Art Transparent Foundation (Poland), Pro Progressione Kulturalis Nonprofit (Hungary), and Women’s History Museum Zambia were pleased to announce an open call for submissions as part of the project “Deconfining arts, culture and politics in Europe and Africa”. Selected texts would be published in an upcoming intercontinental anthology:
Narratives of Closeness and Distance from Central-Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Africa – a Multicontextual Patchwork
Editors: Urszula Markowska-Manista & Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda
The anthology aims to explore the intersections and divergences in histories, memories, arts, sciences, and literatures from both continents. The editorial team sought contributions from artists, researchers, and writers based in or originating from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia, offering narratives that critically and creatively explore the notions of closeness and distance, both literal and metaphorical.
We invited submissions from authors who resonate with these contexts and work across various forms of expression. The goal of the anthology was to deepen our understanding—both theoretical and experiential—of proximity and separation in how we perceive, create, and reflect upon the worlds around and between us.
Accepted forms included:
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Personal essays
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Counter-narratives (fiction or nonfiction)
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Memoir fragments
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Academic articles
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Reimagined fairy tales or folk stories
Themes:
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Deconfinement: explorations of space, place, past, present, and future between Southern-Eastern Africa and Central-Eastern Europe
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Borderlands: reading human experience, revealing the significance of things
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New rituals: practices here, there, and in-between
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Knowledge: uncovering silent, indigenous, or regional knowledge as bridges toward mutual understanding
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The art-science intersection: decoding shared meanings
Submission Guidelines:
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Language: English
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Max. length: 54,000 characters (including spaces and punctuation)
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Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing
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Title and character count must be included on the first page
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No name or identifying information in the document
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One submission per author
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Send to: opencall@arttransparent.org
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Attach a separate file with personal details: name, country of residence, age, contact info
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Submissions must be original and unpublished
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All authors were required to agree to publication terms and editing collaboration if selected
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Authors retained copyright, but granted ART TRANSPARENT an exclusive license to publish the text in print and digital formats
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Selected authors received a fee of 500 EUR (gross)
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Submissions from individuals 18+ holding citizenship or residing in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Uganda, Tanzania, or Zambia were eligible
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Deadline (extended): June 4, 2023
Results & Publication
We are thrilled to announce the selected authors whose texts were included in the anthology:
Karolina Marcinkowska, Shilika Chisoko, Nyimbili Suzyika, Chiteu Kasongo, Mwaka Siluonde, Klara Wojtkowska.
This publication was made possible in collaboration with Pro Progressione (Hungary), Women’s History Museum (Zambia), and with the support of Nafasi Art Space (Tanzania) and Bosch Alumni Network. It forms part of the project Deconfining arts, culture and policies in Europe and Africa, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme.
The anthology is now available on the Art Transparent website in the Publications section →
We thank all applicants for their submissions and congratulate the selected authors!
Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda is a Zambian of Nigerian and Jamaican heritage. Her short stories have featured in various publications, including ‘Short Story Day Africa 2018’ for Door of No Return, which was translated into Portuguese for Brazilian Journal ‘Periferias’. Her latest short story, Her Sweetie, Her Sugarcane has been released in Harper Via’s anthology ‘Reflections’. She is an alumni of Curtis Brown Creative’s Breakthrough Course for Black Writers, and an MA candidate in Creative Writing at Kingston University London. Her first book No Be From Hia was selected as a Graywolf Africa Press finalist in 2019. Published in Zambia, it has gone on to markets in South Africa, Canada, and is due for release in the UK by Legend Press. She has served the Afritondo Prize judging panel in 2022, and is a Board Member of Alliance Française of Lusaka.
I self-identify as a researcher of education and childhoods in culturally diverse environments, conducting interdisciplinary fieldwork in a variety of contexts (the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus). My work draws on inclusive and participatory approaches, decolonial methodologies, interclusion, ‘difficult knowledge’ and ethical symmetry. I have been in academia for 20 years and have held positions at universities in Poland and Germany. From 2016-2021 I served as director (FU Berlin 2016) and co-director (2017-2021 FH Potsdam) of the international MA Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights (MACR) programme and from 2017-2018 as head of the UNESCO Janusz Korczak Chair at the APS. Currently, I’m an assistant professor and researcher at the University of Warsaw (Faculty of Education). Two decades of successful international research experience have resulted in recognised practical and research projects, academic and non-academic publications, and international cooperation in diverse places and spaces of activity in which I focus on human rights, voice, and participation.