Open Country Mag reveals six (6) Curatorial Fellows for its inaugural Curatorial Fellowship
The aim of the Open Country Mag Curatorial Fellowships is to provide direct motivation, technical know-how, and funding support for new projects in a range of artistic fields.
In an announcement, Open Country Mag, a multiplatform space contextualizing African Literature + Film & TV in the global conversation, named six (6) curatorial fellows who will be participating in its inaugural curatorial fellowship.
This inaugural edition of the Open Country Mag Curatorial Fellowships is sponsored by Africa No Filter and each fellow will get prize money.
Writing about why he started the curatorial fellowship, Otosirieze, founder of Open Country Mag wrote: “I was moved to start the Open Country Mag Curatorial Fellowships because of my experience coming up in the African literary scene. There seemed to be a lot happening then, a lot of enchantment with the publications, the few awards, the workshops, and the festivals, and yet there was very little that was novel, that nudged the culture into new territory and allowed us to be seen as tested and equal contributors to the global infrastructure of ideas.”
Otosirieze, a recipient of the inaugural Prize for Literature of The Future Awards Africa in 2019, in the announcement, added: “As a self-taught writer, editor, journalist, and curator, I know how difficult it is to innovate without examples and to succeed without institutional support, to build institutions without funding, so I always wanted to share what I have learned, to teach a workshop for new African curators. But I also did not want to ask applicants to pay, because it would defeat the point of creating access.”
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The aim of the Open Country Mag Curatorial Fellowships is to provide direct motivation, technical know-how, and funding support for new projects in a range of artistic fields: literature, film, music, visual art, photography, fashion, tech, and media.
According to the announcement, Fellows will be mentored by three experienced young curators who made their own way: Lumen Prize winner Minne Atairu, A Nasty Boy founder Innanoshe Akuson, and Otosirieze.
In the open call announcement earlier posted, Open Country Mag announced it will select four curators who will be guided by the mentors during the workshops and on the recommendation of the workshop instructors, activate selected project ideas with two of them being offered $2,000 each and the other two $1,000 each to finalize them. “In the end, rather than stick to the initial plan of choosing four Fellows, we decided to select all six remaining finalists as Fellows. There are incredibly few funding sources in the continent, and that is the more reason why resources should be spread, the more reason an initiative like ours exists,” wrote Otosirieze.
The Open Country Mag Curatorial Fellows
Ini-Abasi Jeffrey
A Nigerian writer and aspiring filmmaker currently studying for a degree in Dentistry at the University of Calabar. Ini-Abasi will produce a yet untitled short documentary on Nollywood culture and history and will be supported with $1,000.
Izuchukwu Udokwu
A Nigerian storyteller and fashion designer living in Lagos. Izuchukwu will design It’s Bloom Time, a 3D fashion and storytelling series exploring individual struggles and identity, and will be supported with $1,000.
Vetum Galadima and Amaka Obioma
Vetum Gima Galadima is a visual interdisciplinary artist and curator from Kaduna. Amaka Obioma is a multimedia artist who works in performance, visual storytelling, fashion, and artistic research. The duo will develop Among Us, an artistic research, digital art, and mixed media project on Nok terracotta, and will be supported with $1,000.
Mirriam Francesca Nkosi:
A singer, songwriter, and sonic storyteller from Malawi. Mirriam will curate Luba, a musical, art, and photography exhibition on indigenous flowers in Malawi, and will be supported with $2,000.
Name Redacted
A Queer, Polygender East African podcaster. Name Redacted will record Season 2 of One Foot in the Closet, a podcast on LGBTQI+ issues, and will be supported with $1,000.
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“Our six inaugural Curatorial Fellows have innovative and thrilling ideas that seek to reclaim history, recast culture, and conserve the environment. Their projects represent the range of creativity we always wanted to highlight,” wrote Otosirieze.
The fellowship will begin the workshop and development of the projects with the hope of presenting them early next year.
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