Sound Connects Fund – Awarded Grants 2021 - 2023
Music In Africa Foundation and Goethe-Institut in 2021, started the implementation of the Sound Connects Fund, a project made possible with funding from the ACP-EU Culture Programme which is implemented by the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and funded by the European Union (EU). The Sound Connects Fund aims at supporting creatives in Southern Africa in nine countries namely – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini. The project supports creatives and practitioners through sub grants to improve their products and services, in gaining more access to markets and to finances, as well as in implementing initiatives focused on audience literacy.
Name of project: Building the Ecosystem of Creative and Cultural Industry for the Film and Design Sectors in Southern Africa (BECCI-SA)
Brief description of project: The project seeks to promote cultural heritage through creativity of the film and fashion sectors. It will explore the value and supply chain ecosystem of the film industry, its productivity, marketing, sales and distribution of locally made films in Lesotho and Botswana, and to industrialise film by improving productivity of the sector and its supporting sectors. This will be accomplished by selecting and training filmmakers in the countries, producing a film, developing a screening cinema experience in local communities and then culminating in an industry conference and a streaming platform.
Partner organisation/s: GEM institute
City & country: Maseru, Lesotho
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Chope, Macua and Sena Cultural Practices: Creativity, spiritualities and local strategies to mitigate the impacts of global climate change.
Brief description of project: The project intends to develop research and audiovisual documentation of the current cultural practices of three ethnic groups in Mozambique: the Macuas, the Senas and the Chopes. The project aims to understand the cultural strategies that these people have in place with regard to climate change. Are there new songs that speak about the tragedies caused by recent cyclones? Do we have artists in these communities who, through their songs and dances, tell the community what is happening on our planet? These are some of the questions that the project is looking to explore.
The project will culminate in a contemporary and interdisciplinary installation based on and inspired by the elements studied in the three communities.
Partner organisation/s: Nzango Artists Residency
City & country: Matola, Mozambique
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: The Barefeet Carnival
Brief description of project: The carnival is a vibrant event bringing together upcoming artists to learn from four experts in the fields of costume design, contemporary dance, float and puppetry, marketing, networking, and financial management. Activities will culminate in a parade where the participating artists will have the opportunity to showcase their work, collaborate on creative projects and market their products to a wider audience while celebrating the cultural diversity of the region.
Partner organisation/s: BareFeet Theatre
City & country: Lusaka, Zambia
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €67 000.00
Online & social media: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Performing Arts Business and Digital Distribution
Brief description of project: The Performing Arts Business and Digital Distribution project is a mobile dance sector capacity-building programme. It aims to fast-track development, improve digital and business management skills and efficiency, while facilitating the recognition and standardisation of salaries and performance fees in the dance sector among cultural and contemporary dancers, dance groups and dance associations from all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.
Partner organisation/s: Chenhaka Trust
City & country: Mutare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €62 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: The Lesotho Archive Project
Brief description of project: The project will collect and archive recordings, videos, photographs and other materials related to the country’s rap culture and history, with a focus on both the early years of rap in Lesotho, as well as the latter period. Through this project, the organisers hope to provide a platform for local artists (writers, videographers, broadcasters) and to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of the value of documenting niche scenes in Lesotho and beyond.
Partner organisation/s: Sky Alpha HD
City & country: Maseru, Lesotho
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €49 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Collabo-Nation
Brief description of project: The Collabo-Nation project seeks to connect and unite the continent through a series of unique regional music collaborations. Collabo-Nation will support the weaving together of Africa’s rich and diverse musical genres and inspire a game-changing creative narrative, contributing to the development of new audiences, inspiring social cohesion, and building linkages between cultural industries and networks.
Partner organisation/s: House on Fire
City & country: eSwatini
Implementation dates: August 2022 – August 2023
Total project budget: €100 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Rackless Abutu Residency
Brief description of project: Rackless Abutu is a multidisciplinary residency focused on artists, artist managers and booking agents to ensure the current generation of Zambian and southern African artists augment the Zamrock music industry. The project envisages the residents producing new bodies of work, having access to new markets, strengthen capacities among professionals, with support for mobility and exchange.
