Europe-Tanzania residency projects

As part of the four-year EU-funded project called Deconfining, the Art Transparent Foundation (Wrocław) and Nafasi Art Space (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) have organised research residencies for artists from Poland and Africa specialising in video art. The aim of the residencies is to foster relationships between artists and practitioners of art and culture in both regions. An overview of the residency projects will be presented at the Festival Club on Sunday 23 June, from 3 to 6 p.m (22. SURVIVAL Art Review, Festival Club).

Czech artist Lindi Dedek’s site-specific artistic research focuses on the mpingo tree, whose wood is used in Makonde sculpture and in natural medicine, among other things. The tree, also known as Dalbergia or African blackwood, is an endangered species today. It provides a starting point for the artist to develop new creative methodologies that consider environmental and economic postcolonial perspectives in a sensitive and critical way.

Naitiemu Nyanjom from Kenya will examine traditions and rituals to show how elements such as dance, music, art, food and symbolism transcend geographical boundaries. Juxtaposing scenes from Polish traditions, ceremonies, food, architecture and nature with those of African tribes, in particular the Masai, she will explore the possibility of cross-cultural understanding and unity, while celebrating the uniqueness of both cultures.

Since 2018, Jan Moss from Poland has devoted most of his creative energy and efforts to promoting contemporary African culture in Poland and other European countries. He regularly collaborates with the Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. As part of the Deconfining project, he will collaborate with Tanzanian singeli artists. Moss seeks to help deconstruct harmful stereotypes, demonstrating that imagined differences between cultures and economies are greatly exaggerated and often unrealistic.

The egalitarian nature of dance is central to the work of Ugandan-born Kizza Moses, a.k.a. Teflon. Working with a dancer on crutches and inspired by his brother’s story, Teflon looks for answers to fundamental questions about dance – the right to judge, its social and cultural role and function in everyone’s life.

In her artistic and research practice, Michalina Musielak (Poland) looks for alternative knowledge production through interaction with local heroines and heroes, artists and researchers. Musielak’s experimental documentary tells the story of the construction of a day care centre (DCC) in Dakawa, Tanzania, as an example of multi-layered forms of solidarity focusing on the care perspective.

Tanzanian-born Josephine Kiaga focuses in her project on menstrual poverty. She wants to bridge the gap between cultures so that they can come into contact and try to understand each other in new ways, appreciating both differences and similarities. The story she wants to tell uses metaphorical imagery to highlight societal prejudices against people who menstruate.

DECONFINING is a four-year EU-funded project bringing together cultural practitioners, artists, policy makers, and audiences from two continents – Europe and Africa. Dedicated to contributing to a better understanding of (social, political and economic) confinement patterns from different viewpoints, the project aims to explore and develop new ways of intercontinental artistic and cultural (policy) cooperation and provide better access and information for intercontinental mobility and co-creation.