Bright murals and a bustling atmosphere welcomed Cristy when she entered Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A children’s dance workshop was underway on the stage. Playful installations made from recycled materials invited her inspection. Wandering inside, she met artists working in their studios and stumbled upon students honing their creative skills.

Cristy, a visual artist based in Washington, D.C., hadn’t planned to visit Nafasi. But when she found herself stranded in Dar es Salaam due to a string of canceled flights, she recognized the name in a Lonely Planet guide.

“On impulse, I decided to go pay a visit, and it happened that the stars aligned,” Cristy said.

Nafasi’s Executive Director, Rebecca Mzengi Corey, was there and ready to show her around.

Nafasi Art Space was built by artists for artists to offer young people opportunities to express themselves. After more than a decade, it has become a strong community.

“Often, artists working in different disciplines end up in silos,” Rebecca said, “And I found it truly incredible how Nafasi managed to create a shared space where creatives from different backgrounds could all come together and share perspectives, and even end up collaborating with one another to create original, groundbreaking works of self-expression.”

Read the full article about Tanzania's art scene by Merinda Valley at Global Giving.