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

—
QUOTE:
« There’s a growing consciousness at the
local level: we don’t have much to do in the
North. There is so much to do here at home.
And the North is so saturated! I don’t see
myself going to work abroad permanently,
because what I have to do makes more sense
here. It’s the consciousness of my generation.
It’s what makes it so that people leave
and come back.»
Myriam Amroun
Cultural manager,
Algiers*
—
The lack of awareness of existing
opportunities and potential
partners was a recurring theme
in all interviews. Many artists
and operators expressed support
for this mapping exercise
and wished to know where others
could be found. In light of
this, a crucial step towards improving
mobility must be taken at the level of informationsharing,
namely through the following initiatives:
1.1. Create an online platform centralizing information
about opportunities on the continent, preferably
searchable by discipline, destination, etc. and
including a calendar, contacts and other relevant
information
98
Conclusion & Recommendations
1 .
Promote
informationsharing
about
opportunities
in North Africa
and other
African regions
2 .
Support
face-to-face
and online
networking
Lack of concrete, in-person contact with peers and
colleagues underlies the lack of information sharing
and lack of awareness of possibilities outside
one’s immediate environment. Several respondents
stressed that their most fruitful collaborations have
come out of experiences where
they physically met a fellow artist
/ curator / operator. As such,
it seems necessary to multiply
such opportunities – ideally,
through face-to-face meetings,
but also leveraging online
technologies to reduce costs.
2.1. Create opportunities for
cultural operators to meet and
share information, region- and
continent-wide. Cultural operators
will lead the way for artists
2.2. Encourage the creation
of discipline-specific networks,
using the model of the Network
of Alternative Arab Screens, AFRIFA and
Centres of Learning for Photography in Africa.
These networks can share information,
advocate for and facilitate mobility
2.3. Strengthen networks and support mobility in
areas where mobility is already facilitated by
visa-free policy (e.g., the Maghreb)
1. 2. Centralize and consolidate existing mappings (e.g.,
Racine’s ArtMap; Carte Culturelle de l’Algérie);
support new mappings for other countries
1. 3. Emphasize dissemination of information about
arts scenes in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and
Western Sahara to combat isolation
2.4. Multiply scoping and training missions to
Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Western Sahara
to reduce isolation and create new networks
2.5. Involve youth in new networks by reaching
out to art schools and universities