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

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Country-Specific Information
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ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR
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The Tunisian cultural sector has been flourishing
since 2011, with the energy of revolution and
the loosening of laws allowing for a veritable
explosion of new forms to emerge, especially
in the areas of photography, dance, street art
and performance.
Tunisia has long boasted a strong tradition
of festivals, with more than 400 amateur,
semi-professional and professional festivals
taking place yearly around the country. The most
well-known are the different “Journées” taking
place in Carthage: the Journées cinématographiques
de Carthage, the Journées théâtrales,
the Journées musicales, the Journées chorégraphiques,
the Journées poétiques and the
Journées d’art contemporain. Even as these
established festivals thrive, new initiatives from
civil society are creating important momentum:
l’Art Rue’s Dream City has become a flagship
event in the region, and other events like Interférences,
Jaou (by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation)
and a new festival of photography on the island
of Kerkennah are also making an impact.
The arts sector in Tunisia is strongly
centralized in Tunis and the North, although
decentralization efforts are underway. Several
associations (Cité’Ness, Fanni Raghman Anni,
and the Tunisian Culture Network, among others)
as well as private individuals are working hard to
reach rural areas of the country, although they
underline the difficulty of such efforts given the
limited government support and cost of travels.
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MOBILITY TO / FROM TUNISIA
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Tunis has become a hub for regional travel due to
its political stability, its centrality in North Africa
and the relative openness of its borders. In North
Africa, the most active axis of exchange is with
Morocco. Strong ties also exist with Algeria,
namely thanks to the geographic proximity which
has allowed some artists to travel by car from
Alger to Tunis. However, respondents noted that
the repressive context in Algeria and the limited
visibility of certain disciplines (especially dance
and theatre) has made exchange more difficult.
Tunis is connected by air to most major
cities in North Africa. Road travel to Algeria is
possible, but traveling to Libya by road is not
advisable due to military presence at the border.
A train line is due to connect Casablanca, Algiers
and Tunis but the project is currently stalled.
Tunisia’s visa policy is the most open of
the region. However, exchange with the rest of
Africa remains weak (see Impediments below).
This is despite a strong desire for connection
with the rest of the continent. Until recently, travel
to most African destinations involved flying via
Paris. However, Tunisair has recently upgraded
its connections to West Africa. Flights to other
destinations in Africa typically go via Casablanca,
at steep costs.