Open call: BASA Cultural Producer’s Programme in SA

The call is designed for creatives who are already actively working as cultural producers. It seeks to help young cultural leaders step up and expand their vision, voice and participation in the sector.

Now in its second iteration, the programme zeros in on the issue of leadership succession in the cultural sector. The Cultural Producers Programme is a British Council initiative delivered by BASA in a partnership with Common Purpose South Africa and the Pan African Creative Exchange (PACE).

Interested creatives can apply here before 31 January 2024.

The four-month programme is a hybrid, part time engagement, with online sessions and networking as well as an active immersion period which sees the cohort gather in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. The cohort will attend the British Council’s SoCreative Summit from 8 to 10 May. The summit is a purpose-driven programme of talks, workshops, immersions and experiences set to super-charge creative and innovative entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural industries. They will also attend and participate in PACE’s Career Development Lab in conjunction with the Vrystaat Arts Festival in Bloemfontein at the end of June.

Criteria for applications

Applicants must:

• Be 18 to 35 years of age.
• Be early to mid-career individuals with at least three years of professional experience as a cultural producer (managing mid to large-scale cultural events with an array of stakeholders).
• Show commitment to the arts sector of South Africa.
• Have the potential and ambition to take increased responsibility in the sector.
• Be in a role that requires them to manage and/or influence multiple internal or external stakeholders (e.g. colleagues, peers, team members, partners) and create wider impact.
• Demonstrate a leadership track record within an organisational context or more broadly in society (whether in formal leadership or otherwise).

The programme includes a work placement stint and access to the SoCreative e-Learning Platform. The selected cohort on the Cultural Producers Programme will join an extensive sub-Saharan Africa and UK network shared by the delivery partners and will become part of an active alumni of cultural producers who formed the cohort of the previous iteration.

“There is a pervasive lack of mobility, sustainability and opportunity across the sub-Saharan creative sector that was further exacerbated by COVID and the sequential economic squeeze,” British Council’s head of arts South Africa, Grace Meadows, said. “This programme aims to ignite the next generation of cultural leaders – young innovators who will navigate these challenges and carve a way forward for the sector. One of the most important elements of any entrepreneurial success is network, and this programme truly expands access both locally and globally. We are looking forward to meeting the leaders of tomorrow.”

View the original call here.