Connecting the Dots: Fair Arts Practice in Contexts
IETM’s publication, commissioned by IETM and written by Kai Brennert and Phoo Myat Thwe from edgeandstory, explores what ‘fair practice’ really looks like in the lived realities of artists and cultural workers across diverse global contexts.
Moving beyond policies and checklists, the research investigates how fairness is negotiated day to day within collectives, grassroots spaces, festivals and independent arts organisations in a number of countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea.
Through case studies, interviews and participatory reflection, the research asks: How do cultural actors define and practise fairness in their own contexts? What challenges do they overcome to sustain it? And what impact do these practices have on their communities? Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all model, the findings reveal fairness as a fluid, relational and often fragile process – rooted in trust, care, resilience and constant adaptation.
This publication serves as a learning tool and an invitation: to rethink success, to centre relationships and to continue practising fairness together.