Claude Bunny Massassa is a contemporary artist from Gabon. She created Bunny Studio in 2016, a start-up dedicated to photography production, which became DWABI Studio in 2021. As an artist, she has represented Gabon in many international exhibitions in Senegal, Uganda, France, the United States, and Italy. In her art, she denounces social stigmas around issues of identity and mental health, and explores themes of traditions and myths.
Executive Director Kimberly Aceves- Iñiguez has been passionately committed for over 20 years to social justice organizing and advocacy efforts that bring voice and power to youth, LGBTQ people, people of color, and working-class communities in the Bay Area. Before coming on as the Executive Director for RYSE, Kimberly served as the Executive Director for Youth Together, the founding organization of the RYSE Center.
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal is one of the co-founders of RYSE and currently acts as the Associate Director. She supports and guides the implementation and integration of healing-centered practices, grounded in racial justice and liberation, and also develops, promotes, and advocates for policies, investments, practices, and research that enliven healing, justice, and liberation. Kanwarpal believes that the purpose of her work and life is to contribute to movements, communities, and legacies of liberation that honor the ancestors who fought for her existence and survival, and to forge a world that is just and gentle for future generations.
Sagal Ali is the founder and executive director of SAF. After a few years in her career in heritage protection in the cultural sector, she decided to develop the initiative to directly support young creatives in Somalia by launching her own foundation. She hopes to bridge the social gaps and inequalities women face in Somalia, both in society and in the arts scene.
Co-founders Catherine Dunga and Marleen Palmaers created Kitambo to bridge the gap between the African diaspora in Colombia and the narratives from the continent. From Kinshasa and Antwerp respectively, they work to connect African artists from the continent and their peers from the Colombian diaspora.
Martha Kazungu is a curator, art Historian and Founder of Njabala Foundation, an organization that curates periodic exhibitions and organizes a public program of activities to create a safe space for female artists to thrive and blossom.
Alicia Hansen is a photographer and teacher from New York. She founded NYC SALT in 2008 and, beyond teaching valuable creative skills to her students, has developed a long-term support system to uplift them through school and into their early artistic careers.
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SEENARYO
Through theatre and play, Seenaryo supports under-served communities in Lebanon and Jordan to find their voices as powerful change agents. Their values include meaningful participation at all levels, innovation, inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence while staying rooted in the local communities.
AMAKABA
AMAKABA is a center for the arts of the earth, the body, and the sky, in service of Afro-Amazonian wisdom. It uses art, education, and celebration as vectors to bring people together and build a community around the shared value of the preservation of the Amazonian Forest.
ESCUELA DI TEATRO MUSICAL DI PETARE
Escuela de Teatro Musical de Petare is a non-profit Civil Association with the mission of offering to the community of Petare, one of the most dangerous popular neighborhoods in the world, a free space for training and professionalization in performing arts for children and young people.
JAKMEL EKSPRESYON
Jakmel Ekspresyon (JE) is an arts-based space and education center of non-discrimination, with a holistic approach to the lives of local Jacmelians that mixes art, science, and technology. They believe that healthy lives and communities need creativity, knowledge, and well-being to advance sustainably.
IL PANE E LE ROSE
The association Il Pane e le Rose was founded by a group of cultural and social workers who participated in food solidarity projects. It is inspired by the values of social mutualism, active citizenship, and accessible and inclusive socio-cultural activities in Turin using a transfeminism and ecologic approach.
THE BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a contemporary art museum serving diverse audiences through its permanent collection, exhibitions, and education programs. It centers on the underserved community of the South Bronx and aims to be accessible, inclusive, and supportive of the local youth.
IL CIRCOLO DEI LETTORI DI ANDRIA
The mission of the Circolo dei Lettori di Andria is to implement cultural activities, promoting reading and literature in a professional, unprecedented, and inclusive way. It aims to have a socio-cultural impact and to contribute in a creative way to citizenship empowerment, making its activities as accessible as possible.
STUDIO RIZOMA
Studio Rizoma is an international hub advancing an independent cultural and social program while serving the wider development of the city of Palermo. It aims to support artists, create artistic and cultural projects within the community, and research experimental knowledge for ecological and artistic practices.
