New Website to Promote Artistic Collaboration

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Thursday, 02 July 2009 16:33

The South African metropolis of Johannesburg recently provided the setting for the launch of a new website dedicated to disseminating arts and culture information from all over the African continent and enabling artists to collaborate more effectively.

The site, Arts in Africa, provides information about cultural policies in different African countries, cultural newsletters and information on donors and foundations that are interested in arts, culture and cultural developments in Africa. The scope of information covered per country includes national cultural institutions, architecture, festivals and events, media, civil society organisations, theatre, dance and film.

A project of the Arterial Network, the site is meant to bridge the information gap that exists in Africa, identified at a Conference on re-vitalising African Cultural Assets held on Goree Island in 2007. It was at this same conference that the Arterial Network, an informal, dynamic network of individuals, institutions and funding partners working to support the effectiveness and growth of African arts and culture in civil society and to enhance the sustainability of creative industries in Africa, was established.

Arts in Africa website screenshot

^ A screenshot of the Arts in Africa website.

One of the resolutions made at the conference was the need to create a repository of information, resources and material on African arts and culture. Accordingly, the Arterial Network, with the support of the European Union and HIVOS decided to produce, host and maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date website on African arts, culture, heritage and the creative industries.

The website that is both in English and French seeks 'to empower the arts community on the continent [and] to facilitate networking and to assist international and local partners [of the arts] to make informed decisions and plans.'

Artists on the continent are already able to network through the use of such websites but it is envisaged that this website will step up the networking and interaction possibilities.

It covers a wide range of areas that affects the arts hence its targeted audience ranges from the artists, festival organisers, policy makers, promoters, students and educators among others.

The woman behind the compilation and updating of the content of the website, Florence Makanga, says of the website that it is the culmination of on-going research that started towards the end of October 2008. Much of the information on the site has been through internet research but they also intend to document information that is not currently found anywhere else on the Internet.

There are numerous interesting arts and culture projects happening across Africa but very few are documented on the Internet.

Says Makanga: “We need to work together with people who have such projects so that we exhibit them and achieve our aim of presenting the arts of Africa to the world through a simple 'click.' Readers and writers are greatly encouraged to make contributions content wise by sending information to the portal and also by giving constructive feedback on the site.”