The US Embassy has sponsored a partnership between Trinidad’s Caribbean Fashion and Arts Feature Festival (CFAFF) and The World Affairs Council of Kentucky & Southern Indiana (WAC) to launch FOR COMMON GOOD platform.
FOR COMMON GOOD embraces the pivotal role of the arts and culture in shaping the quality of intercultural relations as well as creating a unique platform for artists, audiences, and other stakeholders in the sector to strengthen the overall impact of their own arts for social change programming.
Xiao Yin Zhao, Executive Director of WAC said that the Arima x Louisville Exchange will provide funding to Louisville Artists, Artivists, Art Educators, Cultural Practitioners, Teachers, Freelancers, Creative Entrepreneurs to develop a curriculum and train a cross-sector of social change advocates in Arima.
Funding will be available for sessions in three areas- Writing for Culture, Inclusive Arts Education, and Community Arts Engagement.
The online, tuition-free program will build the arts for social change technical skills and provide cultural diplomacy opportunities for 60 Arima and East Trinidad based educators, media practitioners, writers, poets, visual artists, cultural practitioners, historians, local government officials, and policymakers interested in using arts to effect change.
Training will culminate in a community-based project in Arima and the creation of an online learning and exchange portal.
Kevon Foderingham, Executive Director of CFAFF and Founder, FOR COMMON GOOD said, “What you can expect is a platform that offers physical and virtual cross-cultural exchanges, fosters collaboration and creative sector capacity building as well as the promotion of projects from around the globe that utilize the arts to promote social change.”
The Arima x Louisville Exchange is a direct product of CFAFF’s Executive Director, Kevon Foderingham’s first-hand experience in Louisville while participating in the U.S. State Department’s premier International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
Kevon was especially impressed by the work of Louisville’s changemakers, and their use of the arts to address social issues at a community level.
The Embassy said that it is proud to support the Arima X Louisville exchange.
“Artistic projects have the power to create real social change because they build a community where young men and women can connect with each other and learn to express themselves creatively and positively. I look forward to seeing what the participants learn from the United States, and what they teach us in return.
To learn more about the exchange and funding opportunity, and application details, visit www.worldkentucky.org or www.caribbeanfaff.com/arima-louisville.
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