Earlier this month, a group of artists and cultural practitioners from 7 Arabic-speaking countries joined the Youth-Led Cultural & Civic Initiatives Laboratories implemented by L’Art Rue in Tunis. 

Attendance of the Laboratories were beneficiaries who received the research grant of the Youth-Led Cultural & Civic Initiatives component in April of 2021. Of the 32 participating artist/cultural entities, 24 will qualify for the production grant that will enable them to realise their projects. Final results will be announced later in February 2022.

Over a period of 6 days, participants joined workshops and seminars led by experts from different disciplines and engaged in dialogues on context-specific research practices, working with communities and on collectivity. They also met organizations and professionals from the Tunisian cultural sector and had one-on-one mentoring sessions. 

The Laboratories enabled participants to meet, see where their projects intersect while being given the space to further develop their cross connections. This allowed participants to reflect on their practices in new ways. 

Participants also connected with established cultural practitioners, curators and museum directors, discussed case studies and reflected on the ethics of working. These exchanges provided in-depth insights on practices of working with communities while raising questions about sustainability and the systematic frameworks that could sustain the collectives and their practices.

You can learn more about the beneficiaries of the Youth-Led Cultural & Civic Initiatives by clicking here.