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

7
Key Messages
KEY
MES —
SAGES
1.
The mobility of artists and cultural operators is a right, not a privilege.
2.
Desire for mobility is very strong amongst artists and cultural
practitioners, in North-South, East-West and South-South directions.
a) North-South mobility remains important, namely for training
and opportunities to connect with a greater diversity of
interlocutors.
b) East-West and South-South mobility are important axes
to develop in the interest of exploring shared histories,
nurturing creative synergies and developing solidarity.
3.
There is an urgent need to work at the level of the imagination, desire
and dreaming – to nurture existing desire for South-South exchange
and to create it where it does not yet exist.
a) Promote networking amongst African cultural actors: meetings,
go-and-see tours, residencies, etc.
b) Promote information-sharing: online platforms, information
hubs, key people and ambassadors.
4.
Mobility can only improve if political and administrative barriers are
addressed and lifted.
a) There is an urgent need for mobilization amongst cultural actors
in Africa, Europe and internationally to document and
denounce increasingly restrictive visa policies, especially from
the Schengen space.
b) Advocate for greater understanding of the stakes and importance
of artistic mobility.
5.
Mobility is not simply about quantitative factors but about the quality
of the experience at the creative and human levels.
a) The human and creative dimensions of the mobility experience
must be central in initiatives geared at promoting arts mobility.