AFAC is an independent regional institution dedicated to supporting contemporary cultural, artistic, and intellectual practices and establishing their presence locally, regionally, and internationally. Since its founding in 2006, AFAC has played a pivotal role in supporting generations of artists, writers, researchers, and practitioners in fields including the performing arts, visual arts, documentary filmmaking, documentary films, cinema, music, creative and critical writing, art criticism and arts research, as well as training programs and regional events. AFAC also provides spaces for dialogue, exchange, and experimentation, and contributes to building cross-border networks that connect cultural practitioners, institutions, and audiences, thereby strengthening the role of contemporary Arab culture as a realm of creativity, critical thinking, and public engagement.
 

AFAC was founded in response to a series of structural challenges facing cultural workers in the Arab world and among the Arab diaspora, foremost among which are restrictions on freedom of expression and independent artistic practice; successive political and economic crises that undermine the sustainability of cultural work and limit its ability to grow and develop; and the emigration of cultural workers due to wars and political restrictions. It also emerged in response to the lack of investment in culture as a public space for dialogue, critical thinking, and the production of knowledge, as well as the fragility of cultural infrastructure and institutions that support independent artistic and cultural production in many countries across the region.

AFAC recognizes that cultural workers face multiple challenges that extend beyond the boundaries of creative production itself, including limited sources of independent and sustainable funding; a lack of resources, spaces, and equipment necessary for production, presentation, and distribution; as well as significant disparities in access to support between urban centers and peripheral areas and across different local contexts. Furthermore, limited opportunities for collaboration and exchange among artists and cultural institutions, along with challenges related to archiving, preserving cultural memory, and making knowledge accessible, pose additional obstacles to the development and sustainability of the Arab cultural scene.

Based on this reality, AFAC seeks to provide diverse forms of support that enable individuals and institutions to continue and develop their work, and to strengthen opportunities for collaboration, exchange, independent production, networking, and maintaining connections with people and institutions outside the Arab world. It views culture as more than just a reflection of the surrounding political, social, and economic conditions; rather, it sees culture as a tool for understanding and questioning these conditions and for generating new knowledge about them, as well as a space for imagining more just and open alternatives. Through this commitment, AFAC works to contribute to building a more vibrant and sustainable contemporary cultural environment, capable of supporting creativity and critical thinking and preserving cultural diversity in the Arab world.