PROJECT EARTH-TO-ART

CURRENT PROJECTS

(2nd Bamako Summer School)
Venue: L'Université de Bamako/ University of Mali, Bamako, Mali
Date: 22 -30 July, 2010

A call is made to arts professionals, researchers and interested others for contributions addressing one or more of the symposium strands: Arts Education Practice, Studio Practice, Curatorial/Museum/Community Arts Practice, Arts History/Criticism, Arts Administration/Management/Marketing Practice, and Open Session. The symposium entails paper presentations and practical activities such as workshops sessions, mini-projects, and artistic interventions that would result to an exhibition or public performance. With the practical acts and theoretical presentations we aim to promote critical dialogues on the best practices around the world on how the arts as resource feed civilizations in hope that we will generate new initiatives to boost human capital development in Mali in the 21st century. Interestingly, the symposium coincides with the celebration of the fifty year of independence of Mali.

We define the arts broadly to include visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, design, new media/film production, arts history, arts criticism, arts education, arts administration and curatorship, and emerging others. We expect about 200 participants from around the world. The working language of the conference will be French and English. Applications for individual and team presentations will be reviewed until the space is filled. For paper presentation, all abstracts and short biographies (ca 100-150 words) should be submitted electronically to africoae@gmail.com; deadline for full paper (c. 3000 words) submission: 30th June 2010. For workshops and artistic interventions (visual arts, music and theatre) the proposals should be submitted to the Balani's Association at Bamako: balanise@yahoo.fr.

The symposium is organized as collaboration between African Community of Arts Educators (AfriCOAE) and Balani's Association in conjunction with L'Université de Bamako, Ministry of Culture Mali and the Conservatory of Arts and Craft. Additional information such as the symposium programme, Bamako hotels and others related to the symposium will be sent to all registered participants well in advance of the conference.

THE ABETENIM PROJECT:

A DESIGN-AND-BUILD EARTH ARchiTecture (art+architecture) PROJECT

For information on The Abetenim Project, see "2010 Project" section on this web site. Collectively, our projects are now registered as an NGO in Ghana in collaboration with www.nkafoundation.org to sustain our efforts of building bridges between Africa and the rest of the world for individual and community development through a focus on the arts. Images from our 2009 Kumasi Symposium are on www.artinprocess.com/KUMASI, www.odcap.com and www.wandsbektransformance.de/news.html for the artists' Catalogue. The 2nd Kumasi Biennial Symposium will be in 2011.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Thus, we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to come and coordinate some DESIGN-AND-BUILD Earth ARchiTecture unit of our project for an international arts village in a traditional area 15 minutes from Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Fundraising/ construction experience will be useful but not required. You may start with a study of the traditional architecture of the region. Our hope is that you will gain valuable international experience to aid in your future projects. Until the houses are up, we offer free accommodation in nearby township of Juaben ... short stays also welcome.

In general, the art+architecture project seeks (1) Site Development Manager who knows about fundraising or building, at this time would be as volunteer; (2) Project participants in the arts, architecture and engineering; and (3) International Development Partners (IDP) that include schools, agencies, NGOs, and philanthropists from all nations.

Individuals or teams interested and able to come please e-mail us: nkaprojects @ gmail.com or visit the web site: www.nkafoundation.org

THE KUMASI SYMPOSIUM:

TAPPING LOCAL RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION THROUGH ART

A call is made for contributions addressing one or more of the symposium strands and topics: Art Education Practice, Studio Practice, Curatorial/Museum/Community Arts Practice, Art History/Criticism, Arts Administration/Management/Marketing Practice, and Open Session. The symposium entails plenary sessions and support activities such as demonstrations/workshops, exhibitions, and site-specific tours of local national resources. Expression of interest and proposals for Plenary Sessions and Exhibitions/Practical Workshops will be reviews until January 17, 2009. We expect about 200 participants from around the world. The working language of the conference will be English. Applications for individual paper presentation and participation will be reviewed until the space is filled. All abstracts and brief biographies should be submitted electronically to africoae@gmail.com

The symposium is organized as collaboration between African Community of Arts Educators (AfriCOAE) and KNUST's Department of General Arts & Art Education. As a follow-up to AfriCOAE's Project Earth to Art: Tapping Local Natural Resources for Sustainable Art Education Development at Accra. The two-week symposium (July 31-August 14, 2009) will deal with the issue of sustainability in the 21st century to enable visual arts education developments in Ghana and perhaps similar settings. Owing to the challenges of transition from the postcolonial stance and to many others, best practices and resourceful programs often fail to roll out nationwide and to be sustained. The following questions will therefore guide the dialogues: Is sustainability of art teaching and learning developments in the postcolonial African environment possible? Can the postcolonial Ghanaian environment and non-Western others today provide adapt resources for sustainable artistic practice? If so, how can the resources best be tapped for education through art in Anglophone Ghana and other Modernist African settings?

Tapping Local Natural Resources for Sustainable Art Education Development

PROJECT EARTH-TO-ART is an experimental eco-pedagogy project for application in art education in the Anglophone, Lusophone and Francophone African settings. The project addresses problems of shortages of adequately trained school art teachers, costs and reliance on imported art materials, and collaborations with stakeholders of the public and private schools in creating desirable human capital for teaching and learning in art. The idea is to bring together a cohort of art educators for a two-week workshop in Ghana in summer 2008.

The workshop will entail formal discussions and mini-lab tours of regional sites to explore for ecological materials and test their effectiveness in art making. Upon return to their place of teaching, the participants will work with their students to likewise explore, identity, collect, and design art materials from the local environment and test them by art making. In the following year, the cohort will reconvene to share the results of the art laboratory and engaged in papermaking workshop using local-ecological materials. A driving concept of the project is that art materials come from one's own environment; we reason that in the traditional African setting, the art materials come from the local environment; tools come from the community, and conceptual basis from the human condition. The focus is Ghana, in hope that the results would disperse into other parts of Africa and elsewhere.