“
They felt it is their home, not only a place to attend activities
Museums alone cannot preserve heritage, transmit tradition, or build cultural identity. They need partners— community arts spaces, civic cultural centers, neighborhood theaters— that bring heritage into daily life and position communities as active custodians of their own cultural memory.
The AFIELD Fellowship is awarded alongside the Art Space Grant, developed in collaboration with KADIST, which supports independent art spaces around the world demonstrating both artistic excellence and a strong commitment to addressing urgent social issues.
This is the work that happens beyond museum walls: in old city theaters where young people rebuild spaces with their own hands, in storytelling performances where grandmothers’ memories become living archives, in workshops where trauma transforms into art. The museum is the institution. The community cultural center is the practice. Together, they constitute the infrastructure that keeps heritage alive.
ABOUT FRAGMENTS THEATRE
Founded in Jenin’ s Old City, Fragments Theatre serves as a creative and cultural hub for young and emerging talents, focusing on theatre, storytelling, visual arts, and mental health support. The institution targets marginalized youth and women, using participatory arts practice to preserve cultural memory, build psychosocial resilience, and create pathways to creative entrepreneurship.
In 2025, Rawand Arqawi was named an AFIELD Fellow— one of three recipients worldwide chosen for initiating bold, long-term social projects within their communities. Each Fellow receives a grant and joins a lifelong network of cultural changemakers.
KEY INSIGHTS FOR MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS
Heritage infrastructure is an ecosystem, not a hierarchy. Museums need community partners to extend their reach into participatory practice.
Intangible heritage requires different institutional models. Oral tradition and collective memory must be performed and continuously remade— this is where community cultural centers excel.
Youth are co-creators, not audiences. When young people actively shape cultural narratives, they develop ownership and the capacity to sustain heritage practices.
Cultural institutions must be resilient and adaptive. Under political and economic pressure, rigid structures fail. Community arts spaces survive through flexibility and deep local embedding.
Impact extends beyond visitor counts. Confidence, leadership, and creative entrepreneurship reveal meaningful long-term impact that numbers alone cannot capture.
MATAHEF. COM 47