ARTERIAL NETWORK NEWS: APRIL 2008
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep participants in, and supporters of the Arterial Network informed of its activities as well as related events and developments.
Reflection
It is just over a year since the Arterial Network was launched on Goiree Island, Senegal in early March last year. Based on the mandate given to it by members, the Task Team elected at the conference met in Cape Town in August 2007 to devise a three-year plan to address some of the challenges identified by delegates. In November, this plan was discussed by a roundtable of donors in The Hague. In March 2008, we received confirmation of the first significant contributions from donors and we are now in a position to initiate some pilot projects.
Projects and Donors
Africalia, a non-profit association established in 2000 by the Belgian Development Cooperation, that aims to promote sustainable human development by supporting contemporary African art and culture, was the first donor to commit to a particular project i.e. the Arts Journalism Training Project. It has also made some funds available for the Secretariat and related activities such as the newsletter and website for a total of EUR 20,666.
DOEN, which had a representative at the Arterial Network conference, has committed a substantial sum of EUR 150 000 for 2008 projects. These funds will be used to research and establish an African Fund for Arts and Culture, a project related to cultural entrepreneurship, research into the economic impact of arts and culture in Africa and for the coordination of the Network.
HIVOS (EUR 20 000) and the DCCD – two of the core partners of the Network - have also committed to the Arterial Network’s work for 2008.
Arterial Network decision-making process with regards to projects
The Task Team and donor partners have agreed to the following process for soliciting proposals for projects and for deciding upon implementing agencies:
1. The Task Team, associated donor or Arterial Network member or partner proposes a project as an Arterial Network project.
2. The Task Team considers each proposal and decides
a. to approve the project as an Arterial Network project
b. to lend its support to the project but not for funding as an Arterial Network
c. to reject the project
3. Projects (their aims, projected outcomes, country of implementation, budget, etc) approved by the Task Team are presented to the associated donor partners for consideration. Donors may agree to fund a project multilaterally or as a single donor. The Task Team may seek new donors or different donors for projects approved by the associated donor collective where necessary, and may seek new donors for projects that the associated donor collective is unable to support. The associated donor collective includes those donors who funded the original Arterial Network conference, or who joined this collective voluntarily as a partner in the Arterial Network or one of its projects. These donor partners include (but is not limited to) HIVOS, DCCD, Stromme Foundation, Prince Clause Fund, Doen, Africalia, Pro Helvetia and the Dept of Arts and Culture of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Once a project has been approved for funding and has its full budget covered by a single, two or more donors, the Task Team calls for project managers i.e. agencies to implement the project. (Those projects that have been proposed to the Arterial Network by an implementing agency, and which is approved for funding, will generally be assigned to the implementing agency, provided that the donors and Task Team approve of its capacity to implement the project). The call for project managers may be done in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to
a. via the Arterial Network D-Group, newsletter, website and associated contacts
b. via donors to their existing partners
c. the arts community and media in the country in which the project is planned for implementation
d. pro-actively headhunting suitable implementing agencies to apply by anyone associated with the Arterial Network
5. The Call will include an outline of the project, the aims, the projected outcomes, the target market, the tasks required of the implementing agency, the time frameworks, reporting responsibilities and the deadlines. Applicants are to respond to each of these reflecting their capacity to manage all aspects of the project, and in addition, need to provide an indication of their track record of financial and managerial probity. At least two referees from credible organisations or people should accompany the application.
6. After the deadline for submission of applications, the Secretariat will summarise the applications, and submit the summary along with copies of the application to the Project Evaluation Committee comprising three members of the Task Team and representatives of the associated donor collective, particularly those directly involved in funding that project. Project implementers must be agreed by consensus (rather than majority vote) within the Evaluation Committee. In the event of there being no suitable applicant, the Project Evaluation Committee may headhunt and recommend a particular agency to implement the project, possibly in a different country or region to the one originally agreed upon.
