Future Global Leaders with Manchester International Festival

We’re working with Factory International, the exciting new arts venue behind Manchester International Festival, to establish a creative development programme for future global leaders. 14 talented producers from around the world are taking part and attending the opening weekend of the festival, beginning on 29 June.

The group are being treated to an exciting programme of new arts commissions and will have the opportunity to network with over 100 UK and international arts producers and leaders. They will also be mentored by established arts leaders. We’re supporting the producers to forge new connections, exchange ideas and develop their own professional practice.

Meet the Delegates

Andrés Buhar, Argentina

Andrés Buhar is both a musician and a businessman. He studied piano from the age of eight and in 2010 he obtained the Patagonia Cultural Foundation Award for Composition. In his business life he is CEO of Marby and Mitre Construcciones. His interest in visual arts has led to joining the MALBA Board and he is founder and president of Arthaus Central, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art.

Chico Dub, Brazil

Chico Dub is a curator and artistic director working in the fields of experimental music and sound art living in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. He is the curator and general director of international advanced music festival Novas Frequências, which has taken place in Rio since 2011. He has curated for dozens of festivals, residencies and art shows.

Yasmeen Fahim, Egypt

Yasmeen Fahim is the Executive Manager of Orient Productions in Egypt, the company which produces the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) as well as managing many other projects and spaces in and around the performing arts. Her approach is always community and audience-focused and her passion lies in the transformative power of the arts and culture.

Wendy Ng, Hong Kong

Wendy Ng specialises in project management, publicity and strategic development in the art and cultural non-profit sector and works at K11 Art Foundation. Art is her passion and she aims to foster the development of Chinese contemporary art through public programmes. She has worked on projects that include the Design Trust Gala 2019 and Jockey Club New Arts Power, a large-scale art festival in Hong Kong.

Ika Yuliana, Indonesia

Ika Yuliana is an Indonesian cultural producer, documentary filmmaker, singer, radio announcer and community researcher. Based between Bali and Jakarta, she has participated in prestigious art events such as Documenta Fifteen in Kassel, Germany and the Toronto Biennial of Arts 2022. She was an alumnus of the International Art Leaders of Australia Council for the Arts 2021 and Eagle Documentary Awards Winner 2017.

Junya Yamamine, Japan

After working as a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and Contemporary Art Centre, Art Tower Mito, Junya established and directed ANB Tokyo. He later established NYAW Inc. to plan and consult on culture and art-related projects. He also supervises art programmes and special features for magazines and television and he has written, lectured and served on numerous award panels.

Suraj Mandavia, Kenya

Suraj Mandavia is a Kenyan born DJ, music producer and sound engineer who creates contemporary electronic music infused with traditional African cultural and musical elements. After making his debut in Nairobi, SURAJ (KE) has emerged as a dynamic and trailblazing DJ and music producer in East Africa. Since then, he has set his sights on becoming a beacon in Africa’s burgeoning electronic music scene.

Wambui Gathee, Kenya

Wambui Gathee is a Kenyan director, producer, film curator and freelance photographer. She is currently Screenings Manager at Docubox where she has curated and programmed documentaries for regular monthly screenings and short fiction films for an exciting quarterly film screening event. The short film she directed, Love Zawadi, won three awards, and she also has worked on other films as a producer. Wambui is involved in impact work through the Sema Stori campaign, funded by Comic Relief, as the Regional Impact Producer for ten short documentary films.

Mohamad Tannir, Lebanon

Mohamad Tannir has more than 14 years of professional experience working with international organisations including Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al Thaqafy) – a regional, non-profit organisation based in Beirut, Lebanon that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchange within the region and beyond. In 2021, he co-founded Rumman, a music venue that aims to support and promote the alternative music and cultural scene in Tripoli and North Lebanon. Mohamad has a passion for music and been an underground DJ since 2016 under the name of Mo_shka.

Debbie Romeo, Nigeria

Debbie Romeo is co-founder of TASCK Creative Company, a director of record label Incredible Music and co-founder of fashion accessory brand Furie. Her entertainment experience spans event curation, project management, content creation, storytelling, music direction and live performance curation. She has also worked as a radio show host, an event host, a live music performer and an A&R consultant for Chocolate City Music and Universal Music, Nigeria.

Sophia Balagamwala, Pakistan

Sophia Balagamwala is a multidisciplinary artist and curator based in Karachi. Grounded in archives and museum collections, her practice looks at entanglements between colonial histories, national narratives and personal histories in South Asia. Balagamwala has previously worked as the Lead Curator of the National History Museum in Lahore and as the Director of Exhibitions and Programs at the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP). She has been a part of several solo and group exhibitions in Pakistan and internationally.

Tumy Motsoatsoe, South Africa

Boitumelo Tumy Motsoatsoe is a dynamic facilitator, international speaker and consultant with a strong background in cultural policy, leadership and arts management. As the founder and Managing Director of Ayama Creatives and former Head of Programmes at Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA) she has been at the forefront of developing and implementing impactful initiatives that promote inclusion, equity, access and diversity, particularly for women, mothers and youth in the arts and cultural space.

Ulya Soley, Turkey

Ulya Soley works at Pera Museum, Istanbul, as a curator and publications editor. She has written for various art books and magazines – her writing has appeared in publications such as Art agenda, Texte zur Kunst, Sanat Dünyamız, Argonotlar, Art unlimited, Manifold, calling mag, The Believer Logger, K24 and borderless.

Aziza Pulatova, Uzbekistan

Aziza Pulatova is a multi-disciplinary producer and artist. She is a co-producer and co-founder of the first independent multidisciplinary festival in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) MOC FEST and is also the founder and producer of Hendrix Films video production, which produces both commercial and creative projects. As an artist she creates multi-media art installations.

• Read more about the delegates