Ubuntu (and other African ways of being) in Arts Leadership

Image from Power Point Presentation for the workshop

Alt Title: Practising Belonging Through Ubuntu

Early in November, CSI hosted a three-hour workshop with a local arts organization, creating a much-needed pause for collective reflection. Together, we stepped into the grounding teachings of Ubuntu and other African philosophies—wisdom traditions that remind us our humanity is inherently relational. In these frameworks, connection isn’t optional; it is the very condition of our existence.

Participants, including staff and volunteers, were invited to explore Ubuntu principles such as shared humanity, mutual care, and relational accountability. From there, we examined how arts organizations can consciously respond to the realities of hate, racism, and discrimination—not only by naming these harms, but by cultivating structures and cultures that actively interrupt them.

The session unfolded through storytelling, dialogue, and guided reflection in a virtual shared space. We explored how African knowledge systems and anti-oppressive practices can shape creative leadership, reorient organizational culture, and inspire more equitable approaches to making and sharing art.

Three core activities anchored our time together:
1. Personal Reflections: Mapping interconnections in lived experience and cultural context.
2. Shared Stories: Deepening relational understanding through listening and narrative exchange.
3. Collective Visioning: Moving toward future-focused practice by imagining how Ubuntu can inform arts leadership.

Across these moments, a clear truth emerged: belonging is not a concept—it’s a practice. Through intentional listening, shared stories, and collective sense-making, participants began to recognize capacity as something co-created rather than bestowed. Accountability, in this frame, becomes an expression of how we show up for each other and nurture conditions where everyone can thrive.

Workshop co-created reflection
on UBUNTU &
other African wisdom practices,
philosophies & ways of being
co-regulation + connecting to
each other + ourselves
practising belonging through
sharing stories and
building a common sense
of capability in our
inter-woven container
Accountability
By Ability