7. The criteria to be used when evaluating applicants to manage projects will include:
a. the vision, content and structure that it will apply to the project and the consistency of these with the project’s projected outcomes
b. the track record of the organisation with record to managing projects generally and projects of this nature in particular
c. the recommendations of the referees (to be checked by the Secretariat) and of Arterial Network members
d. historical relationships between the applicant and associated donors i.e. to ensure that associated donors have at least not had poor experiences of the applications
e. the proposed budget and whether it is consistent with the budget approved by the Task Team and donors.
If necessary, the Project Evaluation Committee may require a representative of the Arterial Network to interview and/or visit selected applicants to gain further insight into their capacity to deliver.
8. Based on the applications received, members of the Project Evaluation Committee rank the applicants and submit their rankings to the Secretariat, who then distributes this and related comments to all members of the Committee. Through discussion via email and/or telephone conferences, the Committee arrives at a decision by consensus to award the project (subject to further negotiation with the selected party if necessary) to a particular agency.
9. The donors funding the project will select one of their number (if more than one) to be the contracting party on their behalf, and this donor will enter into a direct contracting relationship with the approved project applicant, and will oversee the management and reporting of the project as it would any of its other projects.
Project calls
Consistent with the Network’s commitment to transparency, project calls for the Arts Journalism Project, the research phase for the Africa Arts and Culture Fund, elements of the Cultural Entrepreneurship Project, elements of the African Creative Economy project will be made shortly. Participants in the D-Group with the relevant expertise are encouraged to apply and/or to forward these to project managers with such expertise.
Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Arterial Network is now based at the Africa Centre in Cape Town. Funded by private sector patrons of the arts, the Africa Centre will provide a relatively resourced base from which to administer the work of the Network. Till now, its activities have been based mainly in South Africa, but there are huge opportunities for synergies between the Centre and the Network.
The Africa Centre is both a physical entity and an ongoing philosophical process that, in time, will emerge as a multi-sited, multiple-usage space where the visual, intellectual and performance cultures of Africa, South and North, are celebrated, studied and brought to life for diverse audiences in innovative ways.
The objectives of the Africa Centre are to:
create an international arts and cultural centre in Africa which documents, disseminates and celebrates both the visual and performing arts throughout Africa and its Diaspora
develop a meaningful theoretical, literal and philosophical space for artistic dialogue and engagements
to build on best practice and pursue innovation in art and cultural theory, practice and praxis explore the space and architecture of cultural encounter
pursue new audiences and the means and method of engagement
explore ways in which communities of the continent and its diasporas can engage with their heritage and histories and become entrepreneurial owners of their own cultural industries
interrogate the role, identity, transience and performance of art
use the arts and culture to enhance relationships within and between African nations, strengthening ties and promoting nation-building across the continent and
collaborate with partners nationally, continentally and internationally in pursuit of these objectives
Imagine Africa
The Imagine Africa website and campaign arising directly from the Goiree Island conference, has grown over the last year, thanks to the efforts and support of the Stromme Foundation. See www.imagineafrica.org
Euro-Africa Campus of Cultural Cooperation
A meeting of the Scientific Committee preparing the first Euro-African Campus of Cultural Cooperation took place in Maputo form 8-10 April. About 20 experts from Africa and Europe participated in the event, organised by OCPA and Interarts, and was sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. The primary aim of the Campus is “to reflect, transfer knowledge, exchange experiences and discuss possible joint initiatives in the field of cultural cooperation in the broader context of the contribution of culture to sustainable development.” For more information, write to secretariat@ocpanet.org
European Festivals Association Conference
The European Festivals Association will host its conference in Turkey from 24-27 April, exploring the question “Festivals in a Globalizing World”. The gathering is intended to shed light on practices, major challenges, obstacles and opportunities in international cultural cooperation. Questions to be grappled with include: Do Festivals practice real “international” cooperation in Europe? What are the challenges in terms of cross-continental artistic cooperation and international programming? What are the interests of festivals in other continents to cooperate with Europe? Are we ready for the challenges of diversity?
