Welcome to the October newsletter from Arterial Network, a dynamic network of individuals, organisations, donors, companies and institutions engaged in the African cultural sector. The Network was formed to support the effectiveness and growth of the African arts and culture civil society and to enhance the sustainability of creative industries in Africa.
Table of contents
From the Arterial Network Desk
Arterial Network National Chapters
Arterial Network First African Creative Economy Conference
Poetry Competition
Artists Rights and Advocacy News
The Ibraham Index Ratings for 2011 are out
Opportunities and Calls for Projects
Call for African Music Films
Call for applications for technical assistance missions: Strengthening the Governance of Culture in Developing Countries
UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme 2012
Kuona Trust Artist-in-Residency
8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival
Durban FilmMart 2012 First Call for Submissions
From the Arterial Network Desk
Arterial Network National Chapters
Two national chapters of Arterial Network are being established in Seychelles and Central African Republic. The Central African Republic launch is scheduled to be held on the 14th of November in Bangui while the Seychelles one is on for the 17th of November.
To take part in of one these events, please contact Modeste Gobi at gobi_mauraye@yahoo.fr (Central African Republic) and Sunstroke Seychelles at info@sunstrokeseychelles.com for the Seychelles launch. More details will be posted on our websites.
Arterial Network First African Creative Economy Conference
The Arterial Network first Conference on African Creative Economy will take place in Nairobi from the 4th -7th December followed by Arterial Network third biannual conference. This is to inform you that there are possibilities for individuals, private companies, and international organisations to be part of this conference which is very important for the process of development of creative industries in Africa. Thanks to British Council in South Africa, a website has been designed to help people to have more information on the conference topics, speakers, accommodation issues, visa requirements and conference fees. The link to this site will be send out very shortly.
In the meantime you can contact Maggie Otieno eastafrica@arterialnetwork.org or Espera Donouvossiespera@arterialnetwork.org for more information on how to attend to conferences.
Poetry Competition
As reported in a previous newsletter, a gathering of directors from 37 International Poetry Festivals took place in Medellin, Colombia culminating in the World Poetry Movement comprising more than 70 international poetry festivals and poets from more than 8o countries across all continents. The World Poetry Movement was joined by the 100,000 Poets for Change project that saw the implementation of a worldwide poetic action on 24 September 2011 in 350 cities across the globe. (See www.100TPC.org).
Against this background and the dramatic changes taking place across the African continent, particularly in North Africa, Arterial Network in association with DOEN Foundation is launching a Poetry-for-Change Competition. All African poets living in Africa are invited to submit poems on the theme of CHANGE – however they wish to interpret and comment on it – with the 30 best poems (15 French, 15 English) being published in a collection, along with the contact details and biographies of the poets, and will be posted on Arterial Network’s website, along with other shortlisted poems.
The aims of the Poetry for Change competition are:
a. to encourage poets living on the African continent to exercise their basic human right to freedom of creative expression
b. to assist in identifying existing and new poetic talents across the African continent
c. to encourage creative and technical excellence in poetry as determined by Africans engaged in poetry
d. to project African poets and their thought and perspectives onto national, continental and international platforms
The conditions and rules of the competition are:
1. The theme of the competition is “Change”.
2. The deadline for entries is 17:00, 09 December 2011.
3. Entries are limited to poets who live in Africa for at least seven months of the year.
4. At this stage, entries may be submitted in either French or English, and may be translations into either of these languages from any language spoken on the African continent.
5. Poets may submit a maximum of three poems each.
6. Entries may not have been published before.
7. Each poem selected for publication will win the author 100 Euros as a once-off royalty fee for the purpose of the publication. Authors will maintain their copyright over the work and may publish it elsewhere, but for the purpose of this competition, selected entries will be entitled only to a once-off royalty payment of 100 Euros.
8. Entries are to be submitted under the poet’s real name rather than a pseudonym, although the poems will be judged without the writers’ names being appended to the poems.
9. Only electronic entries will be accepted and they are to be sent to espera@arterialnetwork.org
10. Entries are to include the Poet’s name, current occupation, email address, postal address, telephone number, a brief biography not exceeding 15 lines, and details of previous published poems and collections
11. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into subsequent to the announcement of the selected poems.
The outcomes of the competition will be announced by 15 January 2012
Artists Rights and Advocacy News
The Ibraham Index Ratings for 2011 are out
Established in 2007, the Ibrahim Index is the most comprehensive collection of quantitative data that provides an annual assessment of governance performance in every African country. It is funded and led by an African institution and Africa's leading assessment of governance. Access the results here: http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/media/get/20111003_About-the-Ibrahim-Index.pdf
Opportunities and Calls for Projects
Call for African Music Films
Sauti za Busara music festival is looking for a variety of stimulating and entertaining music films to screen, from the African Continent and diaspora. These may be full length features, recorded concerts, documentaries, music clips and videos or more experimental films.
