A Vibrant Space for Arts to Thrive in Tanzania

Nafasi Art Space would like to sincerely thank all the donors and contributors who generously continued to support March - June 2023 quarterly period. Your donations have had a significant impact, helping us implement our objectives key areas in Nafasi Art Space strategic plan 2021/26 : artistic skills, audience engagement, partnerships, and sustainability. These achievements serve as a testament to the collective effort and support that have allowed us to thrive and make a significant difference in the art and cultural landscape in Tanzania and globally. We are grateful for your invaluable support that has contributed to our success in furthering art and culture sector.

The following are the highlights achievement on different key objective area;

Artistic Skills and Professional Development: During this period, Nafasi Art Space prioritized the growth and development of artistic skills. Our Nafasi Academy and Film Club played crucial roles in providing theoretical and practical sessions. The Nafasi Academy focused on professionalizing curatorial and art management skills for emerging curators and cultural practitioners. The Film Club honed film scripting skills and provided industry insights. These programs empowered artists and creatives to excel in their chosen fields and showcased their talent. For example, the Nafasi Film Club resumed their film workshop every Thursday, Two visual artists from the Nafasi Academy Alumni (2020 & 2022,) Hedwige Tairo and Kija Caroynline, both  have had the opportunity to attend a 2-months residency at 257 Art gallery in Burundi. Additionally, Nafasi Art Space hosted a two-week printmaking workshop facilitated by renowned Tanzanian artists Gadi Ramadhan & Sebastian Mnjindo (kokoTen Studio).

Audience Engagement and Visibility of Tanzanian and East African Art: Nafasi Art Space emphasized engaging our audience and expanding our reach. Through active social media management and strategic content creation, we fostered meaningful connections with our followers. Our online presence , via including our website, newsletter, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, allowed us to share updates, opportunities, and stories of our artists with the public in Tanzania and internationally. This resulted in increased engagement, reaching 15,405 followers on Instagram currently  and making us one of the most followed cultural spaces in Tanzania with many audience in Germany, Kenya, USA, Madagascar, Rwanda, Uk and many other spaces. Additionally, we hosted events, art talks, and workshops for artists , curators, cultural creatives as well as outreach to primary school children, attracting a diverse audience and building connections with the community in result some parents have enrolled their children to our saturday art classes of children program  led by Dar Art Youth (DAY) taking at the space every Saturday. 

Partnership and Network Building: Collaboration remains vital at Nafasi Art Space. We forged partnerships and built networks within the cultural and creative sectors in Tanzania and outside. A major highlight was our participation in the Global-giving Gathering, where our team represented Nafasi Art Space and had the opportunity to facilitate opening & closing sessions, connect with other beneficiaries, and explore possibilities for future collaborations.

Sustainability and Resilience: During the reporting period Nafasi Art Space prioritized area of  sustainability and resilience by conducting research, gathering stakeholders' views on diversifying revenue collectiing sources and initiatives such as prints sales, merchandise sales and venue rentals which will have huge contribute to our financial stability. During this period, we participated in Global-Giving campaigns, April 2023 Little By Little campaign generating not less than $100 USD in small recurring donations,gift cards and receiving in-kind support from various partners. We also invested in capacity building for our staff, equipping them with essential skills by attending online webinars organized by Global-Giving to learn on developing fundraising campaigns and engage the local community in supporting  the space to continue provide platform for artists and art lovers to engage and share expeirences.

In conclusion, Nafasi Art Space sincerely thanks our generous donors and contributors. Your support has greatly impacted on implementing the Nafasi Art Space Strategic plan 2021/26 durig this period. Together, we have made a significant difference in the art and cultural landscape. As we continue our journey, we kindly request your ongoing support to help us reach our goal of $50,000 we almost halfway and to support our upcoming July- Bonus fundraising campaign initiatives. Your continued contributions are vital to our success. Thank you for being part of our mission to promote art and culture.

