Bayimba established DOADOA, the East African Performing Arts Market, in 2012 with the support of Mimeta, as a regional platform for networking and learning among sector stakeholders. The DOADOA market is a four-day event with conferences, exhibitions, workshops, networking sessions, and showcases for performing arts sector stakeholders.
Beirut DC/ Aflamuna has, for over two decades, continually strived to meet the current needs of independent filmmakers and audiences from across the 22 countries making up the Arab region. The director of Beirut DC/ Aflamuna, Jad Abi-Khalil states:
Given the very challenging context for free expression in East Africa, our long-term partner in Uganda, Bayimba, together with its regional partners, find it relevant and appropriate to invest in the revival of the spirit of artistic activism and advocacy to give hope and confidence within the working environment
Hammana Artists House (HAH9 in Lebanon offers residencies for local and international artists to deepen their artistic research, meet diverse audiences, develop their networks and reinforce their social engagement. Comprising spaces for rehearsals, artist hosting, scenography workshop, and an open-air theatre, HAH also proposes a year-round artistic programme under the artistic direction of Collectif Kahraba and in partnership with over 35 other organizations.
The first edition in three years, Dream City made a powerful return in 2022. For ten days in the Medina and downtown Tunis, 12 projects of creation by Tunisian artists, artists from the MENA region and international ones, transformed the city, engaging hundreds of artists and collaborators, and almost 20,000 audiences in a common gesture of imagination, hope and a common future
Culture Resource/ Al Mawred continues to refine and adapt its programs to the current realities of the Arab region, characterized by closure of space for policy interventions and serious risks to free artistic expression and those who exercise it
By shear nature of its focus on the rights of Syrian artists, Ettijahat finds itself constantly exploring ways to provide protection to its artist community from risks resulting from forced displacement, vulnerable legal status in host countries, prosecution and challenges in entering the creative landscape of countries of refuge.
The long-term impact coming from the program is to provide free artistic practice to individuals. To achieve this intended impact, the program focuses on outcomes that ensure protection for artists, storytellers, producers, and their works against abuse, censorship, legal or social persecution, and outcomes that increase accessibility for people to participate in artistic practice. These two outcomes constitute the universal artistic rights (ref. art 27).
The Mimeta partners are mostly relating to professional networks locally, nationally, and regionally, and within local or national communities, and are not operating directly in policy processes nationally or internationally. Somehow this is a logical consequence of the focus towards change, not political dialogue
Mimeta is now designing a financial response mechanism to the pressures COVID-19 puts on established organizations, platforms and performers within arts and culture. In 2020 we will hopefully be able to provide organizational support to our established partners in MENA and Africa South of Sahara so that they will be able to continue their efforts on behalf of the local arts- and culture sectors.
However, a major part of their latest proposals shows us a need for urgent support of art platforms and artists to enable livelihood and continuity. Mimeta will therefore ask our partners to manage the disbursement of smaller funds toward their constituencies, preferably in partnerships with other leading culture sector development organizations in their geography. Again - this is wat we hope we will be able to support.
In our view we don’t need to launch any innovative approach, as “use this time to develop distant learning and video-concerts”, as this already happens all over the globe, but we are open for proposals - as long as it is a substantially new way to give marginalized people their right bound access to arts and culture.
In recent time the relations to HIFA has evolved, and in 2017 Mimeta and Harare International Festival of the Arts entered an agreement for cooperation.
The core of HIFA is a 6-day annual festival and workshop programme that showcases the very best of local, regional and international arts and culture in a comprehensive festival programme of theatre, dance, music, circus, street performance, fashion, spoken word and visual arts.
Voices: reflections on art and culture in Uganda
52 interviews with professionals in music, film, theatre, dance, visual art, comedy, literature and more. Unpacking the challenges, celebrating the achievements of Ugandan creativity, this book provides important insight into the arts and culture sector of Uganda.
Rwanda Creative Sector
National Action Plan for Arts and Culture
Mimeta has again entered into partnership with Ishyo Arts Centre in Kigali, Rwanda.
Zakharef in Motion is an annual dance encounter of international, regional and local dance performances and workshops that was launched in Amman, Jordan in April 2007 by ZAKHAREF in Motion Establishment. The festival is held in collaboration with many embassies, cultural institutions, government bodies and private sector, it is a nonprofit platform.
Tunisian Federation for Film Societies had achieved its remarkable recovery after independence and spread in many parts of Tunisia
The overall aim of Tandem Shaml is to foster long-term collaboration between cultural professionals from the Arab Region (participants of the Abbara capacity building programme of Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) and Europe (including Turkey).
Art Moves Africa (AMA) is an international not-for-profit organisation that aims to facilitate cultural and artistic exchanges within the African continent.
Bayimba contributes to making Uganda a significant hub for arts and culture on the African continent and led by its values of respect, shared leadership, transparency, accountability, learning, and collaboration.
Seeks to open fields of common thinking on social, cultural and educational domains in terms of Art background by using of new digital tools.
Mash’hed Cultural Association is located at Gafsa Governorate in south-western Tunisia.
I work carefully and imperceptibly below the surface when it comes to freedom of artistic expression. Deep down I stand by those who want to break it but remind them of realities above the surface. At the same time, the water becomes shallower. This is my duty as a producer.
(Faisal Kiwewa, Bayimba, Uganda.)
Poster A3 for uploading
Poster A3 for uploading
The short version
Mimetas vision is to give GIVE PEOPLE THEIR RIGHT TO FREE CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS, created on free terms and presented by independent institutions.
Our mission is to support and protect those who want to enhance a culture by aesthetic or intellectual means.
By both our vision and mission Mimeta highlight the impact arts have on developing open societies, including the culture itself and the political spfere.
On the strategic level Mimeta is acheiving results by supporting organisations and individuals who work on behalf of the arts, to improve the sectors´ position on rights issues, in political and legal matters, on professionalism and skills, the distribution of the arts and - in the end - the sustainability of the sector.
We call them the service providers to the arts.
For more information on our priorities and strategic initiatives
Nadia Cherif was given the task of evaluating Mimeta's program for cultural sector development (2020-22. It was finalized in november 2023, and gave good input for next stage. Read here