Partner organisation/s: Modzi Arts
City & country: Zambia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – June 2023
Total project budget: €100 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of Project: Sounds of Nam: A National Tour
Brief Description of Project: The Sounds of Nam Music Tour will be a nationwide, monthly musical showcase taking place in different parts of Namibia, featuring artists from different regions of the country. The headlining act will be an established artist who is native to each respective region; they will perform alongside emerging talents who will be found through social media auditions. The project will run for 10 months.
Partner organisation/s: Free Your Mind Entertainment CC
City & country: Namibia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – July 2023
Total project budget: €69 454.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Macuti Festival
Brief description of project: The Macuti Festival will exhibit traditional dances, music and plays from the Island of Mozambique with the aim to promote, value and safeguard local cultural practices and traditions. The project also aims to train and empower local cultural agents in matters of cultural management, cultural marketing and entrepreneurship in order to make cultural products a sustainable business on the island.
Partner organisation/s: Gabinete de Conservação da Ilha de Moçambique- GACIM
City & country: Mozambique
Implementation dates: August 2022 – March 2023
Total project budget: €59 890.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Gule 2.0
Brief description of project: Gule 2.0 is an incubator program that aims to elevate the Zambian Performing Arts sector. Circus Zambia will host an all-encompassing series of 10 masterclasses where 10 of the most ambitious performing art groups of Zambia will engage with local and international experts to elevate their work. The masterclasses culminate in the Gule 2.0 Festival, a new platform where all the participating companies get a chance to showcase their new work. The festival provides a space to engage with new audiences and arts professionals. The performing art groups will also work with marketing professional to create unique promotion materials, which will be shared on an online platform.
Partner organisation/s: Circus Zambia
City & country: Lusaka, Zambia
Implementation dates: 1st January – 31 December 2022
Total Project budget: €69,800.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Ephemeral Tales
Brief description of project: Ephemeral Tales is a nail-biting, animated musical miniseries which draws the talents of a new generation of contemporary musicians and upcoming animators. The 4-part series produced in Zimbabwe by young artists under the guidance of the industry’s renowned animation and music veterans, dives headfirst into social themes, exploring issues affecting young people in ways that most have shied away from. Ephemeral tales is produced by Kay Media Africa and the visionary minds behind Comexposed.
Partner organisation/s: Kay Media (Pty) Ltd (trading as Kay Media Africa)
City & country: Harare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: December 2021 – July 2022
Total Project budget: €42,990.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Exchange and regional on-line workshop on administration and
financial management of cultural projects
Brief description of project: A regional project named “Training and administrative networking in cultural and artistic projects” focused on regional online experience exchange and workshops on administration and financial management of cultural projects. One of the main project outputs is the creation of a website to support sound administrative and financial management practices.
Partner organisation/s: Sipatsi Consulting e Gestao de Projectos, LDA
City & country: Maputo, Mozambique
Implementation dates: February 2022 – September 2022
Total project budget: €47, 250.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Project Ngandu
Brief description of project: Project Ngandu is a Ngandu Events CC initiative. The project encompasses four main components namely; the completion of Rock The Boat season 1 (four episodes), Rock The Boat season 2 (10 episodes), Ngandu Social Café (a scaled down Ngandu Festival) and a music summit. The music summit will take an approach of a masterclass where Ngandu Events will invite professionals in show business to impart knowledge to creatives based in Rundu, Namibia. The professionals will range from social media managers, music producers, visual content producers, fashion designers and more. The music summit will be recorded, packaged and shared on Ngandu TV’s YouTube channel. In addition, Ngandu Events CC will also produce Behind The Scenes episodes for each Rock The Boat. These episodes will take viewers through the making of Rock The Boat and what goes into the production of a project of this kind.
Partner organisation/s: Ngandu Events CC
City & country: Rundu, Namibia
Implementation dates: December 2021 – July 2022
Total project budget: € 57,680.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
