Since 2005, ASTEP has brought arts education and empowerment programming to Africa, specifically South Africa through past partners Ubuntu Education Fund (Port Elizabeth) and Refilwe Community Center (Johannesburg). While ASTEP will always keep close connections to the relationships we formed in South Africa, ASTEP is currently in the research and development phase of several new pilot programs in other regions of Africa. We hope to launch these new pilots this summer (2012) and are excited to share more about these opportunities soon.
artsINSIDEOUT
ASTEP has been helping lead a project called artsINSIDEOUT, which is made up of a unique group of students and working professionals in the performing arts who have been personally affected by HIV/AIDS. Their goal is to travel to areas of the globe that have been hard hit by the AIDS epidemic and to connect with young people who have been similarly impacted by the epidemic.
In July 2011 and July 2012, ASTEP and artsINSIDEOUT traveled to Nkosi’s Haven in Johannesburg, which was founded by Gail Johnson in memory of her son who, at the time of his death in 2001, was the international face of AIDS in Africa. Nkosi’s Haven offers holistic care and support for destitute mothers living with HIV/AIDS and their children, including orphans (infected or not).
