Kriol Jazz Festival
Founded by José Da Silva, producer and manager of Cesaria Evora, Harmonia LDA carries out cultural development projects through both music and audiovisual production, as well as organising events such as the famous Kriol Jazz Festival and the Atlantic Music Expo trade show.
A victim of the pandemic, the Cape Verdean cultural sector is struggling to recover. In an attempt to revitalise this still very fragile economic sector, the project aims to relaunch the "Kriol Jazz Festival". After 10 years, it has become a key event in jazz and world music. Reviving it will allow the local population to live off this economy (revival of tourism and events created around the festival), and will also allow African and/or Caribbean artists who have not been able to perform for two years to return to the stage.
"De l'Homme vers l'Homme", contemporary dance
Specialised in the field of contemporary dance, the Don Sen Folo association anchors its project in the transmission and dialogue between ancient traditions and contemporary gestures. Its distribution in public spaces increases the visibility of the artists' work among the public and local authorities, and is also a good way of getting around the difficulties of distribution in traditional infrastructures, the networks for which are often lacking in this region. In order to improve the production of African dancers and choreographers and to promote this art form at national and continental level, "De l'Homme vers l'Homme" will focus on strengthening artistic skills, activating South-South cooperation, and setting up an African network for contemporary dance in public spaces.
A look at planned productions
- Training of 14 young artists in dance and choreography
- Choreographic residencies in public spaces (2 months) involving 32 artists
- Presentation of the artists and their work in the online catalogues of the residencies and on the Numéridanse TV website
- Production, recording and broadcasting of contemporary choreographic works in public spaces
- Production of a "Guide to good practice in contemporary dance in public spaces in Mali".
Focus on Don Sen Folo
The Don Sen Folo association has been working since 2010 on the issue of access to culture, formerly in the Kalaban Coro district of Bamako and currently in the rural commune of Bancoumana. With the firm belief that Art and Culture can become the economic engines of tomorrow's society, the association works to make the work of artists known and understood by the population.
Togo Art Connection
Arterial Network Togo is a dynamic network of committed artists, cultural activists, associations and cultural and creative institutions. Its mission: to promote and defend cultural diversity through an organisational framework of national operators and stakeholders from all sectors of the arts and culture.
By bringing together international and local stakeholders in the performing arts for the first time via a (physical and digital) platform for networking stakeholders in the performing arts sector, the Togo Art Connection project aims to strengthen the production of quality artistic creations in Togo, to further engage local audiences in a dialogue with the performing arts and to grant more economic and structural independence to the Togolese cultural scene.
SOMETHING by Something We Africans Got
April27 is an independent publishing company and arts management consultancy that promotes and supports African art, culture, education and excellence through the SOMETHING WE AFRICANS GOT review and the magazine SWAG high profiles.
After 5 years of existence, 14 issues of the review and 7 of its magazine version, "Something We Africans Got" has become an alternative space, a space for exhibitions dedicated to the moving image, to the rediscovery of African cinema, to dialogue and the development of critical thinking. This project materialises the continuation of the exploration of the Arts of Africa and the Black World and the cultural links between the different countries of the continent and the rest of the world.
Basketteuses de Bamako
The NAMA Company keeps ancestral traditions alive, ensuring the survival of the art of puppetry and offering young people the opportunity to work in the cultural sector. Among its training courses, some are specifically aimed at women, a first in Mali where the art of puppetry was traditionally reserved for men.
The "Basketteuses de Bamako" project seeks to increase the number of women artists in Mali and to develop their contemporary artistic capacities through professional training, awareness-raising and mediation with the public. The project aims to offer a new mixed and popular artistic practice, an art that restores the traditional know-how of Malian women by innovating it through the practice of juggling.
Remembering our Legends: They left gifts behind: Can we bridge the gap?
The Academy was created in 1995 to preserve, enrich and develop the national cultural heritage of Sierra Leone in the field of music and performing arts. It provides an advanced level of instruction in both music practice and theory, as well as in conducting and directing performances.
Remembering the Legends' initiative is to nurture and encourage the artistic talents of today with a view to their future professionalisation. By introducing the public, especially the younger generation, to the little-known works of former musicians, playwrights, composers, poets and other artists, the project aims to awaken the interest of citizens in the performing arts, and to bring about a reconsideration of the cultural and creative sector as a viable route to a full or part-time career.
