OUR STORY.
In February 2018, dance artists and community organizers, Joshua Akubo Gabriel and Brianna Alexis Heath, met as participants of danceGATHERING-- an annual performance lab and anti-disciplinary convention, based in Lagos, Nigeria curated by Qudus Onikeku (QDance Center, Nigeria) and Onye Ozuzu (University of Florida, USA).
The festival gathered together over 70 artists, thinkers and cultural makers from around the globe in an incubator of expression and collaboration. Through their conversations at dG, Gabriel and Heath noticed that they shared a similar passion for community development through the arts, and dreamed of creating a space that supported emerging artists and grassroots organizations both on the African continent and throughout the diaspora.
In 2019, they took a step and organized “Artist Convening,” a one-day gathering for young artists in Kaduna, Nigeria, to showcase work, engage in discussions around artmaking, and make connections with other emerging and established artists. With encouragement from their mentors, Gabriel and Heath expanded Artist Convening into a full-fledged arts and culture organization that supports emerging African and Afrian diasporic artists, helping them develop sustainable and fulfilling careers that directly impact their communities.
OUR STORY.
D’atè Culture Foundation (DCF) seeks to affect economic and systemic change in African and African diasporic communities through the arts. Through collaboration and building platforms for both emerging and established artists, DCF will build a community where cross-cultural literacy, communication, exchange, appreciation and understanding abounds. DCF is founded upon investing in communities by shedding a light on the people—their ingenuity, creativity, and cultural capital—that will contribute to the growth of humanity.
Believe in, invest in, and empower young, emerging artists.
Your gift of any amount helps us cover general operation costs for our programs and workshops for emerging artists, including our international festival, D ’atè Festival.
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