Links:

• For more updates connect with us on social media

The Nafasi Art Space team would like to wish a Happy 2023 to everyone and take this chance to express our gratitude to the GlobalGiving community for always supporting Nafasi Art Space. Gratitudes to the board members, management, artists members, academy & film club participants who contribute to different activities taking place at Nafasi Art Space as well as sharing Knowledge and experiences towards the achievement of Nafasi Art Space goals and objectives.

The last quarter of FY22 had major changes in management with transition of Rebecca Corey as managing director to incoming Lilian Hipolyte Mushi as well as establishment of Monitoring & Evaluation department which indicates significant growth and adaptation to changes at Nafasi Art Space as an organization.

Nafasi Art Space report will focus on reporting progress made during the last quarter period of November- January 2023 where there have been a number of achievements made during the reporting period;

• Completion of Nafasi Academy 2022 cohort where 9 artists graduated from the Nafasi academy program 
• Hosting the Digital art residency and exhibition for two artists from Tanzania & Kenya respectively. 
• Completed a fundraising campaign to reach the goals of 10,000$ for one fundraising campaign whereas Nafasi Art Space has been able to collect a total of 11,089.45$ was collected through GlobalGiving fundraising campaigns 
• Social media followers on Instagram and Twitter have continued to increase from 13,687 to 14,541 and 1,300 to 1,317 respectively.
• Google Business profile has continued to gain engagement with the audience through Interactions, website clicks, direction and call for people who are interested to know about Nafasi Art Space. 
• Nafasi Art Space newsletter followers has increased as a result of audience attending to our events, workshops gaining 125 subscribers amounting to 4325 subscribers
• Staff have also benefited from Capacity building on staff Branding, effective communications & excellency customer service delivery.

Artistic skills and professional development

Nafasi Art Space has continued to facilitate theoretical and practical sessions under the Nafasi Academy and Film Club which have been our core programs during the reporting period i.e. in the academy emerging artists received training on how to professionalize their career to become successful entrepreneurs through their talents as well as in Film Club where they have been developing their film scripting skills, industry insights, scouting locations for developing their short films (a minimum of 10 films have been created, 9 films were short films were showcased at the final event) this has increased awareness and attracted many emerging artists who are looking for opportunities to develop & professionalize their career in the creative sector.

Moreover, Nafasi Art Space has continued to use social media platforms as source of sharing opportunities and reaching out to its audience whereas during the reporting period open calls campaigns were conducted for Nafasi academy 2023 Curatorial and art management, Artists In residence Programs and the Feel Free grant program whereas through that 117 applied for the residencies, 37 applied for the Curatorial art management programs and 75 applied for the Feel Free Grant program respectively.

Visibility of Tanzanian art is improved nationally, regionally, and internationally
With the increase and consistency sharing of Nafasi Art Space day-to-day activities through website & social media platforms i.e newsletter, instagram, twitter and Facebook where it has become the most useful tool for communication which has resulted to increase of awareness and visibility of the Nafasi academy & film club programs to other emerging artists, organisations and potential stakeholders who have showed interest to join and collaborate with Nafasi Art Space in the coming programs

Capacity Building and Staff development
During the reporting period Nafasi Art Space facilitated two workshops for Management team on Branding, effective communication and excellency customer service whereas these session have been insightful session and open mind to the staff on learning different procedures on developing brand identity, communication skills within the team and outside and thus has smoothen implementation of other projects with different funding from other donors.

Partnership and Networking between cultural creative sector
Nafasi Art Space has continued to maintain its relationship with Tanzania Art & culture Council i.e National Art Council (BASATA) & National Kiswahili Council (BAKITA) by collaborating and inviting them to a panel discussions to engage & exchange with artists and learn challenges that artists are facing on accessing their services and what could be done to address them one representative from each council attend the panel discussion that was organised at the year-ending final even

CONCLUSION

In the coming quarter FY2023 Nafasi Art Space is looking forward to implementing the Nafasi Academy program on Curatorial and Art Management, Feel Free Grant as well as soft Launch of the Nafasi Art Space Digital Application which will enable Tanzanian artists to showcase and sell their works through digital platform.

