Open call: Kuonyesha Art Fund for African creatives

The Kuonyesha Art Fund’s mission is to support, promote and celebrate art and artists in all their diversity in Africa.

The fund also supports artists to improve the quality of their work in a way that enhances meaningful influence in shaping society and public life in Africa.

To apply, register here and follow the prompts. The application deadline for is 3 May.

Eligibility and selection criteria

• The winning artists are selected based on originality, feasibility, the quality of their work, technique prowess, conceptual and thematic engagement, honest reasoning, and rationale of the submitted ideas//projects in their chosen arts field.
• Projects that critically address/reflect urgent socio-political issues or a relevant topic in society.
• Projects that seek to build relations with new or broader audiences within the African discourse.
• Projects that develop new collaborative ways of working with communities, activists, scientists and the like.
• Projects that bring art to new spaces.

Who can apply?

• The grant award is open to all artists of all ages living and working on the African continent.
• Individual artists who are established and have demonstrated the ability to influence communities through their art.
• Artists who have potential to do more with their art. They may have some ideas and/or even made an initial investment in their art project but are unable to proceed because of limited resources. The fund will serve as a ‘push fund’ for such artists.
• New and/or emerging artists who may not have much exposure or are trying new ideas and require investment to enable them further to explore and showcase their work.
• Artists who require support to enhance the quality of their work for instance through additional research, technical art training, provision of equipment, as well as exposure.
• Only artists who are living in and/or citizens or have been granted permanent residence in any country in Africa may apply.
• All grant award winners are required to take up the grant awards as per the dates mentioned in the entry details or call of the application year.

Works that may be entered

The art fund acknowledges that there are numerous types of the arts in Africa, and therefore, the fund will focus on the broader clusters of visual, performing and literary arts further expounded into the following categories:

• Visual arts (e.g. painting, sculpture, weaving, woodcut printing, crafts, etc.)
• Fashion and product design
• Literature (including publishing)
• Audio-visual (graphics and animation, new media)
• Dance and music
• Theatre.
• Film and photography
• Folklore/spoken word
• Arts research
• Multidisciplinary projects
• Exhibitions/publications/arts dissemination
• Other

A detailed breakdown of the open call can be accessed here.

Note: No physical original artworks may be submitted during the application stage. Only photos/digital copies of the artworks/projects will be accepted.

For more information about the application process, email [email protected].

View the original call here.