Since 2009, the project by the Windepkpe association has centred around preserving Benin’s textile and clothing heritage. The ultimate goal is to showcase Benin’s artistic potential, preserve its heritage, share its expertise and make its culture a real driver for economic and social development.
To showcase this rich textile heritage, the association organises the “Koubourou Fashion Days”, an event that highlights Beninese woven pagnes or wrappers, which are emblematic of the country’s textile traditions.
This Conservatory is a cultural industry in its own right and meets a dual objective: to help the people of Benin reclaim ownership of their textile and clothing heritage through the Museum of Textile Art and encourage reproduction and sales through the craft space, to ensure that these cultural treasures are never forgotten.
The Fondation Zinsou aims to provide solutions for the lack of artistic practice and overcome a lack of awareness of contemporary art. This work meets a dual objective: to support artists and help the public to become accustomed to visiting exhibitions and museums. Among its various achievements, in 2013 the association founded the first contemporary art museum in tropical Africa, and also works on producing and holding exhibitions, organising artist residencies, as well as a host of other initiatives.
Convinced that everything begins at a very young age, the foundation aims to help children become familiar with artworks and try out different artistic activities, with a view to contributing to their cultural awareness as well as uncovering future talents. The “Petits Pinceaux” (“Little Paintbrushes”) workshop is the result of this conviction, aimed at children aged 5 to 13, which gives them an introduction to contemporary art through free creative workshops run by cultural educators and artists.
In order to overcome the obstacle of inaccessibility, the foundation has set up the “cultural bus”, a vehicle acquired thanks to support from sponsors, which provides free transport for pupils of over 300 schools.
“Sete Sóis Sete Luas” (Seven Suns Seven Moons) is a Lusophone and Mediterranean festival organised in 30 towns in 12 different countries to promote the diversity and originality of musical cultures. The association aims to create original artistic productions involving Cape Verdean musicians and to promote international mobility for these musicians.
The project consists of creating 4 cultural centres dedicated to protecting, promoting and disseminating traditional music on all the Cape Verde islands. 16 musicians (4 per island) will be trained to manage the centres as cooperatives and offer programmes featuring traditional music, gastronomy, teaching workshops and cultural tourism.
The dance company “Les Pieds dans La Mare” aims to reintegrate young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods through dance and give them a tool to exist. Every year, the company supports over 23 young people by giving them free comprehensive dance training, as well as general education and art-based work.
The company would like to establish a multidisciplinary research/creation/action programme to reactivate the memory of the slave trade in Côte d'Ivoire. This memory work will involve collecting testimony, working with local artists and traditions and putting on performances and workshops for residents, and will culminate in the creation of a dance show, a documentary web series and a music album.
Cinéma du fleuve
The GSCD's ambition is the operational implementation of development projects through culture in rural Africa. It is committed to the preservation of artistic heritage, the reinterpretation of mythologies, dialogue between cultures and friendship between peoples. Its members are artists and professionals from the world of culture and development.
In order to educate the younger generation about the moving image, to allow local populations to see films in favourable conditions, but also to create social links and spaces for reflection while supporting African cinema, the "Cinéma du Fleuve" project proposes to bring cinema to rural areas. The construction of an open-air cinema and an educational room in Mboumba will allow the screening of African cinematographic works as well as international heritage films.
Naija Tales
Mega Arts Pluz Nigeria is a cultural and creative organisation deeply committed to the discovery of talent and actively involved in performing arts programming, cultural consultancy, audio-visual production and innovative African development projects to promote indigenous African arts and make them globally relevant.
"Naija Tales" enlists Nigerian storytellers, theatre artists, digital content programmers and radio producers to accelerate the distribution of cultural content via physical and digital platforms. The project will culminate in the launch of the International African Performance Storytellers' Day (celebrated every 1 December) and the creation of an African Storytellers' Academy.
LOATAD Writing Residency Programme For West African Writers
LOATAD, located in Accra, hosts a library, archive and museum dedicated to the promotion and preservation of African and diaspora literature from the late 19th century to the present. This extensive collection includes approximately 4000 works by writers from 41 of the 54 African countries and black authors from Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The "LOATAD" residency project will host 18 writers from 16 West African countries (including 6 under 35 years old, 6 Ghanaians, and 9 women), over a period of 12 months, for a one-month residency. The aim of the residency is to give the writers the time, space, resources and inspiration to work on a long-term writing project. Writers will have literary exchanges with each other and present their writing to a local audience.
ARTIRIUM 1.2+
SUDCREA is a socio-educational and cultural association mainly oriented towards young people and supporting their artistic creation for the emancipation of Beninese culture and more broadly for the promotion of creation on the African continent.
Through the ARTIRIUM 1.2+ project, the SUDCREA association is involved in the transmission of artistic practices (particularly in urban dance and humour) to young people from disadvantaged or difficult backgrounds. This action reinforces the structure of the Artirium platform for which 15 training tutorials on the performing arts and cultural management will be produced and distributed. At the same time, the association is committed to organising an online competition based on humour and contemporary dance of African inspiration, for people under 30.
3rd space : A Yoruba House Music Project
Founded in 2014 in Lagos, the creative agency Whitespace unearths and supports young visual artists (photographers, filmmakers, illustrators and art directors) by providing them with a working environment conducive to completing their projects, allowing it at the same time to develop a strong network within the West African creative sector.
The main objective of the project is to produce an album of Yoruba house music. The first step is to engage two separate groups, each consisting of 14 dancers and drummers, who will lay down ancient rhythms and songs over electronic music. The recorded performances will then be used to create an album.
Femmes en création
The Kadam-Kadam Association is active in the artistic and cultural, social and educational fields, and at times also in the health sector. Its mission is to contribute to the promotion of culture as a human right and a factor in the socio-economic development of children in Togo and Africa.
Initiated in response to the absence of women in the arts, the "Femmes en création" project is a platform for training, research, creation and promotion in the dramatic arts for 6 female actors, 3 female visual artists/scenographers and 6 female administrators. Following a diagnosis of the local situation, the project will work to overcome obstacles to the continuity of the careers of women artists, and then work towards their professionalisation.