Art is Devel@pment
ADPP-GB works to support and empower the most vulnerable populations in Guinea-Bissau. Adapting to the reality of the country and the needs of its communities, the NGO has developed and implemented projects in 4 principal sectors: education, health, rural and community development.
The aim of the "Art is Devel@pment" project is to provide quality moving image education and creative support for existing and emerging artists who would not otherwise have access to technical or financial support to develop their entrepreneurial initiatives. It will also contribute to the digital transition of the cultural and creative sector for a wider distribution of works. Thus, through the arts, the project will work to combat extreme poverty, always with a view to inclusion and gender equality.
"Les Arts-Liances", pan-African contemporary theatre platform
This project responds to a difficulty in distributing theatrical and choreographic works in Africa, while the public's enthusiasm for these performances is still growing. The aim is therefore to create and trace a professional touring circuit for productions that will enable arts performances to tour regularly and meet their audiences. Thus, the "Arts-Liances" project promotes synergy of action between 15 performance spaces in 5 partner countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo) and encourages co-production, the sharing of best practices and the programming of works created. With an eye on sustainable development, the project aims to be inclusive. It aims to mobilise artists and build audience loyalty.
A look at planned productions
- creation of 15 theatre and choreographic performances
- 180 performances
- consolidation of skills for 75 artists, 30 performance technicians and 30 employees of the performance spaces
- strengthening of technical resources of the 15 partner venues
Focus on Sokan Théâtre
After 20 years of activity, Sokan Théâtre is a cultural association recognised for promoting the arts in general and the performing arts in particular. An organisation in constant evolution, it favours and develops collaborations between artists from the South and the North. Through its achievements and in line with its objectives of inclusion, Sokan Theatre is the initiator of the Pan-African Women's Dramatic Writing Workshop "Femmes en scène".
"SARGAL", promotion of musical heritage
Produced in partnership with the Institut français in Dakar, the "SARGAL" project ("pay tribute" in Wolof) is an artistic television programme that aims to raise awareness of the great names in music by reinterpreting classics from the Senegalese and pan-African musical heritage. By allowing the public to benefit from experience of the creative process and by giving a chance to new talents, "SARGAL" wants to share the taste of live music but also to reveal and train up-and-coming artists in the art of composition, arrangement and musical production. More broadly, this project aims above all to give visibility to the audiovisual sector and its various professions, and to encourage digital inclusion by developing diversified content accessible to all.
A look at planned productions
- creation of 180 jobs
- recruitment of 45 women in production
- 60 people trained after 3 years (20 people per season)
- 45 programmes produced
- 50 international collaborations
Focus on Studio Sankara
Studio Sankara was founded in Dakar in 2003 by rapper Didier Awadi, who was looking for autonomy to carry out his artistic projects. Today, Studio Sankara is a phonographic and audiovisual production agency recognised on the national and international market for its skills, expertise, technical resources and capacity to innovate.
"Les Récréâtrales", pan-African platform for contemporary theatre
Initiated in 2002, the contemporary theatre festival Les Récréâtrales struggled to find its audience. In 2006, it decided to go out and meet them and set up in the Gounghin district of Ouagadougou. Les Récréâtrales set up its stages in family courtyards, instantly involving the local communities. It was an instant success. Thanks to the ACP-EU Culture (West Africa) - AWA programme, Les Récréâtrales intends to develop a digital platform for its creative and educational content and thus support the spread of pan-African contemporary theatre internationally, always with a view to including non-French-speaking theatre (initially Lusophone, Arabic-speaking and English-speaking) and a project for South-South and South-North artistic cooperation.
A look at planned productions
- broadcasting of at least 19 shows, including 10 creations produced or co-produced by the Récréâtrales and 3 non-French language shows
- translation and subtitling of the works presented
- representation of all regions of the African continent during the next two editions of the festival
- setting up a pan-African and international network for the distribution of works
Focus on les Récréâtales
Today the Récréâtrales – Résidences panafricaines d'écriture, de création et de recherche théâtrale (Panafrican theatre writing, creation and research residencies) – form one of the major events in contemporary theatre in French-speaking Africa. Its festival takes place every two years, from February to November, in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). It fosters open dialogue within the community and enables citizen engagement and empowermen