Moreover Nafasi Art Space is looking for more effective communication through Facebook & Twitter as better media to reach a diverse audience, improve call to actions to attract potential stakeholders to participate and engage with Nafasi Art Space activities.

Nafasi Art Space is very thankful for the generosity of its supporters and the general public. As a valued supporter of Nafasi Art Space we hope you enjoy our quarterly progress reports to the global community. We are committed to ensuring Nafasi Art space continues to promote the creativity and professionalism of Tanzanian contemporary artists through  training, exposure, cross cultural dialogue, and collaborative artistic endeavours as well as maintaining Nafasi Art Space core values and beliefs as we aim to continue to build the resiliency, flexibility and creativity of arts professionals in Tanzania, aligning with Nafasi Art Space strategic plan 2021/26. We’re excited to share some of the wonderful accomplishments and success stories from the artist community as well as challenges, risks and way forward towards the next quarter; 

Artistic skills and professional development 

Nafasi Art Space continued to facilitate regular mentorship sessions on theoretical and practical art sessions to emerging artists through ongoing programs from the Nafasi Academy which takes the form of intensive theoretical & practical modules, exchanges  whereas sessions were facilitated by Tanzanian professional artists and curators as well as exchanges from international artists in residency Morgan Craig from United States of America (USA), Orangcosong  (JAPAN ) and guest speakers from South Africa, Sudan and more have had the opportunity to share their knowledge and artistic techniques to the recruited artists in the Nafasi Academy and film club program.

Moreover, Nafasi Art Space continued to host the film club sessions whereas they facilitated filmmakers’ workshop with session facilitated by filmmakers from Kenya, Greece, South Africa, and Tanzania who shared their knowledge and experience to the Nafasi Film Club workshops on producing, cinematography and directing so as to increase improvement in the quality of projects by the filmmakers. Currently the film club participants are working on the pre-production of three 12-minute short films, which will be screened at Tukutane Dar in February 2023.

Increased independent art production and presentation

Nafasi Art Space provides training, artist hangouts, and public art workshops which encourage learning and exchange between artists from different backgrounds and across disciplines through programs such as Nafasi Academy, Nafasi Film Club and other public workshops. These programmes have continued to attract strong and consistent participation of artists, resulting in the creation of innovative and creative works which carry different messages that open dialogue within the society about issues facing the community, such as mental health, economic hardship, youth leaderships, and more.

These sessions provide opportunities for artists to build and professionalise their careers from exposure and experience they get from exchanging with other artists and having a platform to showcase their production and being able to explain to the audience the ideas behind their works. 

Community Engagement and Access to the arts

During the reporting period, Nafasi has hosted several public workshops under the name of "Tukutane Nafasi" event series. Many of our community events were documented  or live-streamed on Nafasi Art Space social media pages. Three editions of the Tukutane Nafasi event series were hosted during the reporting period as well as Nafasi’s flagship event, Wikiendi Live, where art lovers  from differently background had the opportunity to experience creative works of diverse disciplinary artists through a visual art exhibition, live music performances and artisan craft market. This has resulted into: 

• Approximately 750 Audiences were reached throughout the Tukutane Nafasi events series whereas the wikiendi Live event received approximately 300 visitors
• Increase in audience engagement through social media channels whereas Nafasi Instagram page reached out to 13,500 total followers , 202 customer profile visits on Nafasi Art Space website and 12.5k views on google business profile. 
• Nafasi Art Space has had the opportunity of being featured on different international articles among art spaces in Africa that promote contemporary art: Panya Routes By Kim Gurney, Time Dar es Salaam.

