Project Phakama
LIFT instigated Phakama following a visit to South Africa by a group of British artists in 1996. Project Phakama now operates across five continents and is a separate organisation separately funded by the Arts Council.
Project Phakama UK
Yet despite this rapid expansion in reach Project Phakama's core ideals remain the same: to unite young people from different cultures to create global art for a global world. Based on the belief that the place where cultures meet should be a source of creativity not conflict, Project Phakama prizes collaboration and celebration as the central tenet of its philosophy.
Under the direction of Brazil-born and London-based artist Fabio Santos, Project Phakama UK has embarked upon a number of arts exchange and educational schemes in the UK and with partners overseas. The results of these collaborations have been presented by LIFT and have included the Be Yourself performance staged by South African and British teenagers in 1999 and Strange Familiars created with young asylum seekers in London in 2007. Project Phakama has also developed an Arts Council-accredited Creative Skills For Life programme to teach young people from disadvantaged backgrounds essential creative, communication and other skills. Staying true to their name - which means 'rise' in the South African Xhosa language - Project Phakama's innovative programme of current and future events will indeed raise young people's artistic ambitions to new heights.