Opus 1 Foundation

Accueil
France
Paris, Île-de-France
Opus 1 Foundation

Itinéraire Site Web Contacter l’organisation

Founded in 2016, the Opus 1 Foundation believes in the power of the arts to combat the global issues

Formed by an international team of performing artists, the OPUS 1 FOUNDATION believes in the power of the arts to inspire individuals, change communities, and combat current issues around the globe. In February 2016, we traveled to Kenya to foster greater awareness on the benefits of arts education - particularly for youth living in districts of extreme poverty. Witnessing how music, dance and theater were affording these young men & women opportunities to expand their horizons and the ripple effect it had within their community, they were moved to build an organization where artists would become architects of change. Since then, the O1 Team has been challenging itself to answer questions beginning with: how can the arts...?

- How can the arts create opportunities for children & young adults to reach their full potential?

- How can the arts help to eradicate poverty, hunger, disease, and social inequalities?

- How can the arts unite people of different nations, creeds, orientations and backgrounds to promote a stronger global community? As a Foundation, we align ourselves, our strategies and resources in finding solutions to these challenges worldwide in cooperation with our artist ambassadors, national governments, international development agencies, private companies, and academic & cultural institutions, as well as other nonprofits and philanthropies. At Opus 1, we don't say "the arts can change the world" ... and that's because we know they will.

15/10/2026

Derek Richard Thomas and Lizzie Loch, Co-Founders of the Alchemy Pot Initiative, came to the same idea from different directions. Derek spent years learning how soil is made. Lizzie spent years learning how people let go of what no longer serves them. Somewhere between their inner and outer work, they realized they held a common belief: that the literal and metaphoric soil — not the seed — is what needs to be tended to in order to transform both people and the planet.

Together they created an integrated well-being and environmental stewardship program, educating kids and communities alike, on how the same process of caring for our internal environment transforms the external one too. They are now on a mission to pilot the program across 20 schools with more than 1,500 students, with a documentary being filmed alongside it.

This is a conversation about what happens when regeneration stops being a science lesson but a practice creating healthier, more harmonious ecosystems for generations to come.

13/10/2026

Mark your calendars: November 1.

Goods for Good, via the Opus 1 Foundation online shop, opens with its first product drop, featuring pieces from Opus 1 alongside our affiliate artists and artisans.

Every purchase does double duty. You get something made with care, and all net proceeds go toward empowering people who support their communities and protecting our planet.

Turn on post notifications and check the link in bio on 11.1 to shop the drop.

07/10/2026

Artist Abed Al Kadiri (Abed Al Kadiri) in his practice and his life has sought to translate traumatic experiences into a force for collective action and solidarity.

Opus 1 is proud to sponsor the latest iteration of his project, Today I Would Like to Be A Tree (Today I Would Like to Be a Tree), which combines artistic practice, storytelling, collective participation, and public engagement to support emotional expression and social connection among children living in crisis conditions.

Designed as a mobile and adaptable intervention, the project can operate across schools, shelters, and underserved regions with minimal infrastructure. Through participatory art workshops and collaborative creative processes, children are encouraged to reconnect with their imagination and engage in collective experiences that reinforce belonging and agency.

🎧 Hear Abed discuss the project and the ideas behind his work on our podcast, The Art of Impact. Listen now via the link in profile.

🌳 Learn more about Today I Would Like to Be A Tree and support it on the Opus 1 Foundation website. All contributions are US tax deductible.

🎥 Video footage: Paraluman News

05/10/2026

Goods for Good: A Market for Changemakers Transforming Their Communities

Opus 1 Foundation is inviting artists, artisans, and the collectives and studios they work with to join the affiliate program for our Goods for Good shop, launching November 1.

The shop brings handmade work to international buyers, with every piece credited to its maker by name. Opus 1 takes no commission, so income stays with the people who made the work and the communities they sustain.

Affiliates gain visibility through our shop, podcast, and networks, along with support in reaching buyers in the US and beyond.

Whether you work independently or as part of a group, we would like to hear from you, learn about your work, and understand how you are using your talents to transform and empower your community.

Contact Justin McHolm, Global Partnerships Director, at [email protected].

