Recognizing that arts and culture shape our collective histories, identities, and value systems, FACE is committed to uplifting the often-marginalized practitioners who serve as providers, caregivers, activists, community stewards, environmentalists, teachers, therapists, and coaches.
We work at the grassroots level to ensure that decision-making is not reserved for a select few but shaped through inclusive dialogue with the communities and cultural workers who sustain and transform society. FACE creates equitable, unfettered channels of discourse, exchange, and collaboration—connecting artists and practitioners of the Global South to broader networks for the sharing of goods, services, and knowledge systems.
Cross Continent Multi-Disciplinary Cultural Exchanges in the form of providing access to platforms where such works can be exhibited and/or marketed. Creatives from the global South often face the stiffest competition for entry into ‘accepted’ or ‘prestige’ markets and festivals where only the established voices gain access to exhibit their work and the work that is created by new entrants must conform to a specific aesthetic that is ‘acceptable’ to the mainstream. This will be countered by supporting more South South markets where our aesthetic and values are recognized by like-minded creative communities.
Residencies and Creative Labs will create spaces for like-minded creatives to collaborate and share, removing the perception that one must work in solitude in order to create. Peer-based feedback as well as mentorship and guidance from practitioners from the Global South and those of colour from the Global North (South in North participation). These labs will not only address the creative aspects, but also provide life-skills such as mental health, business and legal tools that will enable participants to be equipped to engage with a global market.
Market Awareness and Visibility. This is tied very closely to our cross continent multi-disciplinary cultural exchange activities. Many creatives are afforded the platform to exhibit their products on a global stage but the logistics of getting them or their products to these markets and festivals remains out of reach. This feeds into the perception that excessive resources are required to showcase products, but by strategizing around the efficient utilization of available resources and technology, we can begin to address these challenges and provide support to local and indigenous creators.
Intellectual Property protection and awareness campaigns and workshops will be run in communities where indigenous culture continues to be exploited [8] due to lack of access to information or knowledge that would and should protect creators from such forms of exploitation. These campaigns will run both in conjunction with the residencies and labs as well as with the wider creative communities who are the source of cultural and artistic works across disciplines – storytelling, music, fashion and art.
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