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
Increased independent art production and presentation
Increased education and exchange between Tanzanian artists and the local, regional and international art world
Increased visibility and awareness for contemporary art in Tanzania
A sustainable and independent art institution drives innovation and excellence in the Tanzanian art sector:
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.
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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.
Nafasi Art Space as a community space has continued to promote art and cultural programs for wide populations across Tanzania. During the pandemic, Nafasi has been an important creative hub for people from diverse regions to exchange, inspire and open constructive conversations on different socio-economic issues across the continent and the world at large.
The contributions you have provided over the past months has allowed us to build up our community and get more people involved. We have developed successful activities which we hope to continue in the future, including:
During this period the Nafasi Academy Space was opened up to ten local photographers, who were offered two weeks of intensive training by industry professionals John Fleetwood (South Africa) and Nicholas Calvin (Tanzania). In doing this, the photographer's were given a chance to reflect on the art of photography and uncover their individual artistic expression. As commonly seen in our spaces, DemocraSEE combined professional development and creative work, bordered by engaging conversations and networking opportunities. More highlight on Facebook.
During the period, we also launched Lete stori or "Bring a story", a new performing arts event at Nafasi under Tukutane Nafasi. This innovative approach was conceived by our performing arts manager Kwame Mchauru, who has mentored and supported dozens of young artists over his long career in the music industry. Through his active mentorship, he has found that Tanzania's young musicians are truly inspiring, with many beating the odds to pursue their passion for music and succeed in a tough industry for underground acts.
Nafasi Art Space has proven to be a haven for artists such as these, many of whom are eager to incorporate traditional sounds, rhythms and instruments into live performances, "lete stori" brings these artists into the spotlight, not only to play their songs, but also to share the personal stories of their journeys in music. These were just a couple of a series of events we have organized over the past three months that bring together different artistic elements such as art exhibitions, performances, film screening to promote participation in culture, strengthen community and build a shared sense of cultural pride.
Nafasi Art Space, as a creative partner, had the privilege to host a hybrid physical-virtual artistic experience from the “Lost + Found “ a 5-week interdisciplinary residency facilitated by the East African Soul Train (EAST) invited 13-artists from around the globe to co-create a process virtually that inspires them to play, share perspectives, challenge their peers, take risks and create new collaborative work, for on and offline audiences. The residency explored the theme ‘lost + found’ bringing together artists from wide range of disciplinary including: Theatre, technology, visual art, music, fashion and poetry. Two of the artists were Tanzanian, Zuhura the African Lioness (Poet/Voice over artist) & Valerie Amani (Curator & mixed-media artist) where art pieces made during the residency were projected in three different spaces, each one carefully prepared under the direction of Nafasi visual arts team members Fifi Mbogho and Rhoda Kambenga.
Our major project this year was the Nafasi Academy programme on curatorial practice and arts management with 13 participants who receivd training in theory, management, and the practice of organising and creating cultural experiences. On July 10, 2021 we were able to host final event where they had the opportunity to showcase the ideas and projects that have been developed during the program.
Our plan is to increase the number of art and culture activities we run at the community, so that we attract a wider range of people, and to focus especially on activities that are inspiring and impact changes to the community, we would like request your continuation support us through contributions to be able to be sustainable during the crisis.
Find us on social media platoforms and continue to engage with our activities through: Facebook, Instagram @nafasiartspace. Website: https://www.nafasiartspace.org. We hope you will continue to follow and support our work.
Nafasi is a space for critical learning that stimulates the discovery and production of contemporary art in Tanzania, through education and exchange between Tanzanian artists and the local, regional, and international art world. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our community around the GlobalGiving for always showing support through difficult times as the donations you have provided has been very important for our art and culture community.
Unfortunately we did not receive all the funding we had hoped to get, so we had to think about how to run the project on a smaller budget. We have been able to run a series of capacity building programs that foster creativity, build audiences and create platforms for artists where they can always feel safe to express their thoughts and exchange with others.
