KEIGA FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
We believe in the transformative power of arts, aiming at advancing social change by fostering exchange of ideas and knowledge. We support the performing arts and cultural industry, and the physical and mental well-being of our global communities. Established in 2019, Keiga Foundation’s goals were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. We pivoted to delivering virtual programs out of Kampala, Uganda and Detroit, Michigan. In 2022, we’re excited to again deliver high-impact, in-person programs.
Current Programs
Community Outreach, Uganda
On December 16th 2021, Keiga Foundation and Keiga Dance Company launched a series of community outreach events in Uganda. These events are designed to help and support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being, development, and education of children in underserved communities in Kampala and Jinja. Together we are providing meals, mental health counseling, and engaging dance lessons to foster the feeling of community and belonging and improve focus, listening skills, discipline, social abilities and self-confidence. In 2022, we already hosted events in six different communities with five dance teachers and two social workers in Kampala and will continue to host as many outreach events as our funds allow. If you feel passionate about community outreach, please consider contributing to our Outreach Fund.
Advancing Children's Cultural Literacy in Michigan
Beginning in November 2021, Keiga Foundation will be partnering with Detroit Freedom School Movement, the James and Grace Lee Boggs School, Walter Rodney Foundation, Riverwise Magazine, Broadside Lotus Press, Legacy of Literacy, and Urban Press to launch “Advancing Children’s Cultural Literacy in Michigan.” This program is centered around providing black and brown students in Detroit the opportunity to read books that directly speak to their cultural experiences and foster a deep sense of confidence, self-affirmation, and groundedness. “Advancing Children’s Cultural Literacy in Michigan” is made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Dance Teachers' Training Program
Keiga Foundation lauchend its Dance Teachers’ Training Program in Kampala in partnership with Keiga Dance Company and the Ugandan National Theatre. The program is led by the internationally renowned U.S.-American choreographer and dance teacher Vershawn Sanders-Ward. She is the founding Artistic Director and CEO of Red Clay Dance Company in Chicago, United States and collaborates with Keiga Foundation for the Dance Teachers’ Training. This program provides crucial training for teachers in Uganda and facilitate artistic and cultural exchange between the performing arts sectors in Uganda and the U.S.
Women Empowerment Program
Finally up and running again after being postponed due to COVID-19, “Empowering Women in Dance” leverages the skills and knowledge of multiple international dance experts to give special training to emerging young female dancers and choreographers. This program consists of workshops on a variety of dance genres, facilitated discussions around privilege, oppression, discrimination, and social justice in the contemporary dance field, and the creation of new dance works by program participants culminating in performances at the Ugandan National Theatre. This program is a follow-up to the 2020-2021 Women Empowerment Program that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Programs Coming Soon
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Past Programs
Look What You
Made Me Do
A Performance on Domestic Violence
October 30, 2021
A piece about the roles of power and control, perpetrators and victims, and traditions and modern life in the cycle of violence.
Metro Detroit’s 29th Annual Diversity Festival
August 2 -9, 2021
The Concert of Colors is Detroit’s annual, free, diversity-themed music festival. Global music is at its finest at this colorful, festive, upbeat coveted summer event.
Concert of Colors
Concert of Colors Forum on Community, Culture & Race: What is Democracy? | The artists respond
August 2, 2021
The Concert of Colors Forum on Community, Culture & Race, one of the Arab American National Museum’s signature annual events, is a dynamic gathering of artists, activists and advocates who use performance and dialogue as a tool for advocacy and community building
Author Talk
with Author Ishmael Reed
June 3, 2021
PBS Books, in partnership with ASALH: Association for the Study of African American Life and History and Keiga Foundation, presents this Author Talk with Ishmael Reed about his book ‘The Complete Muhammad Ali’.
Detroit Youth
May 25, 2021
Detroit Youth: Perceptions of the Police, premiering May 25, 2021 to commemorate the police murder of George Floyd, is a multifaceted and innovative social justice virtual program that consists of Detroit grassroots organization Detroit Will Breathe members working with African American youth living in Detroit to discuss their candid reactions to and perspectives about the police.
International Dance Day
A special day of dance culture
April 29, 2021
Experience a special day of dance culture with us – starting with a competition of some of Kampala’s finest break dance talents. The second part of the event will show traditional dances from different parts of Uganda as well as modern contemporary dance performances.
