Pan African Arts Scotland (PAAS) was set up as a Charity on the 18th of July 1989 to provide an African arts and cultural input to Glasgow's European City Of Culture celebrations in 1990 and registered as a company limited by guarantee on the 17th of October 1990.

At that time the focus was on bringing excellent acts from Africa and the Caribbean to Scotland. Today, as a result of an increase in the population of people of African and Caribbean origins in Scotland, the emphasis is on working with local artistes to promote artistic excellence and local, national and international cultural exchange and dialogue.

Since its founding in 1989, Pan African Arts Scotland has been a champion for access and participation and audience development among Scotland’s minority ethnic communities, especially people of the African and Black Diaspora. PAAS' most remarkable achievement to date was perhaps its highly visible role during Glasgow’s time as European City of Culture in 1990 and more recently in 2008 when we won the Scottish Black and Minority Ethnic Achievement Award for Arts and Culture, for contributing most notably to the development of arts and culture in Scotland.

Over the years, PAAS has run a range of programmes including workshops, performance events, art exhibitions and skills development training at various levels and in diverse settings. Most of these activities were aimed specifically at developing audiences from diverse backgrounds and showcasing upcoming and new talents. Overall, we are committed to the promotion of participation by Black and other ethnic minority communities in Scotland’s mainstream creative industries.

We continue to work with various partners including learning institutions and communities across Scotland. PAAS sees an opportunity in these partnerships and networks to promote social integration and cultural exchange and dialogue at the same time as it promotes artistic expressions from Africa and the wider Black world.

We have recorded positive outcomes from our work, especially with the young people we work with, most of whom have proceeded to enter into higher and further education as well as pursue promising careers in the creative industries. From our workshop programmes, some have gone on to receive prestigious nominations like the Star Learner Award through Learn Direct. Others have entered and excelled in popular UK talent shows like the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Emeli Sande who is one of the artistes we featured on our Freedom DVD project has since excelled as a singer and song writer, received a MOBO Award nomination and is now signed by EMI and Virgin Records.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow provides a new strategic context for both the current and future activities of PAAS. We believe that the 2014 games will bring with it an immense opportunity to add to the already vibrant cultural atmosphere in order to welcome and make the many African and Caribbean participants and visitors to the game feel at home in Glasgow. This also creates possibilities for audience development and also for creating a lasting template for access and participation among Glasgow’s minority ethnic communities.