28 February 2022
Victoria Lewis
Founder & Director of Sanaa: A Better World Through Creativity
Digital Marketing at the Birthing Kit Foundation
Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies)
A documentary exploring the positive power of art took Victoria Lewis to a number of East African communities in 2015 – from Nairobi in Kenya, over the border through the Kilimanjaro region to Moshi and eventually, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Here she was lucky enough to become immersed in the vibrant art scene – brimming with colour, history and talented artists – meeting with all types of creatives from painters, political street artists, ballet dancers and fashion designers.
Blown away in particular by five artists painting an enormous mural in Nairobi, Victoria knew more people deserved to experience the impact of their art. She kept in contact with the artists hoping to one day bring them to Australia to exhibit and encourage greater social cohesion through such creative expression.
A year later the artists made their way to Adelaide with the support of University of South Australia’s Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre. Sanaa: A Better World Through Creativity was then born with a mission to provide visibility to artists from migrant backgrounds and diverse cultural expression to the Australian community.
While in the city, the team staged an exhibition, the painting of a number of street murals, put on a thrilling street festival, and facilitated excursions into schools for workshops. The event proved such a success, that Sanaa even won the coveted 2017 Adelaide Fringe Award.
Since then, Sanaa has gone from strength to strength and Victoria along with a team of volunteers, lead the not-for-profit multidisciplinary cultural arts collective by delivering firsthand experiences from migrant and ATSI artists to the community. The ultimate aim is to facilitate and celebrate the power of art and its capacity to bridge cultural gaps within Australia.
Sanaa has continued to host a range of art programs within the community, including street art, music, performance, workshops, storytelling, festivals, exhibitions, and fashion shows, focussing their creative efforts on artists from countries that have faced political instability and use art as a form of social change.
Victoria cites The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, and Executive Director & Events and Exhibitions Producer Jacinta Thompson, as paramount in the growth and success of Sanaa, as the team was one of the first organisations she approached for sponsorships.
“At that stage, the artists I had met in Nairobi were doing some large political works and that's how they had come to the public’s attention. In Kenya that was quite a courageous thing to do at the time.” Victoria says.
The Sanaa Street parties are a hallmark of the festival each year. Source.
“As they had come to have bit of a profile through that, I approached Jacinta and said, ‘I have met these amazing artists and I want to bring them back to Australia; would the Hawke Centre be interested in coming on board as a sponsor?’”
“They really took a big risk in coming on to support us, and without those risks taken in that first year, we wouldn't be where we were today,” she says. “I definitely did not imagine that Sanaa would have grown into what it has, or that we would still be going today. It's been quite an incredible journey.”
Five years and a pandemic on, the small but passionate team led by Victoria have put on an exhibition and street party and associated events each year to great fanfare and celebration. A remarkable achievement considering Sanaa has been Victoria’s “side hustle” since the first festival.
After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Victoria fell into event management through voluntary work that eventually led to more permanent roles, cutting her teeth in the industry with the Port Adelaide Football Club, Botanic Gardens of South Australia, Covent Garden Market Authority, Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival of Arts, and the SA Government’s Department for Innovation and Skills.
Sanaa was the accumulation of Victoria’s talents and experience in events, marketing and communications, and media – and most importantly her passion for promoting creativity and acceptance through art – melded into one project.
The time she dedicates to developing and growing Sanaa involves everything from grant writing to securing sponsors, liaising with artists, finance and budget management – everything to keep the operation running smoothly.
As a result, the pandemic has actually been an opportunity for Victoria to slow down from balancing all these different roles. It has allowed her to delegate and focus on the 2022 Sanaa Exhibition as well which will be on display at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre’s Kerry Packer Civic Gallery until Thursday, 14 April 2022.
“I do work with a small team of volunteers, so different members of mostly the African Australian Community who come in at different times, contributing to the vision, helping with logistics or the delivery. We are a small team, but a passionate team,” Victoria says.
“COVID-19 has also meant that the 2022 Sanaa Festival and Exhibition actually has more local Australian artists this time around. While it still features five international artists, we have a number of local artists based in Adelaide that are of Iranian, Brazilian, Colombian, and African backgrounds for example. The networks I have been building over years.”
This year’s exhibition features a wide range of incredible artists such as Ruhi Yaganagi (right), Kuki Wangui, Faraja Umutoni and Maisa Ortola, and even some UniSA students and graduates. Source.
“I think having more local Australian-based artists involved this year than what we have previously has actually been really important. There are a lot of young artists in the community here who will really benefit and need the platform.”
“This year’s exhibition features an array of artists that are emerging, right up to more established work from Solomon Omogboye, a Nigerian and South African-based artist doing incredibly well internationally, so we've got an incredible mix.
“Placing these emerging artists alongside his celebrated work is a really great growth opportunity for a lot of these younger artists too.”
The Sanaa Festival is coming to Adelaide Saturday, 19 March 2022 and you can see the Sanaa Exhibition at The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre's Kerry Packer Civic Gallery until 14 April 2022.
Sanaa Festival 2022
Sanaa Festival returns to the streets of Adelaide in 2022, Saturday 19 March in Light Square. Headlined by proud First Nations duo Marlon X Rulla who will bring their unique mix of soul and hip hop to the stage alongside a host of musicians including soul singer Elsy Wameyo, Cuban trumpeter Lazaro Numa, Ghanian reggae singer Manadi Lopa, hip hop activist DyspOra and Melbourne based Amaru Tribe, who will perform traditional music from Latin America combined with new contemporary sounds.
As well as the incredible music talent, the food offerings will be plentiful as well as a host of markets showcasing globally inspired fashion, arts and crafts. Saana prides itself on the family-friendly aspect of the festival and encourages families to come along and bring their kids to immerse themselves in this wonderful celebration of culture. More Information here.
