THE AFRICA PRIME INITIATIVE – SUPPORTING CREATIVES WORKING IN THE VISUAL ARTS IN AFRICA



Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic the creative industry around the world has suffered. Actors and other performers, writers, producers, technical crew, and the whole host of talented people involved in putting on the TV shows, films, plays and other art forms we love so much have found themselves out of work and struggling. This is even more true in developing economies, such as in Africa, where governments simply do not have the resources to fund the furlough schemes we have seen rolled out in advanced economies.
 
Helping creatives in Africa to get back on their feet and producing new work is not just good for creating employment and helping to drive economic growth, but it is good for the soul of a nation and is vital work.
 
The challenges of the past year have been one of the main motivations for launching the ‘Africa Prime Initiative’ (API), the new philanthropic arm of Africa Prime, the video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming platform curating pan-African content for a global audience.
 
Africa Prime’s main objective is to provide African content creators with a platform to showcase their talent around the world and take control of Africa’s narrative. API will look to support creatives in the visual arts on an individual basis with grants and prizes – this will ensure we are nurturing local talent and helping to develop the African storytellers of the future. Only in doing so do we believe that in the future Africans will be able to take sovereignty over the continent’s narrative and create content that is authentic and will resonate around the world.
 
By providing aspiring creatives in the visual arts space across the continent with tangible resources, we are empowering them to take ownership of their stories and shape how they want Africa, and Africans, to be perceived.  Across the African continent, the talent is present, and so is the hunger to learn, perfect their craft and become self-reliant. Focusing on knowledge as a resource by funding training and mentorship programmes, and equipping creatives with the necessary tools to thrive, will bear fruit.  As Benjamin Franklin once said, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. I am confident that the more we invest locally, the more we’ll harvest globally.
 
As API’s work grows and develops, more information, including on eligibility and how to apply for support, will be made available on our website. Further announcements will be made in due course.
 
To find out more about API, please visit: https://africaprimeinitiative.com/
 
To find out more about Africa Prime, please visit: https://africaprime.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AFRICA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION MUST PERSIST

Storytelling has long played a central role in African societies with storytellers often holding a special place as the keepers of history and tradition. However, with migration, Africa’s stories have left the continent and are now disseminated across the world. Taking full ownership of our stories through new Afro-centric content requires us to reclaim our rich storytelling culture. With digitalisation, we have observed a renewed and increased interest from the diaspora in stories from home, as well as a strong desire from African creatives to share their authentic stories with a wider international audience. Observing these two dynamics has made it apparent that only by mutually strengthening collaboration between the diaspora and locals will we be able to ensure our storytelling tradition endures. Here again there is important work to be done to ensure we enable such collaboration to thrive. We must create an enabling environment, composed of structures facilitating knowledge sharin
Read more

ACHIEVING THE AFRICA WE WANT THROUGH BETTER REGIONAL INTERGRATION

In the wake of the post-colonial movements started across Africa in the 1960’s, pan-Africanism was born. With it came the idea that the continent’s challenges would be solved by African people, for African people. Although this pan-African vision of a united Africa solving common challenges has regained popularity, achieving it requires better coordination and cooperation from all involved. Furthermore, promoting a higher level of social inclusiveness and ownership solutions mustn’t be overlooked as each and every African citizen must have the opportunity to contribute to a better Africa.   With this comes the role of intra-African integration, which aims to facilitate trade and movement of people, as well as data and information transmission. Regional integration directly aligns with the Ubuntu philosophy which is a cornerstone of African culture. Finding solutions to common challenges must be done together.   Although a fully integrated Africa has been challenging to achieve, we must
Read more

AFRICA CAN AND SHOULD BECOME A LEADING CULTURAL EXPORTER

Image
When we think about African art, our minds are almost immediately redirected to the few pieces available in museums across the world. Yet, even so, little remains known about African art and the history behind it. Africa teems with incredible art and talent that deserves to be showcased on the global stage. Displaying authentic African art in partnership with Africa is instrumental in regaining control of the continent’s narrative globally. Although the level of creativity across the continent is unmatched, so much is yet to be done when it comes to identifying and nurturing aspiring African artists. African artists can potentially become cultural ambassadors not only for their country of origin, but also as cultural representatives for the continent as a whole. Investing and betting on art and culture to portray a more accurate and authentic vision of the continent must be part of the strategy to expand Africa’s soft power globally. Yet, we must ensure that we empower local artists by
Read more