Overview

SPARCK—Space for Pan-African Research Creation and Knowledge—was founded in 2008 under the umbrella of the Africa Centre, an NGO in Capetown. SPARCK is a programme that comprises art residencies, publications, conferences, workshops and lectures, each dealing with the topic of urban space in the global South. At March Meeting the organisation presented their project South-South Conversations, of which two iterations had been completed: the film Chocolate Bannana (2010) by Bill Kouélany & Goddy Leye about the informal economies of Guangzhou, China, and Imag[in]ing Cities (2011), a two-day event in Karachi with works by over 50 artists, organised in collaboration with Amin Gulgee and Lionel Manga. SPARCK also presented an upcoming multimedia project planned for Dubai with filmmaker and writer Stacy Hardy.

Presentation Proposal

Imag[in]ing Cities is a multi-site, multi-disciplinary urban project that explores innovative economic and social cultures in cities of the global south, with a particular focus on alternative and forward-looking approaches to public space, movement and communication. Artists are invited to take part in two-week to one-month residencies in cities of Africa and Asia. The project involves six cities—three in Africa and three in Asia. The three African residencies have been completed in Aba (Nigeria), Lubumbashi (DRC) and Touba (Senegal). The first Asia residency took place in Guangzhou, China, in 2010; the second will take place in Karachi, Pakistan, and the third in Dubai, UAE, in 2011. The bodies of work created by the artists will be shown individually and collectively in unconventional settings. A publication/interactive DVD will be produced. This project aims to foster discussion on issues essential to social cohesion in cities across the global South.

Institution


Founded in 2005, the Africa Centre is a vibrant not-for-profit international arts and culture centre based in Cape Town, South Africa. It was developed as a platform for exploring contemporary Pan-African artistic practice as a catalyst for social change. One of the Centre’s core projects is SPARCK—Space For Pan-African Research Creation And Knowledge, a Pan-African initiative of experimental multi-disciplinary residencies, workshops, symposia, exhibitions, publications and performances centred on innovative, ethically driven approaches to urban space. SPARCK projects use art to re-think essential questions about urban life and globalisation in Africa and across the global South. Since 2009, SPARCK has completed nine artist residencies, five exhibitions, one writers’ workshop, and over a dozen conference and festival interventions on four continents (Africa: Benin, Cape Verde, DRC, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa; Americas: United States; Asia: China, Japan; Europe: Denmark, Switzerland), as well as several publications in English and French.