5 Art Residencies in Africa to Have on Your Radar
Whether you’re looking to take your art to the bustling metropolis or on an off-grid desert escape, these 5 outstanding Art Residencies in Africa will have you covered.
Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative - Rural Mpumalanga, South Africa
Established in 1995, the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative (FATC) is part of the ‘protest’ dance theatre movement in South Africa in which social issues are critically approached. Alongside organizing professional trainings, FATC’s residency program provides artists the chance to produce work away from the distractions of the urban center and in the beautiful Mpumalanga region. The residency program also includes a carefully selected set of masterclasses facilitated by renowned South African theatre practitioners.
Location: Rural Mpumalanga, South Africa
Duration of program: Five weeks
Noldor Artist Residency - Accra, Ghana
A trailblazer in the Ghanaian contemporary art scene, Noldor Artist Residency offers one resident per year the best of both worlds. During the first stage of the program, residents live in a vibrant seaside suburb of Accra before moving in the final week to a secluded retreat on the city’s outskirts. The resident artist therefore becomes immersed in all that the vibrant city of Accra has to offer, before being provided ample space to reflect. Their work will then be exhibited both locally and globally, as enabled through international partnerships.
Location: Accra, Ghana
Duration of program: Four weeks
Image: Noldor Artist Residency
Queens Collective - Marrakech, Morocco
At the intersection of culture and activism, Queens Collective is a multidisciplinary arts, community and residency space that brings together Moroccan and international artists with the local community in Marrakech. The collective is particularly interested in inviting artists whose work fosters dialogue on feminist and gender-related topics within a postcolonial context. Through experimentation, discussion and networking, resident artists are led to ask themselves how their work relates to Marrakech and its inhabitants.
Location: Marrakech, Morocco
Duration of Program: Three months
Nafasi Art Space - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Nafasi Art Space is an interdisciplinary contemporary art center that focuses on providing a space for experimentation, risk and chance. Facilities are vast and therefore accommodating to artists of many disciplines, with an extensive open grounds consisting of studios, gallery and exhibition spaces, an art academy, film amphitheater, art library, supply shop, music rehearsal space and more. A residency at Nafasi Art Space is not a secluded, individual experience, but rather one of exchange; residents can expect to meet a community of local Tanzanian artists, with collaboration highly encouraged.
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Duration of program: Varying
Tankwa Artscape - Tankwa Karoo, South Africa
Tankwa Artscape is a yearly artist residency in the Tankwa Karoo semi-desert in South Africa. 5 hours from the nearest shop, resident artists find themselves truly immersed in a breathtaking natural setting. Themes of interdependence, the impact of humanity on the Earth, shelter and scarcity organically emerge in this environment. Living in tents in a desolate landscape means that Tankwa Artscape’s program is not for the faint hearted - although, for others, it could be a life-changing experience.
Location: Tankwa Karoo, South Africa
Duration of residency: Around one week
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