Open call: Pan-African Creative Exchange 2025

 The Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) 2025, scheduled for July in Bloemfontein, South Africa, is organised every other year by the Vrystaat Arts Festival. The event provides an exceptional platform for Pan-African creations, enabling artists from the continent and the diaspora to showcase works ready for tour or still in development. PACE attracts producers, broadcasters, and festival directors from around the world, offering a unique opportunity to highlight and promote African and diasporic artistic talent.

Artists are encouraged to submit their projects – whether they are ready-to-tour works, ongoing productions, or project proposals – across all artistic disciplines before 9 September 2024.

PACE activities include:

• First nations ceremony.
• Breakfast, lunchtime, evening receptions and networking sessions.
• Showcasing of tour-ready work, work-in-progress and pitches.
• Round table discussions and workshops.
• PACE Hub for artists and promoters with a staffed information desk, catering options, display areas, video/presentation facilities.
• The PACE Book: A guide to the artists presenting work, with details of their work and contact details.
• Marketplace with artists’ stalls.
• Opportunity to extend participants’ stay to be part of the Vrystaat Arts Festival, Vrystaat Literature Festival, and Vrynge (Fringe Festival).

Eligibility

• Artists whose work responds to contemporary Africa.
• Work must be either tour-ready, a work-in-progress, or a concept in the early stages of development.
• Work must be from artists or companies based on the African continent or, for a limited number of places, part of the African diaspora.
• PACE recognises the African diaspora, which includes people of African descent living outside of the African continent, such as in the Americas, Oceania, Asia, and Europe, which is officially recognised by the African Union (AU) as its sixth African region.

Artists who would like to discuss their suitability for PACE should contact info@vrystaatkunstefees.co.za.

Read the guidelines and how to apply here. The deadline for applications is set for 9 September 2024.

View the original call here.