The mission of Marafiki Center is to create opportunities for cross-cultural connection. We build a bridge of mutual understanding through education, events, and advocating for improved representation of the African and Swahili-speaking communities in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Marafiki Center was founded in 2019 by a former Congolese refugee. We are a community-based organization with the vision of being a cultural arts and community center dedicated to serving and supporting the African, refugee and immigrant communities in Lexington.

• Cultural/Multi-Arts
• Arts Education/Youth Arts

Summary:
Marafiki Center requests $10,000 to support artists at the Swahili Day cultural festival and introduce a new African Cultural Arts Program, year-round cultural arts education that celebrates African artistic traditions through youth education, community performances, and a showcase during the annual Swahili Day cultural festival. Funding will bridge equity gaps for African refugee and immigrant artists by providing artist stipends, youth arts instruction, cultural performances, and public programming that increases access to African arts and culture throughout Fayette County.

Project Description:
Now entering its 6th year, Swahili Day has become one of Lexington's premier multicultural celebrations, bringing together African immigrant and refugee communities with the broader public through music, dance, fashion, visual arts, language, and food. Since its launch in 2021, the event has grown from a single-day cultural festival into a recognized community tradition that celebrates African heritage while fostering cross-cultural understanding and belonging.

The 6th annual Swahili Day festival welcomed 2,700 attendees in 2026 at Gatton Park. This spacious outdoor venue provided excellent visibility, accessibility, and room for a large performance stage, artist exhibitions, food vendors, and children's activities, with 40 African-owned artisan and culinary vendors. Visitors experience live Congolese music, traditional and contemporary African dance, drumming, fashion shows, interactive cultural demonstrations, children's activities, and authentic African cuisine. The festival remains a welcoming, family-friendly space where thousands of residents can engage directly with the rich artistic traditions of African communities represented throughout Africa.

Building on the success of previous years, this project introduces a significant expansion beyond the one-day festival by establishing the African Cultural Arts Program, a year-round arts education and performance program centered around affirming African youth's cultural identity. Rather than concentrating artistic programming solely around Swahili Day, Marafiki Center will provide ongoing opportunities for youth and local artists to learn, create, and perform throughout the year - creating opportunities for increased representation and cross-cultural engagement with the public.

This educational component will teach youth about African culture through the art of drumming, traditional instruments, visual arts, fashion, and storytelling. We will recruit youth through local schools, student-led groups, African youth tribal groups, and other community partnerships. Professional African artists and cultural practitioners will lead workshops, rehearsals, and educational sessions that teach both artistic skills and the cultural significance behind each art form. We will highlight support for existing African student-led dance teams to develop and advance their skills. Youth will receive regular instruction, choreography, costumes, and mentorship while preparing performances across Lexington and a high school dance competition during Swahili Day.

The annual Swahili Day festival will serve as the culminating celebration where students, professional artists, musicians, dance teams, visual artists, fashion designers, and community performers showcase the skills and artistic works developed throughout the year. Festival attendees will experience expanded performances, interactive artist demonstrations, youth exhibitions, and live cultural presentations that reflect months of learning and artistic collaboration.

Compared to previous years, this proposal represents a substantial expansion in both scope and community impact. While prior funding focused primarily on supporting performances and artists for the annual festival, this project establishes a sustainable, year-round cultural arts program that invests in youth development, artist employment, and public arts engagement. Marafiki Center will strengthen Lexington's cultural landscape while creating meaningful opportunities for African artists and youth to affirm their cultural identity, develop artistic excellence, and share their culture with the broader community.

This program creates cross-cultural opportunities for people of all backgrounds to connect through arts and culture, highlighting the underrepresented African community.

The African Cultural Arts Program benefits the broader community by strengthening African youth’s cultural identity while creating opportunities for cross-cultural connection and understanding. Through music, dance, storytelling, language, and other artistic expressions, youth are empowered to share their culture and experiences with the wider community. This increases representation of African voices in Lexington, promotes appreciation for cultural diversity, challenges stereotypes, and creates welcoming spaces where families and community members can learn from one another. By developing confident young artists and cultural leaders, the program contributes to a more connected, inclusive, and culturally vibrant community.