The contributions you have provided over the past year has allowed us to build up our community and get more people involved. Here are some of the ways your support has helped keep the creative sector in Tanzania going during the COVID crisis:
Tukutane Nafasi: A series of events bringing together different artistic elements such as art exhibitions, performances, and film screenings to promote participation in culture, strengthen community and build a shared sense of cultural pride and identity from different individuals across the globe. We have shown films inspired by the Utopian Imagination, hosted exhibitions opening including Imagined Encounters, a collaborative exhibition between Tanzanian and South Korean artists Bang & Lee funded by the Korea Foundation, "A Mindful Spirit", a fundraising exhibition to support a Tanzanian female textile artist to attend a residency at Modzi Arts in Lusaka Zambia
We have continued to host Art talks, workshops and trainings for professional and aspiring artists, to allow participants to hone their craft and develop their practice. Workshops are offered in theory, technique, as well as arts entrepreneurship and management. Recent trainings include: the Nafasi Academy - Curatorial and Arts Management training, a six-month, longform training offered to 14 emerging cultural leaders, Imagined Encounters: Patterns of Exchange, a monthly long virtual workshop with artists from Korea Bang & Lee, Sauti Mpya, a three month film development program for young film makers & actors in Tanzania in collaboration with the Tanzania Film Board, Azam TV, and Zanzibar International Film Festival, as well as Africalab, a week-long short film training program which was facilitated by the Off-Court team from France.
We have also continued to run outreach program with different organizations and institutions thus has helped to increase diversity within our audience engagement such includes hosting University of Dodoma students, an art outreach program with another school nursery with the age of 2.5 - years old workshops tend to be more inspiring and fun creative activities to young people.
We have also been able to increase our social media outreach, reaching 10,000k followers on Instagram. We had planned to continue hold a digital workshop but we weren’t able due to the lack of some of the tools and equipment needed such as laptops ,camera, mics, etc. We have also created a new Instagram page specifically to highlight visual art produced and exhibited at Nafasi. You can follow it at www.instagram.com/nafasigallery.
Our plan is to increase the number of art and culture activities we run at the community, so that we attract a wider range of people, and to focus especially on activities that are inspiring and impact changes to the community, we continue to supporting us through contributions to be able to be sustainable during the ongoing pandemic, which has drastically impacted our funding sources and operations.
Thank you again for your support and we look forward to continuing to bring great Tanzanian art to the world.
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t has been incredibly difficult past year, but the community has come together and managed to survive. Thank you so much for your recent donations to help us working toward our goal! We’re overjoyed by your support and wanted to properly show our appreciation. Without our donors and supporters, Nafasi Art space would not be able to serve for Tanzania art and culture community. You make our work possible!
Beginning this year, we partnered with two Tanzanian public secondary schools for an art and culture outreach project which involved a series of workshops and competitions on drawing, painting and traditional dance which was facilitated by Nafasi current and alumni members. The works created by students will be part of an exhibition at the National Museum later this year. The project was supported in part by the European Union, who also commissioned artists to commemorate the 45th year of bi-lateral relations between Tanzania and the EU.
Over the past few months, Nafasi has also been working with two of our artists and CRDB, a major national bank, to commission artworks that will be displayed in the bank’s new headquarter building. This will be a major step for these artists and the industry as a whole, as more businesses are supporting local artists and featuring their work.
We have also been able to continue our artist in residency program with a young digital artist and designer from Arusha Tanzania. We had planned to hold a digital art workshop but we weren’t able due to the lack of some of the tools and equipment needed. Instead the artist hosted a watercolor workshop which was very successful and enjoyed greatly by the participants.
A major project this year is the Nafasi Academy programme on curatorial practice and arts management. This programme will train 13 curators and arts managers in theory, management, and the practice of organising and creating experiences in the arts, and the co-hort will work closely with last year’s artist participants. At the same time, Nafasi is running an incubator programme that includes $50,000 USD in funding for artists and arts organisations in Dar es Salaam and around the country.
Currently, we continue fundraising to address the ongoing pandemic crisis and finding safe ways to continue our work in the artistic community. We hope to use these funds to support artists and to develop platforms such as a podcast, short documentaries, and online galleries to survive during these difficult times.
We thank you again for your support!
The Nafasi Team
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