Algeria

masar-1
Second callSubgrantees

Masar 1 was an itinerant Land Art and photography project taking place all along the Trans-Saharan road 1 of Algeria.

A series of workshops have engaged Algerians youngsters living in the main cities along the road and active in local associations. This very old road was used by the caravans for 2000 years to exchange food, textiles and all kind of merchandise. It is a link between the Northern Africa and the Sub-Saharan region and its people.

The Land Art actions aimed at creating a dialogue between the natural materials found along this road (mineral, organic and recovered materials) and the stories told by teenagers about the road, whether historical or mythical ones. The photography action aims to be a medium to express these stories using the narrative power of images.

The workshops taken place throughout the 1900 Km long axis aimed to connect different social, geographical and historical realities of Algeria. Associations and youth have linked to several partners and stakeholders from the different regions. The project’s final results were an exhibition all along the road of 75 printed photographs 2m X 2m size.

The project was implemented in 6 main cities along this road: Algiers, Laghouat, Ghardaïa, El Meniaa, In Salah and Tamanrasset.

Masar 1 is led by Association algérienne des amis de la casbah “Sauvons la casbah”, an association with cultural and social vocation, based in Algiers, campaigning for the preservation of cultural heritage in danger. In partnership with Caritas Algiers and in collaboration with Polygraff, based in France.

Links :

Association algérienne des amis de la casbah “Sauvons la casbah”

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AssociationDesAmisDeLaCasbahSauvonsLaCasbahDAlger

Masar 1

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/masar1algerie

02-02062
Second callSubgrantees

Madrassa is a program of curatorial research and practice in contemporary art, and one of the first of its kind in the region. It strives to educate and connect a community of young arts professionals offering them training and networking opportunities. Through a call for applications, Madrassa invited young curators and cultural practitioners from North Africa and the Middle East to participate in a programme based independent curatorial practices, that look beyond the existing modes of production and dynamics of the global art world. It explored socially engaged visual arts practices, promoted collaborative projects and transnational exchanges, offering a platform for experimentation to the region’s emerging curatorial talents. The Madrassa program was launched in 2015 by l’Atelier de l’Observatoire (art and research) in Casablanca.

Madrassa has been implemented in this occasion between Amman, Casablanca, Alexandria and Algiers, consisting on a series of talks, visits and workshops in each city, and enable the participants to put their acquired knowledge and training into practice by curating a project in each city.

Spring Sessions is an experiential learning programme and arts residency based in Amman, Jordan. The programme brings together emerging and established cultural practitioners to produce work and share results. The purpose is to encourage participants to question existing paradigms by experimenting outside of traditional models.

Spring Sessions

Website: https://thespringsessions.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/thespringsessions/

Atelier de l’Observatoire

Website: http://www.atelierobservatoire.com/madrassa

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AtelierObservatoire

Mass Alexandria

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MASSAlexandriaSpace

ARIA

Website: http://ariaprojects.org/?page_id=1600

Kibrit 3
Second callSubgrantees

KIBRIT (كبريت) is a collaborative research and production programme dedicated to contemporary artistic and curatorial practices engaged in processes of reactivation of cultural heritage and collective memory (architecture, radio and sound archives, cinema, photography). Curated and implemented by a network of independent art spaces and initiatives based in North Africa and Middle East, KIBRIT embodies the willingness of its partners to build sustainable synergies, and to exchange cultural practices, ideas and activities engaged in the social fabric.

To reach these objectives, KIBRIT has implemented in 2017:

  • A series of collaborative research projects to reactivate specific physical or ephemeral sites of cultural heritage in each of the partners’ locations: led by the local partner, each project proactively involves the others endorsing a methodology based on mutual enrichment through exchange of skills, knowledge and practices, while engaging local communities, researchers and artists to concur onto the reactivation process enacted. A final, major event, in the form of a publication and an exhibition, took place between November and December;
  • A series of punctual meetings and events in Algiers, Tunis, Casablanca, Marrakech, Ramallah and Barcelona. Through public programmes, workshops, artistic interventions, trainings, research sessions, public presentations and networking, these meetings involved KIBRIT’s partners and local communities in the reactivation process of local cultural heritage;

The development of the KIBRIT online research and visibility platform: this platform it is a key tool to support and give visibility to each project and the activities. Secondly, it is a space for critical reflection on how contemporary artistic and curatorial practices engage in processes of reactivation of cultural heritage and collective memory in the region; and finally gathers the researches and cartographies on this topic.

