ANF June Newsletter
Dear Reader, What’s the dream storytelling project that you have always wanted to bring to life? We’ve got some good news for you - our funding season is officially open. Keep reading to find out how you can be in our next group of ANF Narrative Champions. What's happening at Africa No Filter 1. How influential is the media in defining Africa’s story? Join funders, editors and a digital disruptor as they unpack why the media matters in shifting narratives in a webinar we’re hosting in partnership with Arena Events. Panellists are ANF executive director Moky Makura, BBC Africa editor Mary Harper, The Continent editor Simon Allison and Marie Mbullu. She is using Tik Tok to share alternative stories of Africa. See you Tuesday, 13 July at 4 pm SAST. Register here. 2. Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools donors and NGOs use to showcase their work and impact. Our recently launched guide, How to Tell an African Story in 8 Steps, aims to empower donors and development communicators with practical tools they can use to tell stories ethically. Download it here.  3. Jobs were on Africa’s collective mind in May... We know, not because of economic data but because the most searched term in 10 African countries in Africa ( including Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Niger, and Botswana) was “jobs”. Read our May Google report here. Amplify  Fardosa Hussein is a Somali filmmaker and photographer in Mogadishu. Her work explores climate change, gender issues, economic empowerment, and education through women’s daily experiences in her city.  South African novelist Terry-Ann Adams’s debut, Those Who Live in Cages, follows the lives of five women living in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg. Her work has been called representation at its best.  Nana Oforiatta Ayim’s writing interrogates topics such as cultural narratives, history, and institutions in Africa. She is the founder of the ANO Institute of Arts & Knowledge in Accra and the Principal Investigator for the Action for African Cultural Restitution.  Kenyan journalist James Murua has been archiving African and Black literature since 2013 when he launched www.jamesmurua.com. It’s the go-to platform if you want to know anything at all about literature in Africa.  ANF fellows Selma and Sofiane Ouissi are the brother and sister team using dance to put Tunisian arts and culture on the continent’s and world’s map. Is there a narrative changemaker or emerging artists that you want to amplify on ANF platforms? Hit us up at info@africanofilter.org. You can also plug yourself. Inspiring • Zukiswa Wanner’s latest book, The Black Pimpernel, is a children’s book based on the 18-months Nelson Mandela spent in military training to fight Apartheid in South Africa. • Tsitsi Dangarembga has been announced the recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize 2021 by the English PEN. It’s awarded to authors whose work offers an “unflinching, unswerving gaze upon the world, and shows a ‘fierce intellectual determination.” • Amazon Studios bought screen rights to You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, a novel by Akwaeke Emezi. The series will be produced by Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society. Apply for an ANF Grant  Our funding season is open - and it’s bigger and better than before. Our grants support emerging and established artists, poets, bloggers, vloggers, photographers, curators, publishers, musicians, journalists, filmmakers, and arts, culture and media organisations that are already challenging stereotypes about Africa. • The Kekere Storytellers Fund pays microgrants of up $2000 to emerging artists based in Africa. Applicants must be aged below 35. Deadline: 26 July. More information. • Project Support Grants fund creative projects in film, theatre, performing arts, comedy and media. Grants are worth up to $10,000 for individuals and $25 000 for organisations. Deadline: 27 August. More information. • Convening Grants are open to individuals and organisations that organise forums, debates, panel discussions and dialogues with African and Diaspora speakers. Grants are worth $5000 to $15,000. Deadline: 27 August. More information. • Opening soon: Operational Support Grants are open to creative hubs, narrative change organisations, media houses, festivals, galleries, digital platforms etc., that support individual storytellers. This can be
through program delivery, job creation, residences, networking opportunities, training and capacity building creatives, artists, journalists etc. Grants are worth up to $25,000. Deadline: 27 August. More information. Meet some organisations and individuals who’ve received ANF grants here, and remember these tips from our Masterclass in Grant Writing for Creatives. Content that Connects the Continent:  Moongirls is a graphic novel series that follows the adventures of African queer supersheroes fighting for an Africa free from corruption, patriarchy, and the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonialism. It’s the brainchild of ANF narrative champion Akosua Hanson. New Daughters of Africa is a collection of autobiographies, memoirs, oral history, letters, diaries, short stories, novels, poetry, drama, humour, politics, journalism, essays and speeches by more than 200 writers; all of them African women and women of African descent. Contributors include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edwidge Danticat, Imbolo Mbue, Nnedi Okorafor, Chinelo Okparanta and Zadie Smith.  Afropop Worldwide is a podcast dedicated to music from Africa and the African diaspora. In it, host Georges Collinet takes us around the continent and the world through music. There are also recordings of live concerts by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Cesaria Evora, Gilberto Gil, Baaba Maal and Kanda Bongo Man.  That’s it for June. Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin at @Africanofilter. |
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