New Engagements to enhance artists' livelihoods in East Africa: Art; Writing; Work

这一影响和参与项目侧重于将支持在肯尼亚、乌干达和卢旺达生活和工作的艺术家建立可持续生计的实际干预措施，并帮助东非创意产业的能力建设，这是一个国际发展优先事项。它将通过参与满足视觉艺术专业人员的需求、雄心和优先事项来实现这一点，这些专业人员是支持他们的当地组织，并在英国文化协会委托编写的关于东非创意经济的政府政策和发展报告中阐述了这一点。计划中的参与和影响是通过AHRC-GCRF资助的研究网络“东非艺术家的网络新机遇”的活动制定的，该网络汇集了东非不同背景的视觉艺术专业人员，包括生活和工作在贫困地区的艺术家和艺术集体，共同制定干预措施，支持他们生计的可持续发展。该网络的活动集中于确定解决共同问题的务实方法，将直接影响现实生活体验的实际举措，并为建设创意经济中视觉艺术活动的能力做出明确贡献，从而努力实现东非和国际发展目标。广泛的证据收集发现，解决艺术家面临的许多挑战的一个根本制约因素是‘艺术写作’技能的不足。这种缺失在视觉艺术生态的各个层面都很明显，并以各种方式产生影响，从对准备基本的书面材料进行自我宣传缺乏信心，这可能会使许多艺术家在试图获得职业机会时被排除在外或处于不利地位，再到缺乏共同的发达艺术评论机构。这不仅抑制了艺术生产，还限制了视觉艺术在文化经济中的作用和能力。与此相平衡，包括一本新的艺术杂志在内的新平台正在艰难地涌现，人们对帮助艺术写作发展的实际倡议的热情、能量和需求证明，新兴一代的艺术作家和评论家已经将自己定位为创意经济中未来的关键参与者，他们将热情地响应提供的机会，帮助他们的专业发展并表达自己的声音。项目团队：艺术组织东度32度、东非英国文化协会、国际能源署、艺术出版物内罗毕当代、艺术月刊和纽卡斯尔大学合作制定了一系列活动计划，以支持特定类型的艺术写作技能。使视觉艺术界成员掌握目前所缺乏的关键技能、知识和经验，这些技能、知识和经验将有助于他们发展可持续的生计。该项目发展了四个相关方面：为基本的宣传材料开发一个新的艺术写作工具包；通过反思写作培养艺术家的创业和商业技能的试点项目，以及培养视觉艺术中新的批判性声音的创新方法，培养新一代艺术作家，并以可持续的方式支持一本新的艺术写作杂志，为他们提供一个公共平台。该项目围绕一个包括研讨会、指导和出版两个版本的艺术杂志的活动方案构建，在这样的背景下发展其影响：通过《创意和文化产业法案》(2015)等措施认识到支持艺术家和发展创意经济的重要性，但政府的支持仍然很少。因此，该项目将产生的影响是紧迫和至关重要的。

This impact and engagement project focusses on practical interventions that will support artists living and working in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda build sustainable livelihoods and help build capacity in the creative industries in in East Africa, an international development priority. It will do this through engagements that respond to the needs, ambitions and priorities of visual art professionals as stated by themselves, the local organisations that support them and set out in government policy and development reports on the creative economy in East Africa commissioned by the British Council. The planned engagements and impacts have been developed through the activities of the AHRC-GCRF funded research network 'Networking New Opportunities for Artists in East Africa' which draws together visual art professionals from diverse backgrounds in East Africa, including artists and art collectives living and working in deprived areas, to collaboratively scope interventions that will support the sustainable development of their livelihoods. The network's activities focus on identifying pragmatic approaches to shared problems, practical initiatives that will impact directly on real life experiences and and make definable contributions to building capacity for visual art activity in the creative economy, thus working towards EAC and international development goals.Extended evidence-gathering has identified that a fundamental constraint to addressing many of the challenges artists face is a deficit in 'art writing' skills. This deficit is apparent at all levels in the visual art ecology and impacts in variety of ways, from a lack of confidence in preparing basic written material for self-promotion which can exclude or disadvantage many artists when trying to access professional opportunities, to the absence of a shared body of developed artistic critique. Not only does this inhibit artistic production, but it also constrains the role and capacity of the visual arts within the cultural economy. Balanced against this, new platforms including a new art magazine are struggling to emerge, and the enthusiasm, energy and demand for practical initiatives to assist development of artistic writing is evidence that the emergent generation of artistic writers and critics who are already identifying themselves as key future players in the creative economy, will respond enthusiastically to opportunities offered to assist their professional development and make their voices heard.The project team: arts organisation 32 Degrees East, the British Council in East Africa, the BIEA, art publications Nairobi Contemporary, Art Monthly, and Newcastle University have worked collaboratively to develop plans for a set of engagements that will support specific types of art writing skills, equipping members of the visual art community with the key skills, knowledge and experience which are currently lacking and which will will assist them in the development of sustainable livelihoods.The project develops four related strands: the development of a new art writing toolkit for essential promotional material; a pilot project developing entrepreneurial and business skills in artists through reflective writing, and an innovative approach to nurturing emergent critical voices in the visual arts, fostering a new generation of artistic writers and providing them a public platform by supporting, in a sustainable way, a new magazine for art writing. Structured around an activity programme that includes workshops, mentoring and the publication of two editions of the art magazine, the project develops its impacts within a context where the importance of supporting artists and growing the creative economy has been recognised through measures such as the passing of the Creative and Cultural Industries Bill (2015), but where government support remains minimal. The impacts that will derive from this project are therefore urgent and vital.