This programme invites artists to engage with heritage narratives from six countries, reimagining them through a contemporary creative lens. Selected participants will receive a 6,000 EUR grant and take part in a six-month Heritage Narrative process phase, culminating in three coproduced creative works.
The Goethe-Institut invites creative and artistic practitioners from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the EU, to apply for grants under the ‘Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture: Southern Africa’ project.
This initiative, funded by the European Union, aims to strengthen cultural cooperation within Southern Africa as well as between Southern Africa and Europe, to enhance regional cultural production capacities, and to promote intercultural dialogue through the co‐creation of new narratives around tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
These works will be showcased at: a local presentation festival in the country where the Heritage Organisation is based, and a one‐week regional presentation festival hosted in one of the six project countries.
Each Narrative Cluster is a collaborative group of cultural practitioners coordinated by an organisation and made up of nine interdisciplinary artists drawn from a minimum of three of the six participating countries.
As part of the cluster activities, each selected artist or creative commits to the following:
- Travel to and participation in a one‐week narrative retreat
- Travel to two joint working sessions with the cluster
- Online collaboration and co‐working with fellow artists over a six‐month period
- Travel to two public project presentation events (after the six‐month narrative development process)
Each selected artist or creative will receive a stipend of 6,000 EUR for their participation over the six-month project duration. Travel costs, including accommodation and per diems, will also be covered by the project. All co‐production and presentation costs related to the Narrative Cluster activities will be covered by the hosting heritage organisation.