This publication is the third and final one to be co-produced by On the Move as part of the EU-funded Deconfining project. The project’s main aims are to explore and develop new approaches to intercontinental artistic and cultural cooperation, and to provide better access to information on intercontinental mobility and co-creation.
While the first report focused on visa issues, a key obstacle to smooth and fair collaboration between Africa and Europe (with a particular focus on Schengen countries), the subsequent two publications (including this one) aim to shed light on lesser-known subjects related to cultural mobility flows between the two continents.
Ukhona Ntsali Mlandu’s 2023 piece, ‘An Invitation to Transform Your Vision of the Cultural Mobility Ethic from an African Perspective’, can be read as a protest, a reflection and a manifesto. Above all, it is a real attempt to shift our understanding of the human, economic, political, societal and environmental realities underlying the idea of more ethical mobility for artists and cultural professionals. It places the notions of solidarity, care, hospitality and mobility justice at the core of this idea.
Conceived as a curated conversation, this publication ‘Movements of Translation and Return: Art, Mobility and the Diaspora’ addresses as a case study the topic of African diasporas in Europe and their connections to African-European cultural mobility flows. It is preceded by a data analysis of calls on the subject based on data collected by On the Move.
Rather than providing a comprehensive report on the subject, this publication offers an exploration of the nuances of the term ‘diaspora’, the power dynamics that must be addressed when designing (mobility) funding support, and the necessity of in-depth research, (contextualised) consultation, and experimentation when engaging with this multifaceted topic and its related realities.
The conversation also serves as a reminder to us (civil society organisations, networks, funders and policymakers, and more) to exercise caution, as what we devise, even with the best of intentions, may often create more discrepancies and frustrations than it addresses the core issues.
Researchers and contributors: Laura Ganza, Joseph Gaylard, Yvette Mutumba, Patrick Mudekereza, Jasper Walgrave and Claire Rosslyn Wilson.
Foreword: Ayoko Mensah
In collaboration with: Africalia
