Art Moves Africa (AMA) is an international not-for-profit organisation that aims to facilitate cultural and artistic exchanges within the African continent. AMA offers travel funds to artists, arts professionals and cultural operators living and working in Africa to travel within the African continent in order to engage in the exchange of information, the enhancement of skills, the development of informal networks, and the pursuit of cooperation.
Background
AMA a été d’abord lancé en tant que programme impulsé conjointement par Young Arab Theatre Fund (YATF) et des organisations africaines et arabes, afin de faciliter et d’encourager la mobilité des artistes et des opérateurs culturels en Afrique. En 2001, le YATF a participé à des réunions en Egypte, au Kenya et au Zimbabwe, avec différentes organisations et opérateurs culturels d’Afrique et du monde arabe. Les réunions ont eu pour objectif d’établir des liens entre les organisations et les individus ainsi que de créer des réseaux informels sur tout le continent. Les participants sont tombés d’accord sur le fait que le manque persistant de fonds attribués spécifiquement aux voyages est l’un des obstacles majeurs à la mobilité des artistes et des professionnels de la culture en Afrique.
Mission
AMA is an independent initiative working towards a sustainable creative sector in Africa through support for the mobility of artists and cultural practitioners within Africa. AMA works to facilitate the creation of collaborations, the development of networks, the circulation of artworks and ideas, and the enhancement of skills. AMA works through travel grants schemes, information-sharing, a research program as well as advocacy activities.
Objectives
- Facilitate regional and transregional cultural exchanges in Africa for individual artists/cultural operators and cultural organisations, and encourage the mobility of artists and cultural professionals to exchange experiences, information and ideas
- Encourage artists and cultural operators to work towards shared projects and artistic collaborations across the continent
- Provide opportunities for artists and cultural operators to gain more knowledge of the diverse contexts and the cultural environments of the African continent
- Encourage independent initiatives, small projects and participation in highly professional artistic and arts management workshops, seminars and residencies
- Encourage attendance at festivals that provide artists and cultural operators with the opportunity to gain wider exposure and enrich their own creativity
- Develop methodologies to increase access to information and knowledge on arts and culture within Africa.