Creative Economy Report and Creative Africa Initiative
UNCTAD’s Creative Economy and Industries Programme will launch the Creative Economy Report and the Creative Africa Initiative in Accra, Ghana from 20-25 April. Dialogue sessions will be complemented by a week-long “Creative Africa” festival highlighting contemporary dance, art, fashion and music on the continent. Write to creative.industries@unctad.org for more information.
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Also in Kumasi-Ghana, from 21-26 April, the International Conference on African Culture and Development will take place with the theme “Cultural Dynamics: Greasing the wheels of Africa’s Development”. The conference plans to explore culture as the missing link that has retarded growth and development on the continent. For more information, see www.icacd.ccoghana.org
Democracy and the Arts in Africa
The last five months have been challenging months for those committed to democracy in Africa. In Kenya and in Zimbabwe, democratic elections have been subverted by ruling parties. On the other hand, Botswana has seen a smooth handover of power while in South Africa, Thabo Mbeki was ousted as the party’s leader by the ANC in a profound example of grassroots democracy triumphing over “the big leader” practice.
Notwithstanding the challenges in Zimbabwe at the moment, the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) will run from 29 April to 4 May, with the theme, “Art of Determination”.
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
This Convention has now been ratified by 80 countries, including 19 countries on the African continent. See www.unesco.org
International Year of Languages
The UN General Assembly has declared 2008 as the International Year of Languages. World Book and Copyright Day will be celebrated on 23 April to honour books that are “widely recognised as invaluable cornerstones of societies’ educational, cultural and social systems”.
Acknowledgements
This newsletter has been compiled from information gleaned from ACORNS, IFACCA’s Newsletter, www.allAfrica.com, www.artsmanagement.net, www.ocpanet.org, CCD Diversity of Cultural Expressions News, www.unesco.org, Culture Link Newsletter and Power of Culture website
Information for future newsletters
To provide information for future newsletters, write to art27m@iafrica.com
Reflection
It is just over a year since the Arterial Network was launched on Goiree Island, Senegal in early March last year. Based on the mandate given to it by members, the Task Team elected at the conference met in Cape Town in August 2007 to devise a three-year plan to address some of the challenges identified by delegates. In November, this plan was discussed by a roundtable of donors in The Hague. In March 2008, we received confirmation of the first significant contributions from donors and we are now in a position to initiate some pilot projects.
Projects and Donors
Africalia, a non-profit association established in 2000 by the Belgian Development Cooperation, that aims to promote sustainable human development by supporting contemporary African art and culture, was the first donor to commit to a particular project i.e. the Arts Journalism Training Project. It has also made some funds available for the Secretariat and related activities such as the newsletter and website for a total of EUR 20,666.
DOEN, which had a representative at the Arterial Network conference, has committed a substantial sum of EUR 150 000 for 2008 projects. These funds will be used to research and establish an African Fund for Arts and Culture, a project related to cultural entrepreneurship, research into the economic impact of arts and culture in Africa and for the coordination of the Network.
HIVOS (EUR 20 000) and the DCCD – two of the core partners of the Network - have also committed to the Arterial Network’s work for 2008.
Arterial Network decision-making process with regards to projects
The Task Team and donor partners have agreed to the following process for soliciting proposals for projects and for deciding upon implementing agencies:
1. The Task Team, associated donor or Arterial Network member or partner proposes a project as an Arterial Network project.
