Launched in 2011, AMA’s series of studies on mobility and touring in the different African regions aims to fill the important gaps in knowledge on this crucial topic.
From its inception as a mobility fund in 2005, AMA has collected data and produced statistics based on the applications it receives for travel grants within Africa. Analysis of this data soon revealed important discrepancies in the mobility patterns within and between African regions. AMA’s research program was launched to investigate the factors driving these discrepancies, in view of redressing imbalances and strengthening mobility across the continent. Developed through fieldwork and interviews with practitioners, cultural operators and policymakers, each study aims to:
- Identify and map existing infrastructures for mobility (hubs, spaces, residencies, festivals, events, and other human resources)
- Analyze opportunities and obstacles to mobility in the different regions, and highlight best practices;
- Propose recommendations on how to bolster mobility in the different regions.
Five studies have been produced to date. All are available for download at the following links:
Mobility and Touring in East Africa: Performing Arts (2011) and Visual Arts (2015)
AMA’s pilot study on mobility and touring in the East African performing arts sector was led by independent expert Hildegard Kiel in 2010-11. The following study, on the visual arts sector, was conducted by Danda Jaroljmek in 2012 and published in 2015. These studies aimed to address the relative weakness of mobility in East Africa.
Mobilité et tournées en Afrique centrale : arts de la scène et arts visuels (2015)
AMA’s study on mobility and touring in Central Africa was led by a team of six independent experts: Télesphore Mba Bizo, Modeste Gobi Mauraye, Jean-Marie Mollo Olinga, Martial Nguéa, Abdoulaye Oumate and Jules Taguiawa in 2015. Its chief aim was to document and analyze the opportunities and challenges to mobility in a region where statistics show both tremendous activity and weak patterns of international mobility.
Retracing Roots and Tracing New Routes: Mobility and Touring in North Africa (2019)
Written by AMA Research Coordinator Lara Bourdin in 2019, AMA’s study on mobility and touring in North Africa aimed to shed light on cultural and artistic mobility in the region that shows the weakest patterns of mobility with the rest of the African continent.
Mobilité et tournées en Afrique de l’Ouest (2021)
AMA’s latest study is being led by independent experts François Bouda, Espéra Donouvossi, Devin Hentz and Luc Mayitoukou. This new study will aim to illuminate the factors that drive mobility in the region with the most active mobility patterns, all the while shedding light on the obstacles that remain.
AMA’s studies on mobility and touring in the different African regions have contributed to the development of knowledge, initiatives and policies that strengthen mobility on the continent. AMA’s statistics namely show a substantial impact on mobility in the East African and Central African arts sectors since the publication of the studies.
Design of the studies: Eps51