On the 30th of June the British council of Nairobi hosted the launch event celebrating the new Art new Audiences (nAnA) grant scheme. nAnA is intended as a platform of collaboration and creation for artists, musicians, filmmakers and cultural institutions from across East Africa. The launch serves as the start of an open call to artists to create new art to be shared with audiences throughout the region and on to the UK.
There is no restriction to the theme of projects, and can feature multiple art forms. To be eligible for the grant, however, the art must be collaborative and innovative in nature. The grant requires artists to work in partnerships that include at least one UK partner and two East African partners from two different countries, making each project representative of at least 4 different countries. Between three and five projects shall be selected in 2016–17, each receiving grants of up to £20,000 ( approx. 2.6 million KES).
nAnA is one aspect of the British Council’s East Africa Arts programme, Rocca Gutteridge, British Council’s Head of Arts East Africa says “Igniting connections between contemporary East African and British culture is at the core of our programme. East Africa Arts aims to share knowledge, understanding and inspiration across the creative industries.” The East Africa Arts program also includes Creative Hustles, skills sharing and networking events for East African artists, and Mobility East Africa, a bi-annual open call (beginning in August) that offers travel grants for up to 60 artists and creatives to participate in cultural events across the region.
