This initiative aims to shed light on the sometimes tricky balance between the need to appeal to international funding bodies and managing the realities on the ground. Our Leiden University team has spent the past year comparatively analyzing four distinct case studies of cultural community building initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mark Westmoreland and Judith Naeff will provide an overview of the project, while Cristiana Strava, Arnout van Ree, Kasper Tromp, and Lenneke Sipkes will elaborate on their individual cases.

Strava will present her research with L’Atelier Observatoire, particularly their focus on sustainability and ‘green discourses’ to address urban renewal and community-building in Casablanca.

Van Ree will address research with the Clown Me In program in Lebanon, which uses interactive street theatre performance and storytelling to foreground the issues of disadvantaged communities in Lebanon. 

Tromp has been working with the Turkish art initiative Arthere to understand their efforts to support Syrian artists in Istanbul.

Lastly, Sipkes presents her work on tourism in the West Bank and in particular the efforts of the Volunteer Palestine grassroots organization to place international visitors in the Aida refugee camp.

Drawing on her extensive research on the institutionalization of heritage and art in the region, Chiara De Cesari (University of Amsterdam) will serve as discussant for this panel event.