Can we afford a vision? Sharing practices of empowerment through cultural work
Can we afford a vision? was born out of my participation in the 2016 edition of TANDEM Shaml exchange between European and Arabic cultural actors.
Together with Mohamed Idoumou, poet and filmmaker, and his organization Maison des Cinéastes in Nouakchott, Mauritania, we investigated urgent questions of our artistic work:
What does it take to follow a vision of cultural empowerment in two very different contexts? Why do both cultural activists and audiences get involved with the arts?
The project was a mutual exchange, a series of workshops and social gatherings as well as a documentary film-project. It gave us the occasion to reflect on what it means to work towards a vision nowadays, namely in the fields of arts and cultural activism. Is having a social vision naiv in the face of complex global power structures? What does it cost to follow a vision? Do we live in a cynical world? When do visions turn into dogma? How are visions in the cultural field communicated and shared?
The accompanying documentary film project follows our research and meetings with visionary actors in the two very different contexts of Mauritania and Germany. Follow-up projects are already being planned – stay tuned!
An Other Music Academy Weimar project.
