which creates unique handmade, upcycled products from recycled waste materials to generate employment opportunities and income for its employees as well as support various community initiatives through the AfriCraft NGO for Tanzania’s less fortunate communities.

Embracing diversity through food in multicultural Malaysia

In Malaysia, Arts-ED’s ‘You Think You Can Masak’ (‘Cook’) program bring together young people to learn about their own, their friends’ and their community’s cultural beliefs and practices through food.

"One of the program’s main goals was to highlight the similarities, not just the differences, in the variety of dishes and cooking styles through shared ingredients."

Anthropological tools for artists

Peru’s Dinamo is working to bring anthropology and ethnography skills to artists and communities, so that they can better collaborate and consult with communities in their practices.

“Dinamo always works in a participatory manner, consulting and exchanging knowledge in a non-hierarchical or imposed way, and keeping the community at the centre of every decision.”

Re-reading Culture, Conversing with Land

The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah brings traditional knowledge held by farming communities into the centre of the city. Intergenerational projects document and re-energise traditional culture around the focal point of the centre’s popular farmers’ market.

Activating the agricultural literacy movement with new media

Aksara Tani is an agricultural literacy movement which collaborates with locals in various sustainable community activities to support the farming culture and traditional practices of Gili Meno.

“One of Aksara Tani’s goals is to regain the sovereignty of the people and their land; they are not averse to business from tourism but are more about creating a counter-narrative to restore some bargaining power to the locals to make the tourism landscape more competitive on a more equal basis.”

Making music accessible to the visually impaired

Founded in 2001, the Wusate Birhan Abera Music Training Centre was created to offer music education for the blind and visually impaired in Ethiopia, enabling aspiring young musicians to follow their passion and work towards a career in the music industry.

Making impactful filmic imagery from the margins

The Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival takes place in the southern island of Mindanao annually and provides a platform for the emerging voices in South-East Asian cinema who come from the peripheries—outside of the film capitals in Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur—to connect with mainstream audiences in General Santos City and serves as a regional hub for South-East Asian cinema.

Exploring a nation’s history through a dynamic and insightful platform

In Sri Lanka, the ‘It’s About Time’ travelling history museum reaches out to local communities by engaging with them through a range of interactive exhibitions and educational activities and events.

"The ‘It’s About Time’ travelling history museum was designed as a platform for a collection of exhibits to explore concepts of history, narrative and its relationship to the present."

'I Need You To See Me' - Vidya Makan

Vidya Makan's original song 'I Need You To See Me' is an invitation to the entertainment industry for visibility and diverse representation. It features over 101 performers from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds.

Creative arts: a gateway to hope for refugees

In this article, Eric Didier Karinganire highlights how art can be used to convey the refugee experience beyond language and spoken word.

"When I always think about “Before I Leave,” it reflects my whole life because it has all the chapters of my life; every part of this artwork means a lot to me. As a refugee myself, I can call it the story of my life."