Renovation of creative and networking spaces 

The arts ecosystem in Dar es Salaam has come to depend on Nafasi Art Space as a space, a network, and a platform for artists to create, exchange, and reach the public thus urges for design the space to serve the community needs through  thinking  about new ways to remodel, restructure and repurpose existing buildings. During the reporting period Nafasi Art Space renovated new networking space, designed a new digital art lab andPerforming arts stage, and also opened of a shop to sell merchandise, art prints and crafts from different artisans products from Tanzania. 

Challenges and Opportunities during this quarterly reporting period has been as follows:- 

CHALLENGES:

Access to  international platforms and markets to showcase the works of artists 

While support for artists locally has improved over the last few months. many challenges have remained in discovering local as well as international markets for showcasing the works produced.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Identification of potential local audience to access the arts and open dialogues in the society

Nafasi Art Space has encouraged local audiences to support and acknowledge the works of artists produced in the project thus leading artists to put more emphasis on being creative and innovative so as to attract and exchange with potential audiences a well as creating works that touch current issues and challenges facing youth & women.  For example, Nafasi Academy students addressed Mental Health during their performance art piece for Module IV of the training programme

Involvement of government stakeholders in decision making and in policy dialogues

During the reporting period Nafasi Art Space has continued to  encourage the participation of government bodies in dialogues so that  government and artists can collaborate together in decision making and promote freedom of artistic expression. Nafasi has engaged in dialogue with the National Museum of Tanzania,  Tanzania Art Council (BASATA), University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and Bagamoyo College of arts (TASUBA) through organising panel discussions with the representatives from these public bodies and institutions

Stakeholders awareness and Support to invest in the Tanzania cultural & creative sector 

Nafasi Art Space has continued to raise awareness about the important role of the arts in society  and has attracted diverse stakeholders to invest in the development of a digital art app.

Conclusion

In the next quarter, Nafasi Art Space will seek to develop further unique and creative approaches to building a strong and sustainable arts ecosystem in Tanzania through providing platforms for young artists, and inspiring the society in Tanzania and around the world to appreciate and celebrate art as a force for social good. Nafasi Art Space is grateful to all our supporters for their generosity and commitment to the development of the art and cultural sector in Tanzania. 

Links:

• Follow us on social media pages.
• Wikiendi Live event 24.09.2022
• Nafasi Art space Facebook page

As we enter another quarterly period, Nafasi Art Space continues to be resilient and champion artists and their success stories. We also encourage supporters and stakeholders to keep supporting artists for the protection and strengthening of cultural rights in Tanzania, our central aim and objective. 

Recently during the reporting period Nafasi Art Space has been able to continue implements its Strategic plan 2021/26 which focused on the following areas: 

Innovative and thriving art sector in Dar es Salaam

• Nafasi introduced the 2016-20 Strategic Plan as the first ever organisational strategic plan. Inthe past four years, Nafasi has not only achieved its ambitious goals but in many areas exceeded them, as well as learning important lessons that have shaped the development of a new five-year strategic plan which began implementation in the 2021-22 financial year which has led to successive programs including introduction of the Nafasi film Club every thursday , 3rd cohorts of Nafasi Academy 2022 , and new multidisciplinary artists members.

Increased independent art production and presentation

• During the project,Nafasi Art Space continue putting emphasis its children’s art space, developed additional studios for visual and performing artists, created new rehearsals and performance spaces, established an active music rehearsal studio, pioneered an arts management internship programme,Tanzania’s first contemporary arts academy, 

Increased education and exchange between Tanzanian artists and the local, regional and international art world

• By fostering a truly open space to express oneself and create art, Nafasi has protected and promoted freedom of expression and created inclusive access to cultural rights the experiences of art were created through the provision of studio spaces, artist residencies, workshop and exhibitions thus during the reporting  period Nafasi was able to host several international artists in residence programs include:  Klaus Hartman’s residence (Germany)  Erica Merly & Roger Peet (USA) , Jeremi Libenge (DRC) 