28/09/2026

Artist Joan Otieno finds her light mentoring the next generation of female leaders in the arts, teaching them how to use upcycled materials from the Dandora Dumpsite to create 3D artwork, clothing and accessories.

She founded Warembo Wasanii Art Studio in Korogocho as a safe space for women to gather, share stories, learn skills and pursue new ventures as creative entrepreneurs.

Follow Joan and Warembo Wasanii to learn more about how she is creating an impact within her community and how you can acquire an original work of art from the studio.

27/09/2026

Our values are relative — not fixed.

Jan Stassen, Co-founder of the Museum of Values, makes the case for sharing stories that shape our understanding of a certain value with one another. In a group setting, this unlocks a collective understanding of what a value like “respect” looks like and feels like as a community.

🔍 Learn more about the Museum of Values at museumwerte.de

🎧 Full podcast episode now streaming on Spotify, YouTube and our website

22/09/2026

Encounters begin with you.

On this episode of The Art of Impact, we sat down with Jan Stassen, co-founder of the Museum für Werte (Museum of Values), to talk about their Value Action Cards.

“It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than it is to think your way into a new way of acting.”

The cards are a daily intervention, a simple prompt to connect with a value like trust, intention, or mindfulness, wherever you are. No winning, no scoring. Just a chance to notice how people and your environment respond when you act from a place of intention.

👉Grab a set at wertemuseum.de

🔊Full episode streaming now on Spotify and YouTube.
Link in bio: opus1foundation.org/the-art-of-impact

20/09/2026

Jan Stassen has spent over a decade at the intersection of advertising and civic life, building a museum out of a single conviction: that values, not slogans, are what move people to act on what they believe.

Founder and Wertekurator of the Museum of Values () in Berlin, Jan has taken his exhibitions from a small pop-up in Neukölln to Burning Man, and more recently into interactive installations like COLORFEEL that probe the boundary between inner experience and shared space.

In this clip, Jan makes the case that there is no one universal value shared by all people. Instead, values function as a meaning-making machine: we discover who we are through the particular, unrepeatable perspective each of us brings, and it’s in sharing that plurality of perspectives that a society learns what it means to live in this world together.

🔊 Listen to the full episode on opus1foundation.org/the-art-of-impact, YouTube, and Spotify.

🔍Learn more about the Museum für Werte at museumfuerwerte.

19/09/2026

Millions of children in Pakistan are out of school. Music gives them a reason to show up, a way to learn, and a path to opportunity.

You can help with an in-kind instrument donation. Keyboards, guitars, recorders, percussion and more can go directly into the hands of students.

How it works:

1. Email [email protected] with photos, make and model, condition, estimated value, and your location.

2. We review the instrument and confirm acceptance.

3. We send delivery instructions and coordinate shipping where needed.

4. Once received, we provide written acknowledgment for your records.

Donors are responsible for determining the deductible value of their gift. Keep your acknowledgment, valuation documentation, and shipping receipts with your tax records.

Have an instrument sitting unused? Send us a note today.

15/09/2026

Jeremy Onyango finds his light with the people and in the community he photographs.

Living in Kibera, Jeremy documents the lived experience of local members of the community, representing himself and his neighbors on camera authentically. He says, “For a very long time, the stories of marginalized communities have been told through an outsider’s lens. I care about sharing stories of communities like mine through the experiences that I have lived in a much more dignified and humane way.”

Through his work, Jeremy has come to see something deeper than the differences that usually get photographed. He says, “What I’ve learned is that we all carry lived experiences that are unique to us, but also shared. When you approach people with real understanding, those experiences are what connect us, not what separate us.”

That understanding is where Jeremy finds his light: in his camera, in his neighbors, and in the stories that remind us how much we have in common.

Follow Jeremy’s work: Jeremy Onyango

Film Credits: Jeremy Onyango

Adresse

13 Avenue Du Président Wilson
Paris
75116

Site Web

http://www.opus1foundation.org/

Notifications

Soyez le premier à savoir et laissez-nous vous envoyer un courriel lorsque Opus 1 Foundation publie des nouvelles et des promotions. Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas utilisée à d'autres fins, et vous pouvez vous désabonner à tout moment.