The Swahili Day festival expands economic and artistic opportunities for local African creatives, while inviting the general public to learn about their neighbors from different backgrounds. Through shared artistic experiences, Swahili Day strengthens cross-cultural relationships, promotes inclusion, and reinforces Lexington's identity as a vibrant, welcoming, and culturally diverse community.

Marafiki Center uses a community-centered communications strategy to reach both African immigrant and refugee communities and the broader Lexington public. Program information is distributed through our website, email newsletters, social media platforms, community calendars, printed flyers, multilingual outreach materials, and direct communication with schools, community partners, and faith-based organizations. Information is shared in both English and Swahili whenever possible to ensure accessibility for participants with limited English proficiency. We partner with VisitLex, GlobalLex, and local media outlets to promote and sustain community.

This project supports artists from African refugee and immigrant backgrounds, mostly from East & Central Africa. This population has made Swahili the 3rd-most spoken language in Lexington. Our primary target audience for the African Cultural Arts Program is youth ages 6-18, with some participants being young adults ages 19-25. The program intentionally creates pathways for youth to develop artistic skills, strengthen cultural identity, build leadership, and share their heritage with the broader community. A secondary audience includes the general public throughout Lexington, who will engage through Swahili Day, community performances, and cultural arts education offered year-round. These activities are designed to be welcoming and accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Marafiki Center was founded to address the underrepresentation of African immigrant and refugee communities in Lexington's cultural and civic life. Our commitment to equity is embedded in our mission and organizational practices, ensuring that African artists, youth, and families have meaningful opportunities to share their cultural heritage and co-create welcoming and inclusive spaces for the broader community. Our DE&I approach has been developed through ongoing community engagement with African groups, educators, and partner organizations. Community listening sessions, participant feedback, and collaboration with cultural leaders have shaped the growth of Marafiki Center and its programs. This approach extends to awareness of the broader community, outside the African community, to ensure that all programming remains inclusive of ALL people to further our mission of building mutual understanding through cross-cultural connections.

Marafiki Center routinely partners with community and civic organizations, academic institutions, local businesses, and government agencies to expand access to cultural arts and strengthen community connections. Our annual Swahili Day festival has received sponsorship and support from GlobalLex, VisitLEX, and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) over the past three years, along with corporate donations and in-kind support. We also collaborate closely with African community groups and tribal organizations, whose representatives participate in the Swahili Day planning committee and help ensure programming reflects the diversity and cultural traditions of Lexington’s African communities.

Our partnerships with academic and community institutions also create opportunities to bring African cultural arts into educational settings and connect artists with new audiences. Through these collaborations, we expect to increase opportunities and visibility for African artists, expand access to culturally relevant arts education, strengthen relationships across communities, and contribute to Lexington’s cultural and economic vitality by attracting audiences, supporting local artists and vendors, and creating opportunities for African-owned businesses to participate in the local arts economy.

This proposed program will increase representation of African arts and culture in Lexington by creating paid opportunities for African artists to develop, exhibit, and perform their work for diverse audiences and create opportunities for cross-cultural connection and belonging through a free, community-wide festival that brings African and broader Lexington communities together through music, dance, visual arts, food, fashion, and cultural traditions. It will expand public access to African cultural experiences by supporting the production, logistics, and accessibility of a large-scale cultural event that introduces audiences to authentic African artistic expressions. Strengthen youth cultural identity and representation by providing young people with opportunities to develop artistic skills, learn from African artists, and share their cultural traditions with the broader community.

Marafiki Center will evaluate the program through a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures. We will track artist participation, attendance, and audience reach at performances, classes, and public cultural events. A key measure of artist support will be whether African refugee and immigrant artists gain increased access to arts opportunities by participating in or attending performances with fewer financial, cultural, and logistical barriers.

Swahili Day will be considered successful when public attendance is maintained or increases year over year, measured through cell phone data and event participation counts. We will also document artist engagement, youth participation, and community reach. Throughout the year, staff will capture cross-cultural moments, participant feedback, testimonials, and stories of impact that demonstrate how the program builds cultural understanding, representation, and belonging. These findings will be reviewed throughout the program to assess progress, identify barriers, and inform future programming.