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Photo by: Cris Dopher The arts represent the most imaginative and creative form of expression, integral to the civilizational progress of communities worldwide. In Uganda, an East African country where I originate, the arts are embodied and lived through music, dance, theatre, poetry, storytelling, folktales, and other forms of artistic engagement. The cultural, historical, social, and political meanings are etched in the art forms of the people. The arts are evolutionary and revolutionary, depicting the changes and continuities, and instigating shifts in the lived experiences of communities.  The arts have demonstrated their value in fostering community transformation across histories and territories. In Africa, the role of the arts has evolved in tandem with sociocultural, political, and economic changes in communities. The arts have offered platforms to sensitize communities around ever-emerging challenges, such as disease, climate change, conflicts, forced migration, gender-based violence, poverty, and cultural differences, among others. The functions of the arts have transcended stage performances and entertainment. Communities have deployed their creative and artistic potential to explore local solutions to prevailing problems. Within international development discourse on Africa, there is talk about ‘Africa finding local solutions to African problems’. Arts-oriented interventions that communities have applied and sustained offer a rubric on how communities in Africa can develop and implement sustainable and cost-effective solutions to local challenges.  The migratory and borderless natures of the creative arts, and their distinctiveness as a universal language, position them strategically to mediate differences, heal broken communities, quell tensions, and pluralize perspectives. The transnational and transcultural nature of the creative arts is evident in how they are constituted by cross-pollination of diverse cultural traditions, stories, and orthodoxies. The art forms are reinvented and reimagined at the intersection of other existing artistic practices. The aspect of embodiment that gives the arts their true meaning and essence centers people, as bearers of practices, meanings, and knowledge.  The global flow of art forms stems from local innovations. The being of the global dimension of the creative arts is rooted in their local value. Art proliferates by diffusion. The notion of art being born of people’s imaginaries enables its adaptation, assimilation, transcendence, and permeation across localities and contexts. Across Africa, the Black Diaspora, and global indigeneity, the commonalities between the arts demonstrate their universal reach, underscoring histories of migration, cultural connections, and intercultural interfaces.  Scholarship, practice, and research are media through which the arts have found expressions in transboundary contexts. In the realm of scholarship, collaborative research in the creative arts has increased, generating rich and diverse knowledge that has improved the human condition. The mobility of scholars and researchers between cultures and nationalities has augmented the exchange of expertise and circulation of artistic and cultural ideas and practices.  My current tenure as an African Futures Fellow at Michigan State University under the auspices of the Alliance for African Fellowship (AAP) is testimony to how the creative arts and artists can support global partnerships through scholarship and research. As a dance studies scholar at Makerere University in Uganda, East Africa, the program has supported me to connect with scholars at MSU and the US; co-write articles for publications; present at conferences; collaborate on artistic works with communities; and partner with researchers on ideation, incubation, writing, and submission of research grant ideas. Such engagements have facilitated the convergence of ideas, cultures, and people. My story represents a myriad of scholars who are leveraging the scholarly prowess of the creative arts to dissolve boundaries and dismantle barriers.  The arts have accelerated global partnerships through joint performances and collaborative creative processes. Worldwide, concerts, festivals, competitions, showcases, and productions have facilitated exchanges between artists, communities, artistic works, and audiences, and have supported the mobilization of resources through fundraising to care for those in need. The arts have been the heartbeat of globalization. Through exposure to different artistic forms, communities have peeked into cultures beyond their own. The creative arts carry a unique ability to communicate across generations, demographics, cultures, and geographies. Communities across the globe have united through the creative arts to draw attention to and amplify the voices of the oppressed.  The emergence of innovative technologies and platforms has empowered creatives worldwide to access wider audiences and listenership. Technology has democratized access and consumption of creative artworks globally. For Africa, the innovative platforms have enabled people to tell their own stories and confront stereotypical views through artistic and cultural products. Global business collaborations have emerged, resulting from the potential for the creative arts to circulate as commercially valuable products.  The creative arts possess inherent power to unite people across divides. As the world confronts challenges of conflicts, climate change, food insecurity, natural disasters, disease, social injustices, forced labour, and human trafficking, among others, the arts will continue to take center stage as strategic tools through which global communities can partner to find solutions to these problems. The creative arts have always been the heart that gives and receives.