Kauma's Brief Encounters - Global Frameworks for Creative Exchange (Parts I & II)
Funder
Policy Support Funds
Value
£14,000
PI and Project Team Members
Rosa Cisneros (PI)
Jade Ward (Co-I and Postgraduate Researcher)
Mercy Nabirye (Kauma Arts)
Heather Benson
Jess Choi
Collaborators
Marie Polodeanu (Reel Master Production)
Duration of Project
January 2022 - March 2022
Project Overview
Last year Kauma Aarts (KA) organised the Kauma Brief Encounters (KBEs) that brought together creatives and key leaders to engage and connect in a closed, safe and neutral space to discuss, share and exchange ideas, cultivate collaborations, and deepen the artistic value for artforms within the African Diaspora and Africa. The primary aim of the KBEs is to provide a platform that spotlights the work of creatives to intentionally facilitate their connection with other artists nationally and internationally. KA curated 5 KBEs in-house featuring national and international leaders with the creatives exploring the themes and related provocations. A key provocation was How do we create a level playing field for creative exchange across diasporas and the continent?
Key outcomes from the 5 KBEs were:
- Cultivate collaborations between artists across 2-3 continents per season
- Deepen artistic value for art forms across the African Diasporas and The Continent
- Bring artists together from across many art forms
- Profile work of active Tribe member(s) in the Kauma Arts digital hub
- Promote Kauma Arts projects
- Provide a ‘home-away-from-home’ for like-minded people, crossing borders in cities around the world
- Influence the work environment and policies supporting creative exchange on a global scale
Kauma Arts has done a number of activities this year but for this proposal we would specifically focus on the KBEs as one of the platforms we carefully curate with intention, to continue to provide a platform that CONNECTS COMMUNITIES towards an ACTION PLAN.
Project Objectives
Specifically we see the following emerging from this project:
- Create a guide/manifesto critically analysing the KBEs to move the findings and outcomes to impact and to inform policy-makers; share this manifesto with key players in the Dance Sector (e.g One Dance UK, Birmingham DanceXchange), Academic institutions (e.g C-DaRE), and charities (e/g Society for Dance Research, Birmingham Royal Ballet)
- Organise 2 KBEs (February and March)
- Create films on the previous KBEs, interview key people and create films on the 2 new KBEs organised during the project
- Produce visuals/creative content from outcomes of KBEs that can be shared with policy makers
- Converse with selected institutions and related policy makers to support a campaign for a specific change for the sector based on findings/analysis from existing KBE. Continue the structured discussions and outcomes towards an action plan.
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Project Impact
This collaboration would also inform a future academic paper, presentation at a symposium,potentially lead to an AHRC bid submission, lend itself to a C-DaRE invites, support the Dance Research Matters Campaign, and feed into the SDR intersectionality online exhibition. Please note Cisneros’ research has recently provided evidence to the >EU and UK Parliament and made key recommendations in relation to arts, culture and communities. The team feels strongly that policy recommendation can emerge from this work.
