About Upstage
About Upstage
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Introduction:
Upstage is an artist-led nonprofit that creates bold, inclusive platforms for the performing arts in East Africa. Our work is rooted in the intersection of dance, music, and interdisciplinary expression. We operate across four core areas:
Festivals & Events: We produce events that showcase high-quality performances, expand access to contemporary arts, and grow local audiences. These platforms are designed to position East Africa as a dynamic hub for creative expression on the global stage.
Creative Production: We develop original artistic products that explore urgent social themes and foster cross-cultural dialogue.
Workshops & Training: We design and deliver training opportunities that help artists deepen their practice, expand their networks, and access decent work opportunities in the creative sector.
Creative Services: We support international artists touring Kenya and East Africa, including logistical support and programming coordination. We also provide artist management for selected Kenyan creatives, and curate performances for corporate events, private gatherings, festivals, and cultural programs.
Our Artistic Approach:
Inclusion and collaboration are at the heart of our artistic approach, shaping how we create and curate, who we work with, and the kinds of stories we choose to tell. We believe that when a full range of human experience is represented in the arts, the work becomes more powerful and its impact more enduring.
Inclusion: Our programs are designed to include creatives who have historically been excluded from opportunity - specifically: artists with disabilities, women, children, senior citizens, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds - as equal partners in the creative process.
Collaboration: We believe the most transformative work is created through exchange across cultures, across abilities, and across artistic disciplines. This might mean bringing together artists from different fields (such as dancers and photographers), creating mixed-ability work and platforms (to include artists with and without disabilities), or connecting creatives from diverse cultures and traditions. For us, collaboration is both a creative process and a way of building empathy and broadening perspectives.
Our Mission & Vision:
Our mission is to champion inclusive platforms for artistic expression in East Africa.
Our vision is to become the leading artist-driven creative platform in East Africa: setting the standard in international arts programming, championing inclusion, producing world-class events, supporting bold new work, and serving as a catalyst for artistic excellence, and social transformation.
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