Increased visibility and awareness for contemporary art in Tanzania

• With safety measures in place, Nafasi Art Space is again open to the public and bursting with creativity and collaboration whereas since the beginning of this year Nafasi has hosted approximately 08  events under a series of “Tukutane Nafasi” monthly events including two events under Lete Stori welcoming talented art as well as short film screenings from the Nafasi Film Club and a feature film screening of “The Lost Okoroshi” from Nigeria and “High Fantasy” from South Africa, thus bring an overall total of 500 audiences attending Nafasi Art Space events ranging from 50-100 audiences each events hosted at Nafasi Art Space.
• There have also been improvement in the social media page engagement whereas Nafasi Art Space has been able improve its participation for example on Nafasi Art Space instagram followers have amounted to 12,900,  Nafasi Art Space has been rated 4.8 and verified on google business profile, also during the reporting period engage in reaching out the community through Whatsapp calls & groups

A sustainable and independent art institution drives innovation and excellence in the Tanzanian art sector: 

• Nafasi has continued to support the artistic growth and professional development of successive cohorts of multidisciplinary member artists including : ASEDEVA in April, Shine Dance and Muda Africa Dance who have established successful and sustainable new art centres after having been formerly based at Nafasi as studio or organisational members. The positive results are evidenced by their ability to make a living as full time artists, recognition from national and international art organisations, galleries, and prizes, and their ongoing commitment to telling authentic and socially relevant stories through their art.
  
  

The pandemic has changed our world and brought challenges, but it has also been an opportunity to rethink how we do things and to highlight just how essential art and culture can be to our community. For more updates concerning Nafasi Art Space programs kindly follow the linktree to visit on Nafasi Art Space Social Media platforms.

Links:

• https://linktr.ee/nafasiartspace

Nafasi Art Space wants to take this moment and express our heartfelt support that we have been receiving through the year and during the reporting the donations made it possible to continue making the arts and culture movement Tanzania accessible and inclusive and looking forward for your continued support whereas in this report we will share some of the success stories during the reporting period :

During the reporting period despite the presence of COVID19 we were able to continue provide art training include New-shape Residency a 3-months residency bringing together multi-disciplinary artist to critically discuss our understanding of the environment through discussion and research the participating artists sought to align and articulate the presence and role of the environment in our occupations, lifestyles, learning and history. This was deepened by an 8-day residency in the Uluguru mountains in Morogoro, Tanzania and later to present their work on an Exhibition which can now be seen on Nafasi Art Space online gallery.

On 19 January 2022 Nafasi Art Space had the opportunity to host a film screening session with Charlotte O'neal  NYATITI MEDICINE, dealing with several still relevant issues including early forced marriages; girls' right to education, obstetric fistula, abuse, music medicine, and more. The film was meant to sensitise global communities about the tragedy and possibilities of recovery from obstetric fistula, an ostracising affliction that impacts thousands of women across Africa, the middle east and India but is little known in the west. Follow on Facebook Page for more photos 

Also Nafasi Art Space received a huge digital engagement during the reporting period through hosting and updating on social media whereas Nafasi Art Space instagram page grew to 12,000 followers making it one of the leading centres in Tanzania with many followers as well on twitter followers grew to a total of 1,166 followers. Nafasi Art Space aims i to continue engaging with online audiences to which we have been able to open another social media platform where we’ll be sharing most of the publications, articles and newsletter follow the link to subscribe https://linktr.ee/nafasiartspace

After months of design and planning, the Nafasi Art Space community is excited to share some of the new spaces that are being developed at Nafasi. The long-planned renovations include a shop to showcase art prints, crafts and art merchandise; a new destination for researchers and education programs; a digital art lab; and enhanced amenities and accessibility for visitors.

Nafasi Art Space looking forward for your continued support on the fundraising campaign so as to continue providing a platform for artists and art lovers across the diaspora to meet, network and exchange.