Hello STRANGER !

As we get ready to say a final goodbye to 2022, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of what we have achieved this year and give thanks to you all for being part of our journey and success.

Our directory is now two years old and it continues to be at the heart of what we do and defines our community of MENA+ creatives in the UK. Please continue to share your success stories with us. The shout outs in our fortnightly newsletter have been a wonderful way to celebrate our membership and discover some of the amazing work you are all doing.  
 

A special thank you to those who have donated through our GoFundMe page or as part of our Olive Scheme.  This money is vital to pay for our overheads so that we can focus on fundraising for our future projects. Please think about giving here. As a Steering Group we are volunteering  our time but we need to fundraise to cover our office and website costs. A few pounds make a real difference.
 

We are also looking to expand and recruit more talented people to join our team. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, please email me directly at  kerry@menaarts.uk and we can talk more.  We are interested in hearing from anyone MENA+, or who is an ally, and believe with a passion what we are doing. Particularly if you have skills in fundraising, Charity governance,  web design, SEO, Comms and PR - we’d love to hear from you. But if you just have enthusiasm and time, still get in touch, there is always lots to do.   

Our first newsletter back will be on Friday January 6th. Please email Lanna, our Membership Lead, (members@menaarts.uk) with anything you would like included on there before January 3rd. We are starting the new year with some exciting announcements that we can’t wait to share with you all! 

A final thank you from all of us on the steering group to all of you who continue to support, advocate and fight with us for a better representation in the live and recording arts. 

From all of us at MENA Arts UK, wishing you all a very happy new year.

Kerry Kyriacos Michael MBE

Director

The Steering Group:

Laila Alj (Communications Lead), Philip Arditti (Fundraising Lead), Penny Babakhani (Finance Lead), Sepy Baghaei (Associate Director), Laura Hanna (Production Lead), Lanna Joffrey (Membership Lead) & Kerry Kyriacos Michael MBE (Director).

Contact any of us directly by putting our [first name] followed by @menaarts.uk

eg: laila@menaarts.uk, philip@menarts.uk