2. The Task Team considers each proposal and decides
a. to approve the project as an Arterial Network project
b. to lend its support to the project but not for funding as an Arterial Network
c. to reject the project
3. Projects (their aims, projected outcomes, country of implementation, budget, etc) approved by the Task Team are presented to the associated donor partners for consideration. Donors may agree to fund a project multilaterally or as a single donor. The Task Team may seek new donors or different donors for projects approved by the associated donor collective where necessary, and may seek new donors for projects that the associated donor collective is unable to support. The associated donor collective includes those donors who funded the original Arterial Network conference, or who joined this collective voluntarily as a partner in the Arterial Network or one of its projects. These donor partners include (but is not limited to) HIVOS, DCCD, Stromme Foundation, Prince Clause Fund, Doen, Africalia, Pro Helvetia and the Dept of Arts and Culture of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Once a project has been approved for funding and has its full budget covered by a single, two or more donors, the Task Team calls for project managers i.e. agencies to implement the project. (Those projects that have been proposed to the Arterial Network by an implementing agency, and which is approved for funding, will generally be assigned to the implementing agency, provided that the donors and Task Team approve of its capacity to implement the project). The call for project managers may be done in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to
a. via the Arterial Network D-Group, newsletter, website and associated contacts
b. via donors to their existing partners
c. the arts community and media in the country in which the project is planned for implementation
d. pro-actively headhunting suitable implementing agencies to apply by anyone associated with the Arterial Network
5. The Call will include an outline of the project, the aims, the projected outcomes, the target market, the tasks required of the implementing agency, the time frameworks, reporting responsibilities and the deadlines. Applicants are to respond to each of these reflecting their capacity to manage all aspects of the project, and in addition, need to provide an indication of their track record of financial and managerial probity. At least two referees from credible organisations or people should accompany the application.
6. After the deadline for submission of applications, the Secretariat will summarise the applications, and submit the summary along with copies of the application to the Project Evaluation Committee comprising three members of the Task Team and representatives of the associated donor collective, particularly those directly involved in funding that project. Project implementers must be agreed by consensus (rather than majority vote) within the Evaluation Committee. In the event of there being no suitable applicant, the Project Evaluation Committee may headhunt and recommend a particular agency to implement the project, possibly in a different country or region to the one originally agreed upon.
7. The criteria to be used when evaluating applicants to manage projects will include:
a. the vision, content and structure that it will apply to the project and the consistency of these with the project’s projected outcomes
b. the track record of the organisation with record to managing projects generally and projects of this nature in particular
c. the recommendations of the referees (to be checked by the Secretariat) and of Arterial Network members
d. historical relationships between the applicant and associated donors i.e. to ensure that associated donors have at least not had poor experiences of the applications
e. the proposed budget and whether it is consistent with the budget approved by the Task Team and donors.
If necessary, the Project Evaluation Committee may require a representative of the Arterial Network to interview and/or visit selected applicants to gain further insight into their capacity to deliver.
8. Based on the applications received, members of the Project Evaluation Committee rank the applicants and submit their rankings to the Secretariat, who then distributes this and related comments to all members of the Committee. Through discussion via email and/or telephone conferences, the Committee arrives at a decision by consensus to award the project (subject to further negotiation with the selected party if necessary) to a particular agency.
9. The donors funding the project will select one of their number (if more than one) to be the contracting party on their behalf, and this donor will enter into a direct contracting relationship with the approved project applicant, and will oversee the management and reporting of the project as it would any of its other projects.
Project calls
Consistent with the Network’s commitment to transparency, project calls for the Arts Journalism Project, the research phase for the Africa Arts and Culture Fund, elements of the Cultural Entrepreneurship Project, elements of the African Creative Economy project will be made shortly. Participants in the D-Group with the relevant expertise are encouraged to apply and/or to forward these to project managers with such expertise.
Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Arterial Network is now based at the Africa Centre in Cape Town. Funded by private sector patrons of the arts, the Africa Centre will provide a relatively resourced base from which to administer the work of the Network. Till now, its activities have been based mainly in South Africa, but there are huge opportunities for synergies between the Centre and the Network.
The Africa Centre is both a physical entity and an ongoing philosophical process that, in time, will emerge as a multi-sited, multiple-usage space where the visual, intellectual and performance cultures of Africa, South and North, are celebrated, studied and brought to life for diverse audiences in innovative ways.
