Arab Fund For Arts And Culture

The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) was established in 2007 by local cultural lobbyists as an independent initiative that funds individuals and organizations in the fields of cinema, performing arts, literature, music and visual arts while facilitating cultural exchange, research and cooperation across the Arab world and globally.

The measurable impact of AFAC’s work ranges from Arab filmmakers screening their films at international film festivals; to translations of foreign contemporary literature into Arabic, distributed for free on the Internet; to archives that collect, document and preserve images of daily life during better times, in conflict-torn countries like Lebanon and Iraq; to workshops that teach children to weave stories through puppetry and animation; to sharing contemporary narratives from the region with the global public.

Our grantees’ work has been reviewed in the local and international press; they have been invited to participate in high-profile festivals, artist exchanges and residencies, and have, in turn, inspired hundreds of others to pursue artistic endeavors through workshops and trainings. Despite these successes and a measure of international recognition, AFAC awardees have overwhelmingly continued to work within the region and focus their cultural production on a local context.