COLECTIVO Y JUB TOMATE
Colectivo Tomate is a social organization from Mexico that generates and facilitates processes of encounter and connection between people to strengthen collective participation in the transformation of the environment. It is guided by the values of trust and collective action and art as a tool for intervention.
SLAM MASTER
Slam Master contributes to developing the cultural and creative industries sector in Gabon. It aims to promote capacity building and job creation among young people and establish cooperation networks at local, regional, and international levels while reappropriating their cultural and artistic heritage.
POST DISASTER
Post Disaster is a non-profit organization created by a group of architects and designers from Taranto.
The project aims to bring to life to a renewed imagery that goes beyond the dominant narrative of disaster through the different fields of contemporary creative production.
ASSOCIAҪÃO CULTURAL GERADOR
Gerador is an independent Portuguese platform for journalism, culture, and education. Their mission is to equip their audiences with the tools they need to become more active, informed, and creative citizens through three essential dimensions: education, artistic creation, and critical thinking.
CIRCUS ZAMBIA
Circus Zambia is a social enterprise that provides holistic support to young people from marginalized backgrounds. They use creative approaches, including but not limited to circus, through which youth gain life skills, as well as educational and employment opportunities, making them change makers in their community.
COMUNITÀ SAN BENEDETTO AL PORTO
The Association’s mission is to consolidate respectfully the process of autonomy of the most at-risk individuals to enable them to make full use of their potential and talents. Art, culture, dialogue, and the development of critical thinking are their ideal tools for the self-determination of new generations.
ACRONIMA
Acronima is a newly founded association that creates a new cultural and social community capable of understanding culture as a tool of care for cultural practice. It aims to operate in different fields of artistic, cultural, and social innovation and experimentation open to all, through festivals and events.
167rEVOLUTION
167rEvolution is a nonprofit association of residents and sympathizers of the Quartiere Stadio in Lecce. It promotes sustainable social development through projects and events with the neighborhood residents, aiming to enhance and spread a culture based on active citizenship and solidarity.
IMMERSIVE ART COLLECTIVE
Immersive Art Collective fosters imagination, learning, and artistic nourishment in creative minds of all backgrounds. Collaborating with devoted artists, they produce unique performances and events, emphasizing accessibility to underserved communities, entertaining and inspiring them, and providing resources for everyone to unlock their creative voice.
ALGO EN COMÚN
Algo en Común is a Colombian organization that aims to build a space for creation, education, and knowledge exchange to create new stories. It connects creators together through immersive projects prioritizing inclusion and interculturalism and allowing new forms of narrativity.
SEVEN HILLS
Seven Hills is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe space for young people in Jordan to learn, grow, and become positive contributors to their community by using skateboarding as a tool for social and personal development and building a sustainable research and development program.
CAPLI FOUNDATION - KIZBASINA
KizBasina, a non-profit organization based in Turkey, is dedicated to the fight for gender equality and the empowerment of women through campaigns and projects that increase society’s understanding of gender-based violence and its negative impact on women and foster empowerment and grassroots activism.
SKETCH WORKING ARTS FOR STREET INVOLVED AND HOMELESS YOUTH
SKETCH Working Arts is a community arts organization in Toronto that engages Queer, Trans and racialized young people who are navigating poverty to experience the transformative power of the arts, build leadership and economic self-sufficiency, and cultivate environmental and social change through the arts.
OPEN ARTS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Open Arts is an arts collective committed to promoting the arts and creative endeavors. It aims to democratize access to arts and cultural products in northern Nigeria and push forth social change and shape the reality of life.
OFFICINAE EFESTI
Officinae Efesti operates in cultural design, theatrical research, and social innovation in Naples, using design, dialogue, and cooperation with similar realities to have a positive impact. They are bold and liberated dreamers who use art to spread well-being in the community.
KAIVALYA PLAYS FOUNDATION
Kaivalya Plays aims to create innovative artistic experiences with a focus on community-building. They work with institutions and organizations across India and produce cross-cultural theatre productions. They value spontaneity in their artistic training and aim to use theatre for education and social change.