Dance Expression During COVID-19
New Realities Part 1
April 25, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has put millions of freelance dancers and dance companies in Uganda under existential threat. The artists shown in this event were supported by the COVID-19 Emergency Relief grant awarded to Keiga Foundation by the U.S. Department of Education and Cultural Affairs – U.S. Embassy Kampala. The performances take place at our partner, the UNCC (Uganda National Culture Centre) in Kampala, Uganda, and focus on the impact of COVID-19, such as increased poverty, rising unemployment, challenges related to ‘home/sanctuary,’ and escalating domestic violence. These highly creative works highlight the breadth and diversity of dance styles from several Kampala-based dance companies.
Dance Expression During COVID-19
New Realities Part 2
April 11, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has put millions of freelance dancers and dance companies in Uganda under existential threat. The artists shown in this event were supported by the COVID-19 Emergency Relief grant awarded to Keiga Foundation by the U.S. Department of Education and Cultural Affairs – U.S. Embassy Kampala. The performances take place at our partner, the UNCC (Uganda National Culture Centre) in Kampala, Uganda, and focus on the impact of COVID-19, such as increased poverty, rising unemployment, challenges related to ‘home/sanctuary,’ and escalating domestic violence. These highly creative works highlight the breadth and diversity of dance styles from several Kampala-based dance companies.
7th Annual Ubumuntu Arts Festival
April 7, 2021
Rooted in the commemoration of the Rwanda Genocide (April 7 – July 15, 1994), the 7th Annual Festival – 100 Stories of Home will explore the questions “What is home?” and “What is homelessness?” through creative mediums such as dance, music, poetry, drama, film, and photography. The festival will run from April 5, 2021 to July 9, 2021.
World Water Day
March 22, 2021
On this World Water Day, we give a survey of current global water issues including an update of the Detroit water shutoff crisis addressed in our 2020 program, Water Is A Human Right, the aftermath of Flint, MI water crisis, the water crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, and water scarcity in Pakistan
This Is My Home
International Women’s Day Celebration
March 8, 2021
“This is My Home,” a dance piece created and choreographed by Jonas Byaruhanga, Artistic Director at Keiga Dance Company and Keiga School of Dance, tells the story of Mamma Nulu, a 25-year-old woman who lives with three children on the Kiteezi dumpsite. The performance highlights the plight of women, the gender inequalities within our society and how women’s resilience has enabled them to respond to these disasters and emergencies.
2021
International Day Against Police Brutality
March 15, 2021
Looking at police brutality from a global perspective, this program revisits “The Execution of Hakim Littleton” and contextualizes the racism-driven police brutality ravaging the US in a broader conversation about police brutality in countries worldwide.
Black History Month
Fighting Racism and Political Oppression
Case Studies of the Honorable Judge George William Crockett, Jr.
January 7, 2021
The Honorable Congressman John James Conyers, Jr.
The Voice of Labor, Reparations, Jazz & The People
December 17, 2020
The Honorable Congresswoman Maxine Waters; Attorney, Activist, Professor and Author Randall Robinson; The Honorable Reverend Dr. JoAnn Watson; and Attorney Carl Ray Edwards will share their personal reflections of a legendary giant of Detroit who had and continues to have national and global impact.
Water Is A Human Right
Since 2014 at least 100,000 households in Detroit experienced home water disconnection, with many more at risk for water shutoffs in the future. It is hoped that this program will heighten awareness and activism that is focused on achieving water equity now and in the future.
The Execution of Hakim Littleton
A Case Study of Police Violence Against African Americans
November 19, 2020
This program focuses on this case, the legal remedies, recent advocacy and legal actions by the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA), and the larger history of state violence against African Americans from a historical and legal perspective.
BREATHE featuring Jonas Byaruhanga
Issues of Global Impact
November 5, 2020
Concert of Colors
Concert of Colors Forum on Community, Culture & Race: Community Self-Determination
October 6, 2020
The Concert of Colors Forum on Community, Culture & Race, one of the Arab American National Museum’s signature annual events, is a dynamic gathering of artists, activists and advocates who use performance and dialogue as a tool for advocacy and community building
Freedom:
Breaking The Chains & Dance Expedition
The 155th annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S.
June 19, 2020
This powerful dance performance by Jonas Byaruhanga gives us a glimpse into the beginning of 16th Century when millions of Africans were kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped like cargo, under horrific conditions across the Atlantic to South America, the Caribbean and the nascent USA.