Links:

Le 18

Website: www.le18.weebly.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/le18marrakech/

Atelier de l’Observatoire

Website: www.atelierobservatoire.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AtelierObservatoire/

Maison de l’Image

Website: http://maisonimage.tn/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maisonimagetn/

Ramallah Municipality

Website: http://www.ramallah.ps/english.aspx

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/R.Municipality/

Rhizome

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Rhizome-1503325383025017/

CeRCCa Centre de Recerca i Creacio Casamarles

Website: https://cercca.com

JISER Reflexions Mediterrànies

Website: www.jiser.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JISERArts/

KIBRIT

Website: http://kibrit.org/en/about.html

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Kibrit-983630971771456/

inkylab
Second callSubgrantees

Since its establishment, Maison de l’Image works in synergy with a network of collaborators, public and private institutions and associations focusing on the visual arts in Tunisia and abroad. The association has organized a series of workshops, exhibitions and meetings for artists and creative organisations and individuals from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

After becoming well established, a partnership with 2 cultural organisms from the MENA region: Brokk’Art from Algeria and L’Uzine from Morocco, was agreed. Maison de l’Image decided to create Inkylab – a publishing platform, a collaborative print space and a network, aiming to create accessible tools and a networking context to enhance the exposure of talented creative illustrators, and artistic collectives based in the MENA region. Inkylab has constituted a platform for new questions, images, and ideas, to blur geographic and social boundaries, and to open new frontiers for cultural and creative innovation. Through publishing, educational, and curatorial activities, Inkylab gathers artists who seek to create, engage, and communicate topics and issues concerning self-publishing and lead them towards collaboration. The final event in Tunisia as part of the ‘Salon   International de la Bande Dessinée de Tazarka (SIBDT)’, August 2018, will be an ideal opportunity for Inkylab to showcase the work of the talented artists, collective illustrators and artistic based in the MENA region.

Links:

Maison de l’Image

Website: http://www.maisonimage.tn

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maisonimage

Brokk’Art

Website: http://www.brokk-art.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BROKKART-327166565525/

L’Uzine

Website: http://luzine.ma/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uzine7/

Inkylab

Facebook: www.facebook.com/inkylabtn/

une danse pour demains
SubgranteesFirst call

This Project is initiated by two women choreographers, each working for the development of contemporary dance in their countries. They have identified ten young Moroccans and Algerians they wish to support in their creative process. Dancers will experience an intensive and full training and they will have an opportunity to extend network and visit regional events of importance. Dance will be shared from choreographers to dancers, but also and transmit to youngers amateurs through regular workshops for groups of children and adolescents in partnership with a neighbourhood association in Casablanca and Algiers. The aim is to strengthen the capacities of the young dance scene in South Mediterranean by transmitting the interest to youth and children, and develop a networking the region about dance, but generally art and culture.

This project is led by Espace Darja/Association les rencontres de la danse based in Casablanca, in partnership with Association Jazz Ame/Cie Nacera Belaza, a dance company working between Algeria and France; in cooperation with the Casablanca based Association Initiative Urbaine.

Links:

Espace Darja/Association les rencontres de la danse:
http://www.espacedarja.com
https://www.facebook.com/page.espacedarja

Association Jazz Ame/Cie Nacera Belaza:
http://www.cie-nacerabelaza.com/compagny.html
https://www.facebook.com/cienacera.belaza/?fref=ts

Association Initiative Urbaine:
http://www.iuhm.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Association-Initiative-Urbaine-102754409816012/?fref=ts

—
Photo by Espace Darja.

el medreb
SubgranteesFirst call

EL MEDREB is an Algerian slang expression used, depending on the context and the interlocutor, to define both an unknown location and a very precise one.

In today’s Algiers, on the one hand there is a lack of independent spaces for expression while at the same time the authorities keep planning and building huge and costly infrastructures to which citizens cannot relate. On the other hand there is an abundance of neglected and unexploited architectural heritage that could fulfil the needs of creating common spaces for social encounters and culture making from the community in sustainable ways.

EL Medreb aims to investigate the social, architectural and historical context of the district of El Hamma in Algiers, which is considered one of the biggest hubs of abandoned buildings there. The district has a complex urban fabric as besides being an industrial site it also includes a diverse range of population which number decreased exponentially in the last years due to the politics of desertification of the territory.

Parallel to the research and investigation, there will be work on the preservation of the collective memory by reaching out directly to the people who inhabit El Hamma. Moreover, the project will aim towards the recuperation of these abandoned places, as potential cultural spaces and urban commons.

The Project is the result of a partnership between Chrysalide, a cultural association based in Algiers, focused on creating and putting on stage plays, make films, exhibitions and art events; and Sayka, a cultural association based in Constantine, aiming at empower young individuals and talents through creative musical hands-on & interactive projects; in cooperation with JISER Reflexions Mediterrànies, a cultural association based in Barcelona.

Links:

http://elmedreb.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ELMEDREB/

Chrysalide:

https://www.facebook.com/Chrysalide-669618159849996/?fref=ts

Sayka:

https://www.facebook.com/Sayka.ong

JISER Reflexions Mediterrànies:

http://www.jiser.org/index.php?lang=fr

https://www.facebook.com/Jiser-Reflexions-Mediterr%C3%A0nies-338965579476656/?fref=ts