NIENTEDAFARE
The mission of the organization Nientedafare is to give hope and concrete tools to young people so that they can truly contribute to transforming the society in which they live. To do so, they created a community, strengthening the voices of the many young people who feel powerless, alone, and lost in this historical period.
COMMUNITISM
Communitism revives underutilized buildings of Athens through creative communing. They believe that alternatives to existing structures emerge by practicing community and art. Their community is open and intercultural, operating through the association and grounding through the sociocultural center in Athens.
FUNDACIÓN IXCANUL
Fundación Ixcanul aims to contribute to creating positive impact and social transformations through film to encourage critical thinking. It seeks to democratize access to audiovisual content that addresses relevant issues such as memory, identity, inequality, racism, or environmental conflicts in Guatemala.
COMPAGNIA B
Compagnia B aims to promote theater and reading to rediscover them as a textual synthesis of communication on multiple levels and enhance artistic and expressive wealth. Its events and activities, mainly based in Sardegna, aim to have a high social impact and to be accessible and inclusive.
ASSOCIATION RENCONTRES DU FILM COURT MADAGASCAR
The Madagascourt Film Festival (MFF) has become an emblematic cultural event in Madagascar’s cultural landscape and the African short film scene. All the activities converge and intertwine around the festival and are totally free, which opens horizons other than market relationships.
ACTIVE VISTA CENTER
Active Vista aims to educate the Filipino public on the advocacies for human rights, democracy, and inclusive social development using arts, media, and popular culture and to build social consciousness among citizens toward nation-building. Facing social and political challenges, creativity became their strongest weapon.
FREEDOM STUDIO NEPAL
Freedom Studio envisions a safe environment where individuals from marginalized and exploited communities in Nepal can unite and collectively amplify their voices for freedom and justice. It is a creative initiative committed to strengthening nonviolent civic mobilization by integrating art, media, and technology.
KITAMBO
Kitambo is an organization created in 2019 in Colombia. Its mission is to create exchange and dialogue, between Colombia and African countries, linking the work of contemporary artists of African origin with the current Colombian art scene through cultural, artistic, and socio-educational projects.
ASSOCIATION KNOCK ON ART
Knock On Art’s main mission is to promote and popularize art in Chad while focusing on ecology by appealing to and awakening the awareness of young people and a general change of mentality towards this crucial issue. It aims to move towards a more creative art that offers multiple opportunities.
MACONDO BOOK SOCIETY
The Macondo Book Society, a Kenyan non-profit organization, annually holds a literary festival on African histories and futures featured in fictional and non-fictional works. It brings together all its ‘main’ writing language zones in conversations across perceived limitations and barriers for the first time on the continent.
ADEN AGAIN CULTURAL FOUNDATION
Aden Again is a youth cultural foundation from Yemen that believes that real change starts from cultural renascence. They work on enabling and encouraging creators upon artistic production, increasing cultural activities and events, and raising awareness of the importance of cultural heritage by documenting and defining it.
SPIT IT OUT
Spit it Out is an award-winning Scottish-based organization that opens conversations around consent, mental health, and healing through creativity and community care. They are creating a safe space where marginalized groups can share their work and aim to create a lasting change in our community.
TRAME DI QUARTIERE
Trame di Quartiere is a cooperative that aims to promote urban transformation and inclusivity through the involvement of various actors in dialogue and collaboration. They use innovative practices of urban co-design and cultural production to go beyond the material value of space and focus on its narrative and potential.
TERZO PAESAGGIO
Terzo Paesaggio works on urban regeneration through culturally based projects in various marginal areas, emphasizing landscape as a field of negotiation between humans and non-humans. Its mission focuses on urban transformation through regenerative practices, focusing on marginalized spaces.
InMenteItaca
InMenteItaca’s mission is to address issues such as racism and inequalities, protecting the environment and human rights, and the conscious use of media, emphasizing the intersectional nature of these issues. They aim to establish a network of care and support together with the local community and encourage active citizenship.
