Art Moves Africa – Retracing Roots and Tracing New Routes: Mobility and Touring in North Africa

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Summary of Outcomes
i) Economic considerations: there is a sense that artists’
fees will be lower in Africa than Europe, if not nonexistent.
(On the other hand, many artists reported
that they would gladly play or perform for free if it
meant they got the chance to travel to another African
region).
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4.
DIFFICULTY IDENTIFYING WITH AFRICAN
IDENTITY / DISCRIMINATION
—
QUOTE:
« North African artists often want to be connected with
Europe more than Africa. Many Egyptian artists will prefer
to have a screening in a small city in Europe than in an
African capital. »
Mohamed Ghazala
Professor, Vice President of the International Association
of Animation filmmakers (ASIFA),
Cairo / Jeddah
—
—
While most artists interviewed expressed strong motivation
to travel to other parts of Africa, many described an overall
climate of unease surrounding identification to Africa as a
possible factor explaining low mobility within the continent.
This difficulty can be described as a spectrum ranging from
uncertain identification to ambient racism (present in all
countries covered by the study). This climate nourishes
misconceptions with respect to travel in Africa and/or
motivates preference for travel to the West.
It should also be noted that some respondents noted a
sense of discrimination on the part of colleagues from West,
East, South or Central Africa. They said this discrimination
was expressed in several forms, including exclusion from
pan-African events; lack of overtures and invitations; and
explicit attributions of difference (e.g., “You’re not like us”).
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5.
NETWORKS AND ACCESS
TO INFORMATION
—
Unless they have made a dedicated or
concerted effort to seek out opportunities in
the region or in other African regions, artists
and cultural operators tend to be unaware of
existing events, networks, residencies, etc.
Aggravating factors:
a) There is a lack of active and up-to-date
databases and platforms gathering and
disseminating information about opportunities
in Africa, including about funding.
b) Existing platforms (e.g., Culture Funding
Watch, Music in Africa, On the Move) are
not necessarily well-known.
c) There is a lack of opportunities for inperson
contact and networking.
d) Lack of professionalization means that
artists often do not have the intuition,
education or confidence to seek out
opportunities.
e) There are not enough professional cultural
operators who can assist artists with
research, connect them with information,
etc. There are also not enough training
opportunities for such operators.