"Inclusion isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about creating a space where people feel safe enough to stay." - JC Candanedo Artist, activist, and humanist JC Candanedo shares his journey from a Catholic school in Panama to the art studios of London. His work weaves together identity, displacement, and community action, exploring how creativity can challenge injustice and build inclusive, compassionate societies. In this episode, JC reflects on growing up atheist in a deeply religious cult...

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Guest Profile

"Inclusion isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about creating a space where people feel safe enough to stay." - JC Candanedo

Artist, activist, and humanist JC Candanedo shares his journey from a Catholic school in Panama to the art studios of London. His work weaves together identity, displacement, and community action, exploring how creativity can challenge injustice and build inclusive, compassionate societies.

In this epsiode, JC reflects on growing up atheist in a deeply religious culture, navigating migration and marginalisation, and why the arts are one of the most powerful tools we have for social transformation. JC shares the challenges of creating welcoming spaces within the humanist community, and how diversity and solidarity must be more than just aspirations—they must be action.

Key Topics Covered

How JC’s atheist upbringing in Catholic Panama shaped his identity and activism
Art as language: using creativity to open space for difficult but vital conversations
Why Latin American and Arab/North African diasporas are "invisibilized" in UK systems
The work of the Noria Collective in building solidarity among Global Majority communities
How JC discovered humanism later in life—and how it changed his view of religion
Practical advice for humanist groups on inclusion, outreach, and community care

Follow JC

🔗 JC’s Work: jccandanedo.com
🔗 Noria Collective: wearenoria.com / 📷 @we.are.noria
🔗 Axis: axisweb.org
📣 Campaign: banconversiontherapy.com
📷 Instagram: @jccandanedo
💼 LinkedIn: jccandanedo

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JC Candanedo

Multidisciplinary Artist & Photographer | Co-Founder, Noria Collective

JC Candanedo is a queer, Catalan-Panamanian multidisciplinary artist and photographer based in London. He uses photography, mixed media and performance to start conversations around identity, migration and displacement, asking how the arts can be used to promote social transformation.

He is Co-Founder of Noria Collective, a network of socially engaged artists who use the arts to create inclusive spaces and solidarity for people from the Global Majority, with a focus on the Latin American and North African/Arab diasporas. JC is also Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Axis, a national charity dedicated to supporting contemporary artists and making the arts more accessible and engaging for all, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

36. JC Candanedo on Art as Activism for Solidarity, Identity and Representation