“È” – ARTE, FORMAZIONE, CURA
The association è aims to enhance the arts by using connections between people to promote their knowledge and engagement. Art, education, and care share a common principle of transformation and evolution that takes into consideration humans in the entirety of their needs. They work in synergy and interchange between areas of focus.
WRITERZ AND SCRIBEZ
Writerz and Scribez CIC, led by Black artists, with an enthusiasm for inclusion, accessibility, art, and self-discovery, is an entity that aims to be connected to the wider world. It offers a vibrant cultural hub for the local region, with outstanding artistic encounters, using art as a tool for social change.
THE GOODNESS FACTORY
Goodness is an association founded in Turin with the aim of promoting contemporary artistic languages by supporting and mentoring emerging artists as well as aspiring music industry insiders. Goodness believes in an equitable, democratic, and sustainable society that values art and the positive impact it generates.
RAW MATERIAL MUSIC&MEDIA EDUCATION Ltd.
Raw Material’s vision is of a world where everyone can access the tools, training, resources, and opportunities they need to develop their creativity and well-being. It operates in South London with the mission of making a creative life a tangible reality for under-served members of the population collaboratively and playfully.
UNTITLED TBILISI
Untitled Tbilisi’s mission is to fight for human rights in the South Caucasus, using art as a powerful political tool to bring change. Their specific focus is on the issues of queer and feminist communities and ethnic minorities, creating a safe space for marginalized individuals and communities to express themselves.
LITERATURE FESTIVAL HARARE TRUST
LitFest’s mission is to bring together writers, critics, publishers, academics, researchers, and readers to review developments in literature, enabling an understanding that will help shape the future of the literary world and bring a sustainable, viable, and vibrant literary and creative sector in Africa.
THE FREEDOM THEATRE
The Freedom Theatre’s mission is to empower Palestinian youth and women through theater and the arts. Its vision is to create a world where justice, equality, and freedom are a reality. It believes that artistic expression is a fundamental human right for everyone and that creativity is a powerful tool for social change.
SUDAN ARTIST FUND
SAF works in the context of Sudanese society. Its primary focus is on the artistic community, which is often marginalized and underrepresented. It engages with a diverse range of artists, including those from different artistic mediums, genders, and backgrounds, and supports them.
QUALIA
QUALIA, founded in 2021, in Greece, is a socio-cultural collective that curates exhibitions, theatrical performances, education, and research projects dedicated to cultural history and heritage. They combine diverse creative and anthropological disciplines to create unique projects of strong social impact.
BOOK BUNK TRUST
Book Bunk is an entity that has been working since 2018 to restore some of Nairobi’s most iconic public libraries into inclusive and usable spaces, heritage sites, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership, and information exchange.
FUNDACIÓN IMAGEN/PROYECTO mARTadero
mARTadero, an integrating organization, aims to catalyze creative citizenship processes and social improvement through diversity and interdependence for a more creative Bolivia, more just, balanced, and mature, that takes advantage of artistic, cultural, and touristic opportunities for the sustainable generation of resources.
GRIGRI
GRIGRI is a platform that develops projects from cultural research, creation, and production understood broadly. They work in a collaborative, experimental, and located way, seeking to maintain a constant dialogue with the community.
SOLAL
The cultural association Solal was founded in 2000 with a strong calling to use the languages of art as a tool for civic growth. Promoting culture is, to them, a collective reflection on how to solve current issues, which has led them to engage in various areas such as equality, awareness, and the diffusion of knowledge.
U JÙSE APS
U Jùse APS, collaborating with public and private entities, promotes awareness of the arts, focusing on contemporary art and design. It manages a center in Locorotondo, at the foot of a typical “cummersa,” now their headquarters, a meeting place, a collaborative environment, where skills and professionalism can meet and exchange know-how.
KLARA I ROSA
Klara I Rosa operates in Serbia and strives to build an open society, providing a window into the world and opportunities for learning and active citizenship. To them, culture and arts are the perfect tools for connecting, reflecting, inspiring, and acting in any field that seeks attention, from ecology to freedom of speech.
