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.
"YOBAAL", Access to the Gambia's creative industries
While the Gambian economy is largely dependent on tourism, the "Yobaal" ("gift" in Wolof) project aims to contribute to the development of the creative market through its e-commerce platform. ACE Communications Executive plans to exhibit up to 100 companies in the creative industry selected according to the interests and habits of international consumers. This matchmaking between local creative industry professionals and prospects allows artisans to promote and sell their products beyond the tourist season. In order to support creativity within the creative industries in the Gambia, "Yobaal" plans to give priority to businesses run by young entrepreneurs and designers.
Overview of expected productions
- provide global visibility for Gambian artisans
- générer des revenus durables grâce aux ventes e-commerce
- contribute to the increase in quality of products and services manufactured in the Gambia while guaranteeing customer satisfaction
Focus on ACE Communications Executive
ACE Communications Executive, a strategic communications and public relations company, has established the first Cultural Centre for the burgeoning creative industry in the Gambia. With a wide range of consultants, since 2009 it has established itself as an expert in visibility for companies, NGOs and state institutes.
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.
"The Arts Bridge", Support for the professionalisation of the craft sector
The Arts Bridge project aims to preserve, professionalise and promote the work of weavers in the North-West of Ghana, a region where the local economy depends heavily on this craft. By seeking to collect and transmit this know-how, pool tools and design new patterns, The Arts Bridge hopes to professionalise the art of weaving and thereby protect the livelihoods of communities. A dedicated digital platform will present a database of contemporary craftsmen and artists, offer teaching modules and an online shop. These digital drivers will contribute to raising this Ghanaian craft tradition to the level of a world-renowned art.
Overview of expected productions
- registration of 3 weaving collectives with the World Crafts Council each year
- organisation of an annual weaving festival
- training of 5 master weavers (with more than 5 apprentices and more than 5 years experience). They will in turn train 50 weavers per year for two years
- hosting 5 contemporary artists in residence
Focus on Nubuke Foundation
Based in Accra since 2006, this NGO's mission is to promote, record and preserve the visual arts and culture of Ghana. Over the past 15 years, the Nubuke Foundation has propelled the careers of 150 contemporary artists. Based in Wa (North West Ghana) since 2010, it works to develop and enhance the tradition of tape weaving.
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.
"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.
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.
"Sahelles connect", promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries
The “Sahelles connect” project consists of a programme to structure the cultural and creative industries in Mauritania, targeting youth, education and women, and in cooperation with the other countries of the G5 Sahel, West Africa and North Africa. Through this new scheme, the association is committed to opening a vocational training course in the arts and culture (“Mauritalent”), and to setting up an incubator for 15 cultural businesses run by Mauritanian women. In this perspective of economic and social development, education on rights, freedom and the place of women in the Islamic Republic remain major challenges for strengthening democracy.
Overview of expected productions
– Development of artistic products by young Mauritanian artists in cooperation with female artists from the G5 Sahel region, – Development of a “Green Festival” label
– Development of a new format for the Journal Rappé “Chitaari”
– Promotion of digital accessibility and development of new content
Focus on Assalamalekoum Cultures
Chaired by the Mauritanian artist Monza, Assalamalekoum Cultures is an association focused on cultural innovation in Mauritania. It has been working with the Assalam Alekoum festival since 2014, in consortium with ZAZA Productions, an independent music label. This multidisciplinary festival has been hosting artists from the world of music, cinema, dance and fashion for 14 years.
"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
"Présence Noire dans la Danse", promotion of dance arts
More than ever, École des Sables wants to maintain its educational role and offer development opportunities to young dancers from the continent. This centre of excellence offers participants local and international artistic career opportunities. However, in order to allow black dancers to reveal themselves and to blossom outside the stereotypes of the dance world, it is essential that this course be given by teachers and researchers from Africa, its diaspora and the West Indies, in a spirit of sharing, dialogue and reciprocal exchange. Moreover, the collaborations between Pan-African dancers will be the fruit of new creations offered to festivals and a touring circuit in Europe, the United States and the world.
A look at planned productions
- Access to certified training for 30 dancers from Africa and the diaspora
- creating and nurturing different work opportunities through original choreographic writing rooted in black identity
- establishing communication tools
Focus on JANT-BI- École des Sables
Founded by Germaine Acogny and Helmut Vogt in 1998, Jant-Bi - École des Sables, the International Centre for Traditional and Contemporary African Dance, aims to provide professional training for African dancers and to develop and promote contemporary African dance. It has already trained over 700 dancers from 27 African countries.