How Money Shapes Partnerships

The money for theatre and development projects in the global South can, more often than not, be traced to a source in the global North. Focussing particularly on work observed in Kenya, as well as wider research interviews, in this chapter I argue that the finance provided by partners in the global North enables certain individuals and organisations to dominate agendas and partnerships, thus perpetuating unequal relationships. Critical perspectives on the relationship between socially engaged arts practices and funding are numerous. However, more detailed explorations are required of the structures that enable funding to dominate partnerships between various institutions and individuals involved in projects and, consequently, how money shapes the work that happens on the ground with communities. I argue that where unequal relations are maintained between partners by funding structures there can be little hope of overcoming a colonizer/colonized dichotomy.