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New Associateship with MENA ARTS UK and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Embargoed until 10.00 on Wednesday 27 March 2024 The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and MENA Arts UK Announce Associateship The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Central) and MENA Arts UK are pleased to announce a new associateship which will work to promote and celebrate MENA/SWANA voices and to strengthen links between higher education arts training and the industry. The associateship will seek areas of collaboration between the two organisations, including celebrating the work of MENA/SWANA artists and practitioners including students and alumni. As part of the newly formed associateship, Central will host MENA Arts UK’s MENA/SWANA Celebration Performance Series at the School on 5 and 6 April 2024. The two-day celebration of the work of MENA/SWANA Central alumni and students will include an evening of performance and Q&As followed by a day of workshops and installations. Performers for the first evening include Youness Bouzinab, Fatima Serghini, Mai Weisz, Alia Lahlou, Mohab Kaddah, Laïla Alj and Lanna Joffrey with work presented on day two by Adi Gortler, Mohab Kaddah, Farokh Soltani, Amirah Samer, Lanna Joffrey, Lama Amine and Sepy Baghaei. Central’s Principal and Chief Executive Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE said: “We are delighted to announce our associateship with MENA Arts UK, and to plan for our future work with the MENA/SWANA artists and practitioners – many of whom are Central alumni – that make up this vast network. We are particularly pleased to celebrate this new relationship by hosting the MENA Arts UK Celebration and Performance Series here at Central, and to bring this important work to our student and staff communities. May this be the first of many more exciting collaborations to come!” Kerry Kyriacos Michael, MENA Arts UK’s Director, said: “We are so much looking forward to working with Josette and her team at the School. Our aim is for MENA/SWANA professionals to shape and thrive in live and recorded arts in the UK, and Central’s invitation to work with their students and alumni is an exciting way to do just that.” Lanna Joffrey, MENA Arts UK Community Producer and Central Alumni (MA Acting Contemporary 2014) said: “Central has become a home I come back to again and again, supporting me as a multidisciplined artist. It is a welcoming home, committed to lifting up and celebrating its graduates past and present and, therefore, their artistic futures. This celebration is an expression of this commitment to highlight and showcase Central’s incredible MENA/SWANA talent.” Laïla Alj, MENA Arts UK Steering Group Member, Event Producer and Central Alumni (MA Acting for Screen 2011) said: “Central helped shape the artist I am today, and it’s inspiring to see the great work that our alumni and MENA/SWANA community have achieved. This associateship is an opportunity to make those ties stronger, and I’m excited to see what lies ahead.” The announcement marks MENA Arts UK as Central’s second associate company, alongside New Earth Theatre and with more announcements to follow in the coming months. Central’s associate companies form part of a series of key, strategic relationships which bring the institution closer to industry partners and deepen and expand the work of the School. ENDS Notes to Editors The MENA Arts UK MENA/SWANA Celebration Performance Series will be hosted at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on 5 and 6 April 2024. To find out more about the event including a full list of performers and participants and to reserve a free ticket, please visit www.cssd.ac.uk/events/mena-swana-celebration For media enquiries please contact: Megan Hunter, Head of Press and Public Relations at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on: megan.hunter@cssd.ac.uk About The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is a higher education conservatoire – a specialist college of the University of London which nurtures creative collaboration. Courses include acting, applied theatre, movement, musical theatre, drama & movement therapy, theatre & live performance, scenography, actor & teacher training, voice, technical arts & production, and writing for stage & broadcast media as well as a doctoral programme. With over 60 academic staff, together with visiting artists and lecturers, Central has the largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK, an active, award-winning research culture and is a hub of innovation and engagement for the theatre and performance industries. www.cssd.ac.uk About MENA Arts MENA Arts is a UK-based not-for-profit Arts organisation for professionals who work in the Live & Recorded Arts and are connected to the Middle East, North Africa or the surrounding area.

be a friend our Go Fund Me page Before we decided to call ourselves MENA Arts UK we spent a lot of time talking about the simple things that bring us all together, such as our culture, music and food. For all of us Olives evoked family, comfort and community. To grow and expand our community and to achieve our ambitious plans, we are excited to launch our Founding Friends’ Olive Scheme for 2023. A one off payment will make you an: OLIVE LEAF: £50+ 20 x donors keep our website up and running. 10 x donors would make our newsletter happen for a year OLIVE BRANCH: £250+ 5 x donors would allow us to host three town hall events 5 x donors would allow us to pay project managers for our next season OLIVE TREE: £1000+ 5 x donors would allow us to pay project managers for our next season ​ Come and be part of our story right from the beginning! All of our donors will be entitled to the following: ​ Advanced priority bookings to all of our events Invitation to an annual meeting with our chair and steering group Acknowledgement of your support on our website and digital programmes Friends Membership email updates Your support is crucial to help MENA Arts UK survive and deliver on our promise to our membership: to become an integral and important part of the UK live and recorded arts scene. We hope you can join us as a Founding Friend of MENA Arts UK. Donations can be made via our GO FUND ME page. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss alternative ways to make your donation. We thank you in advance. Our door is always open; please get in touch if there is anything you would like to share with us or discuss. Warm regards, Philip Arditti Head of Fundraising philip@menaarts.uk ​

we have had four town hall to date the first two were for us to work out a bit more what our community might want from us.

town hall and workshops

for too long people have said: "If only we could find a (fill in the blank) from the MENA region." we are here and it’s time to be seen. Our directory lists the MENA+ professionals currently working in the UK live and recorded Arts. This includes - but is not limited to - creatives, technicians, and academics. You will be able to search for them under the skills they have, the country they are connected to and the language they can speak. You need to sign up first to join the directory or make use of the shortlist functions view the directory upload & edit your profile grid view grid view grid view what does MENA+ mean?

support us many reasons to give. “Just wanted to thank you again- I just had my first creative nonfiction piece published by The New Statesman. had you not informed me of a writing chance in the newsletter I would not have applied for it and I wouldn’t find myself on this new creative journey. So many thanks for MENA and underrepresented voices to be heard" - Anonymous Dec 2021 We have just come to the end of our first season of work. In a short 8 months, we have launched a new organization with a steering group, professional directory, fortnightly newsletter, and a series of town halls, workshops, and eight new commissioned films from our membership. Thousands of people have engaged with us from around the UK and our impact has been felt internationally. We have started to change hearts and minds, reminding the UK live and recording arts that we are here. And our members have had new opportunities because we have been able to make connections in ways that have never been possible before. ​ The small grants we have already been awarded from the Film and TV Charity, and Arts Council England are very welcome, but they only go so far. ​ We need to do more and be able to provide more exciting programming in the future. ​ This is why we are launching a campaign to raise £20,000. ​ Raising these funds will allow MENA Arts UK to continue the exciting and crucial journey we have embarked on. It will allow us to provide our membership with more events, commission more exciting work from our MENA+ communities, and provide us with support in the day-to-day costs of running an arts organisation like ours. We would not be able to do any of this work were it not for you. No amount is too small and any amount helps! ​ We thank you for your support. our Go Fund Me page our Olive Friends Scheme

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