What We Do
The Bisemi Foundation was created to foster the following two objectives:
To invest in the creative and economic capabilities of African and African Diaspora cultural artists and arts administrators
To create a new social movement with cultural arts for current and future generations
Watch our video to learn more about Bisemi Foundation Inc.
In pursuit of our mission, we offer three services:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Through our Cultural Arts Professional Development Workshops (CAPDW) Bisemi offers capacity building and professional development workshops focused on training beginning, mid-career and professional artists in: grant-writing and fundraising, marketing and public relations; business and career development; financial and back office management; budgeting and insurance for cultural artists.
CAPACITY BUILDING
All too frequently, artists and small organizations at risk of displacement have no development support. Bisemi’s One-On-One coaching component allows for a small handful of artists and arts organizations who participate in the Professional Development Workshops to subsequently be selected to benefit from free customized coaching and planning with a professional development consultant towards achieving short and long-term goals.
DOCUMENTATION & PRESERVATION
The Dance for Life Archive (DFL) serves to document dance makers and cultural activists that have used African and African Diaspora arts to drive social change. The Bisemi DFL archive consist of a collection of videos, published volumes and articles created by Bisemi staff for and about the cultural artists it serves. The DFL archive makes these stories accessible to all and offers resources for emerging arts leaders and arts administrators to find work within the field.