NOWs: Interactive web documentary on the TURN fund of the Federal Cultural Foundation

25 May 2020

TURN – Fund for artistic collaborations between Germany and African countries launches an interactive web documentary on the TURN fund

For seven years the TURN Fund of the Federal Cultural Foundation has supported artistic cooperation between Germany and African countries – what experiences have the projects made? What kind of projects were supported? What challenges had to be overcome? Which themes recur again and again? How is the cultural creativity from African countries today in Germany? The interactive web documentary TURN presents exemplary projects supported by the TURN Fund and gives artists, curators, directors, dramaturgists, performers, musicians, and experts a chance to have their say. They talk about observations challenges and insights, but also about the wishes, perspectives and opportunities that the joint project work has opened up. Interactive links within the TURN film refer to further clips, links, materials, and background information.

In 2012, the Federal Cultural Foundation established the TURN – Fund for Artistic Cooperation between Germany and African Countries in order to encourage a wide range of German institutions to shift their focus on the artistic production and cultural debates in African countries. German cultural organisations in all artistic areas were called upon to engage in new forms of artistic collaboration with African partners. The programme offers incentives primarily to German institutions and artists (museums, theatres, dance companies, art associations, composers, writers, publishers, etc.) to enhance their profile with new themes, working methods and perspectives. A total of 101 projects and research measures has been funded through the TURN Fund from 2013 to 2020.

Please watch the documentary here.

The documentary portrays a small selection from funded projects and summarizes some of the central questions and results from this period. The Institut für Raumexperimente (Institute for Spatial Experiments) is grateful that our long-term collaboration with Tobiya Poetic Jazz and its joint Poetry Jazz initiative with the poetry series Poetry Jazz: Wax and Honey, I’m home has been one of those 101 projects.