Melanie Yugo, GCLP 2017
Melanie Yugo was a participant in the 2017 edition of the Global Cultural Leadership Programme.
Melanie Yugo is a Filipino-Canadian arts professional based in Ottawa, Canada. Working at the intersection of culture and citizen engagement, she co-founded and directs Possible Worlds, a socially-engaged art and music project space, gallery and publisher, and the multidisciplinary studio Spins & Needles, recognized for its participatory arts programming in non-traditional venues. In parallel, Melanie has spent her career working in social and cultural policy. Currently she is the Partnership and Networks Officer at Canada Council for the Arts specializing in intergovernmental relations. She has served as a youth advisor to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, and as a consultant on public programming for local and national cultural institutions. Melanie is a graduate of McGill University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and completed summer studies at the School of Visual Arts. She is also a practicing print artist.
“This was truly a wonderful experience. In one short week, the GCLP program expanded my thinking around concepts of “leadership”, helped me to discover what some of my peers are doing in different parts of the world, as well as broadened my understanding of different opportunities in the arts/culture/heritage sector. I appreciated being surrounded by peers who took a social/political/community/entrepreneurial lens to their work in the arts, culture and heritage fields (“we are not alone!”). My confidence in my work has grown and I am excited to take on projects with an international lens. Thank you to all the facilitators and organizers for an amazing job on the content and the logistics!”
In order to introduce themselves and their organizations, the participants prepared a poster.