They are looking primarily for:
> Films with great visuals, quality sound and music that is firmly rooted in Africa
> Films that tell of new and unheard of sounds as well as established artists
> Music films that represent the wealth and diversity of music from East Africa and beyond
Foreign language films should ideally be subtitled in Kiswahili and/or English
Deadline for applications: 18th November 2011.
More information and application form at www.busaramusic.org/callforfilm
Contact: busara@busara.or.tz
Call for applications for technical assistance missions: Strengthening the Governance of Culture in Developing Countries
Application deadline: 24 November 2011, midnight CET
UNESCO launches a new international call for applications for technical assistance missions in the framework of a project funded by the European Union (EU), aiming to strengthen the system of governance for culture in developing countries.
These missions will be based on the needs and priorities of the beneficiary countries and will be undertaken by top experts in the field of cultural policies. The missions will support the beneficiary countries in their efforts to establish legal, regulatory and/or institutional frameworks and/or introduce policies that address the role of culture in social and economic development, particularly through the cultural industries.
Which countries can apply?
• Developing countries Parties to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural expressions; that are
• Eligible beneficiary countries under the EU thematic programme “Investing in People”.
Public authorities and institutions from eligible countries can submit applications for technical assistance missions to UNESCO.
They will then be evaluated and selected according to established criteria.
This project contributes directly to the implementation of the 2005 Convention and aims to reinforce the role of culture as a vector for sustainable development and poverty reduction. Read more: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/cultural-diversity/cultural-expressions/programmes/technical-assistance/beneficiary-countries/call-for-applications/
UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme 2012
The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists Programme has the pleasure to announce the 2012 call for applications. The Programme promotes the mobility of young artists through art residencies abroad. This call is open to creative writers, musicians and visual artists between 25 and 35 years old. To consult the list of bursaries available for 2012 please visit www.unesco.org/culture/aschberg. You will find direct links to institutions and instructions on the application procedures and necessary dates.
Kuona Trust Artist-in-Residency
Kuona has funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Nairobi to invite 3 international artists on a 2 month fully funded residency, artists will be given a studio at Kuona, accommodation, material allowance and a small per diem.
Kuona is looking for applications from visual artists particularly from the global South, e.g. Africa, South East Asia, China, South America, Caribbean or The Netherlands.
Once selected, Kuona will send detailed information on the residency including practical information on visas, insurance, health requirements etc. and assist with a letter of invitation and any other documentation required.
Application:
1.Letter of application explaining in depth why you want to come to Kuona Trust, Kenya
2.6 images of your work, not larger than 500 KB each or a video, do not send links to blogs or website instead
3.artist’s statement
4.artist’s biography
5.CV
6.2 referees
Expectations:
•artists will be given a Kuona Trust studio
•artists will stay for the full duration of the residency and engage in Kuona activities as one of the studio artists.
•artists will give a visual presentation to the local artist community at the start of the residency
•at the end of the residency, artists will be given an exhibition or an open studio.
•artists will be assisted by Kuona in the event they would like to host an outreach activity or artists’ workshop
•The artist will write a short report about their residency before they leave Kuona.
Deadline: 31st January 2012
Please email your application to mailto:info@kuonatrust.orgby deadline above.
8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival
The 8th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival, which will be held in April 2012 in Doha, Qatar, has officially opened its call for entries and will accept submissions. Download the forms and regulations on this website. http://festival.aljazeera.net
Durban FilmMart 2012 First Call for Submissions
Dates for the third edition of Durban FilmMart have been confirmed for 20-23 July 2012, during the 33rd Durban International Film Festival (19-29 July).
DFM calls for submissions of both feature-length fiction and documentary projects (including animation). Selected projects will be invited to pitch projects in one-on-one meetings with potential investors within the Finance Forum segment of the programme. The closing date for submissions is 15 February 2012.
For more information on the Durban FilmMart and project submission criteria and processes please visit www.durbanfilmmart.com
Contact Arterial Network Secretariat
If you wish to contact the Arterial Network, write to info@arterialnetwork.org. If you received this newsletter second hand and would like to be on our database and for further information, visit http://www.arterialnetwork.org and www.artsinafrica.com.
Tel: 27 (0) 21 465 9027
The ARTerial Network
Union House, Second Floor
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