The 3rd session of our Voices From series, took place for the first time in a hybrid format, as part of the Arts Festivals Summit 2025 in Edinburgh and online, on Tuesday 29 April 3:30PM (CET).
We invited the global TFA Alumni community to register now and take part online in this conversation alongside participants at the EFA Summit in Edinburgh, to listen to cultural workers from Jordan and Mexico, and reflect together on how festivals can respond to the realities of crises and conflicts unfolding around the world.
In this session, we were delighted to welcome TFA Alumni Ireri Mugica and Abd Al Hadi Abunahleh as speakers. Ireri and Hadi engaged in a conversation exploring the conditions that shape cultural work in Mexico and Jordan.
How do artists continue to create in conditions shaped by conflict, systemic neglect, or ongoing violence? What does resilience look like when policies fail, mobility is blocked, and collective care becomes the only infrastructure? And what role can festivals play in acknowledging and responding to the urgent challenges communities face around the world?
From the deserts of Wadi Rum to the dance festivals of Morelos, the discussion centered around how artists and curators are creating space, building bridges, and navigating systemic challenges in their countries – the session brought their global voices into the gathering of European festival leaders in Edinburgh.
Ireri Mugica is a Mexico City-based performing arts producer and cultural manager. After a decade as a professional dancer, she transitioned into arts management and production, focusing on international cooperation and mobility for Mexican artists. Ireri is the founder of abra projects, a boutique agency supporting Mexican and international artists, and is involved in curating and promoting initiatives like Festival Morelos Danza. She is an active member of international networks including the International Society for the Performing Arts, The Festival Academy Alumni community, and the British Council’s Cultural Leaders cohort. Her work centers on creating fairer conditions for Global South artists in international contexts and advocating for stronger support systems within Mexico’s cultural sector.
Hadi Abunahleh is a Jordanian curator, choreographer, and artistic director based in Amman. He is the founder of Studio 8, a pioneering platform for dance and performance in Jordan, and director and co-curator of the IDEA Festival, a biennial International Contemporary Dance Festival. His curatorial and choreographic work includes collaborations with artists and institutions around the world, and the recent project “Sahra Sharq Gharb” a residency connecting artists from the Arab region in the desert Wadi Rum. His performances have toured widely, including at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts and the Asia Culture Center in Korea. Hadi brings together academic research and creative practice to build platforms for exchange and visibility in and beyond Jordan.
The 90-minute session was facilitated by Inge Ceustermans and Thobile Maphanga and presented by The Festival Academy in collaboration with the European Festivals Association.
The event was based on registration.