Call for Artists – STARTS4AFRICA Residencies Programme (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Through 6-month residencies, STARTS4AFRICA will enhance art-driven innovation in four African countries: Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

This pioneering initiative will allow artists to address regional challenges around Food and Water, Digital Mapping and Speculative Landscapes, Culture and Coding, Wearable Technology and Smart Textile, Immersive Storytelling, Rethinking Sustainable Construction, and Speculative Urbanism.

The residencies programme of STARTS4AFRICA is grounded in the premise that effective technological innovation requires a meaningful integration of African cultural practices and artistic expressions. By involving local communities and celebrating their diversity, the residencies aim to leverage the potential of technology’s application to local challenges. The residencies are invited to explore unusual and innovative approaches to breakthrough technologies through the inclusion of artists, to bridge gaps between diverse approaches and territories. Ultimately, developing technical skill sets and critical thinking by setting up a bottom- up learning process, wherein communities take the lead in guiding scientific advancements and government initiatives.

STARTS4AFRICA will select 8 artists to be hosted by 8 organisations based in 4 African countries and to produce a tangible, presentable and art-driven innovation output addressing a local challenge, in the form of an artwork or a functional or speculative artistic prototype.

Challenges

• Challenge 1 Digital Cartographies: Mapping Dakar’s Intangible Heritage
  • This residency will explore how communities grapple with the challenge of preserving and transmitting their cultural heritage in urban settings, emphasising the intersection of mapping, urban communities, youth engagement, and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
  • Country: Senegal
• Challenge 2 “NETALI WAA KAM” Tell Ouakam
  • The challenge aims to unite tradition and innovation, integrating ancestral technologies with modern storytelling tools, involving the arts of the Word, wearable technologies and intelligent textiles to raise awareness on environmental challenges and safeguard the cultural heritage of the Lébous of Ouakam.
  • Country: Senegal
• Challenge 3 Alliance with trees
  • How, by combining scientific knowledge, artistic creation, imagination and technology, can they create alliances with trees to regenerate healthy living areas on the urbanisation front in Dakar? By creating a shared sense of purpose and facilitating collective learning, the residency will contribute to the emergence of new territorial negotiation methods for monitoring health, the environment and the regeneration of biodiversity in Sebikotane.
  • Country: Senegal
• Challenge 4 Exploring Tanzanian culture through immersive storytelling
  • They challenge artists to explore aspects of Tanzania’s political, socio-economic culture, history and group identity and contribute to the ‘Tanzanian-ness’ movement through innovative, critical and creative lens. Driven by a pursuit of immersive storytelling, this residency project aims to push the boundaries of narrative innovation through a fusion of cutting-edge technologies and Tanzanian culture.
  • Country: Tanzania
• Challenge 5 Beyond Blueprints: Bridging and harmonising Communities through Art, Tech, and Sustainability
  • They beckon visionary artists to reshape the narrative of sustainable semi-permanent construction in Dar es Salaam, converging the realms of art, technology, and social equity. At its core, this challenge pivots on the imperative to transform construction into a force for positive community change.
  • Country: Tanzania
• Challenge 6 Building Resilient Systems: Sustainable Solutions for Food and Water Access
  • This residency prompts artists to reflect on the following questions: How can they leverage digital innovation and technologies like IoT, AI or Data Analytics to analyse patterns in climatic changes, effects of conflict on food supply chain and food loss reduction? How might they create sustainable solutions for effective water resource management or improve access to food for citizens?
  • Country: Nigeria

What do they offer?

• Up to EUR 35.000 budget for artists residencies to cover the artist fee, the organisation and participation at artistic exhibitions/events and other relevant costs to ensure the successful implementation of the project (including but not limited to artwork/prototype production);
• Access to the resources/facilities provided by the Residency Host Institution;
• Assistance from the Local Expert Group (LEG);
• Participation in an individualised Mentoring Programme (including business-specific and tech/sci-related sessions);
• Access to the Europe-wide S+T+ARTS network;
• Participation at the S+T+ARTS4AFRICA Community events (online and on-site);
• Considered participation in exhibitions showcasing the outcomes of the residencies at Ars Electronica Festival in September 2024 in Linz and/or other festivals and venues upon selection; and
• Visibility through high impact communication activities to promote the artistic output and its innovation spillovers.
• Each residency will be facilitated by:
  • An innovation catalyst: serving as an intermediary between the artists and the local experts. They will follow the artists throughout the whole implementation of the residencies;
  • Residency Host Institution: providing guidance, advice (on concepts, technology and other aspects relevant to the residency), logistic support and access to premises and equipment; and support artists in searching and showcasing residencies results in events/ fairs/ exhibitions in AU and EU.
  • LEG: providing relevant expert know-how to the artists and anchoring them firmly within the relevant regional contexts as well as national and global sustainability frameworks.

Expected Outputs from Artist

They encourage applicants to enhance and maximise their participation and contribution to the Residency Programme, with the understanding that financial support is directly linked with the activities related to the expected outputs listed below:

• Producing a tangible, presentable and art-driven innovation output addressing a local challenge, in the form of an artwork or a functional or speculative artistic prototype;
• Providing (at the beginning of the residency) a descriptive abstract of the art-driven innovation output and a development plan describing the objectives, actions, timetable and setup necessary for implementing it;
• Participating and organising online or on-site local/national events, masterclasses, and seminars to (i) share experience in participating in STARTS4AFRICA Residency program; (ii) ensure the promotion of residency results. Participation in at least 6 online or on-site local/ national events is expected, as well as in international events (these events will be discussed, agreed and co-organized with the Residency Host Institutions);
• Actively participate in the dissemination and communication efforts of the Residency, sharing posts on social media, producing articles to be shared on websites (such as starts.eu), participating in written/audio/video interviews; and,
• Contributing to the Impact Assessment Analysis undertaken by STARTS4AFRICA Consortium and the Residency Host Institutions.

Admissibility Criteria

• To be an eligible applicant, proposals must be presented by an individual artist or a collective of artists that meets the following rules:
  • Have a fiscal identification number (VAT or similar);
  • Must be:
    • nationals of the countries covered by STARTS4AFRICA (DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania) or permanent residents in any country in Sub-Saharan Africa;
    • artistic teams mixing artists from Europe and from Sub-Saharan African countries;
  • Is not affiliated with any of the STARTS4AFRICA Consortium partners and Associated Partners, their affiliated entities, employees and permanent collaborators;
  • Cannot receive more than one S+T+ARTS grant in 2024
  • Must have produced enough artwork to have their artistic experience assessed.

For more information, visit European Commission.