he Syria Cultural Index (SCI) is an online platform that aims to map and connect the Syrian artistic community in order to support, empower and connect Syrian cultural practitioners scattered around the world. We aim not only to showcase their artistic work to a wider audience, but also to create an easily approachable system filled with opportunities for Syrian artists to increase their equitable participation in the global art world.

SCI connects artists, cultural producers and institutions, encouraging sustainable collaborations and creative exchanges between them. It also provides its users with valuable information - ranging from current events, open calls, workshops and exhibitions to funding opportunities that will allow interaction, networking and general empowerment.

The project is currently under development, it will go live in autumn 2021.

Full narrative

If you want to know more about the Syria Cultural Index web platform, please have a look at our detailed narrative.

Coming Soon

Selected features and functions

Rather than a detailed description the following list is an insight into a selection of features and by no means set or exhaustive.

Information and database access

All involved parties (artists, art professionals and cultural institutions) will have their own profile page, which allows them to display their CV, work and personalized content. The profile information is added to a central database, that can be accessed by users for different purposes through an easy, user-friendly search function.

Community building

The platform serves as a network that helps to create a much-needed community of Syrian artists in exile. On the other hand, it provides analysis and mapping of Syria’s dispersed cultural scene and thus allows everybody interested to find this information online. Furthermore, it facilitates the design of future programmes targeting the real needs of the Syrian cultural community.

Career support

The platform will provide information about job offers and training opportunities, and help its users to further develop their professional growth, e.g. by hosting a programme that uses profile data to generate a professional biography and CV.

Event guide

The platform will contain a list of Syrian events around the world; including information about cultural festivals, concerts, exhibitions and more.

Curated exhibitions

Platform members can collect artworks and put them into their very own curations. These personal exhibitions together create a collective showroom, growing and changing over time. Curations section will contain features of liking and sharing their content and thus elevating the visibility of the artworks within the whole platform.

In addition, professional curators will be selected by coculture to put together group exhibitions with art works from the platform and based on pre-defined criteria; these exhibitions will be showed on- and offline.