The objectives of the Africa Centre are to:
create an international arts and cultural centre in Africa which documents, disseminates and celebrates both the visual and performing arts throughout Africa and its Diaspora
develop a meaningful theoretical, literal and philosophical space for artistic dialogue and engagements
to build on best practice and pursue innovation in art and cultural theory, practice and praxis explore the space and architecture of cultural encounter
pursue new audiences and the means and method of engagement
explore ways in which communities of the continent and its diasporas can engage with their heritage and histories and become entrepreneurial owners of their own cultural industries
interrogate the role, identity, transience and performance of art
use the arts and culture to enhance relationships within and between African nations, strengthening ties and promoting nation-building across the continent and
collaborate with partners nationally, continentally and internationally in pursuit of these objectives
Imagine Africa
The Imagine Africa website and campaign arising directly from the Goiree Island conference, has grown over the last year, thanks to the efforts and support of the Stromme Foundation. See www.imagineafrica.org
Euro-Africa Campus of Cultural Cooperation
A meeting of the Scientific Committee preparing the first Euro-African Campus of Cultural Cooperation took place in Maputo form 8-10 April. About 20 experts from Africa and Europe participated in the event, organised by OCPA and Interarts, and was sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. The primary aim of the Campus is “to reflect, transfer knowledge, exchange experiences and discuss possible joint initiatives in the field of cultural cooperation in the broader context of the contribution of culture to sustainable development.” For more information, write to secretariat@ocpanet.org
European Festivals Association Conference
The European Festivals Association will host its conference in Turkey from 24-27 April, exploring the question “Festivals in a Globalizing World”. The gathering is intended to shed light on practices, major challenges, obstacles and opportunities in international cultural cooperation. Questions to be grappled with include: Do Festivals practice real “international” cooperation in Europe? What are the challenges in terms of cross-continental artistic cooperation and international programming? What are the interests of festivals in other continents to cooperate with Europe? Are we ready for the challenges of diversity?
Creative Economy Report and Creative Africa Initiative
UNCTAD’s Creative Economy and Industries Programme will launch the Creative Economy Report and the Creative Africa Initiative in Accra, Ghana from 20-25 April. Dialogue sessions will be complemented by a week-long “Creative Africa” festival highlighting contemporary dance, art, fashion and music on the continent. Write to creative.industries@unctad.org for more information.
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Also in Kumasi-Ghana, from 21-26 April, the International Conference on African Culture and Development will take place with the theme “Cultural Dynamics: Greasing the wheels of Africa’s Development”. The conference plans to explore culture as the missing link that has retarded growth and development on the continent. For more information, see www.icacd.ccoghana.org
Democracy and the Arts in Africa
The last five months have been challenging months for those committed to democracy in Africa. In Kenya and in Zimbabwe, democratic elections have been subverted by ruling parties. On the other hand, Botswana has seen a smooth handover of power while in South Africa, Thabo Mbeki was ousted as the party’s leader by the ANC in a profound example of grassroots democracy triumphing over “the big leader” practice.
Notwithstanding the challenges in Zimbabwe at the moment, the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) will run from 29 April to 4 May, with the theme, “Art of Determination”.
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
This Convention has now been ratified by 80 countries, including 19 countries on the African continent. See www.unesco.org
International Year of Languages
The UN General Assembly has declared 2008 as the International Year of Languages. World Book and Copyright Day will be celebrated on 23 April to honour books that are “widely recognised as invaluable cornerstones of societies’ educational, cultural and social systems”.
Acknowledgements
This newsletter has been compiled from information gleaned from ACORNS, IFACCA’s Newsletter, www.allAfrica.com, www.artsmanagement.net, www.ocpanet.org, CCD Diversity of Cultural Expressions News, www.unesco.org, Culture Link Newsletter and Power of Culture website
Information for future newsletters
To provide information for future newsletters, write to art27m@iafrica.com
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