Western Africa

As part of their work to promote culture, the OEI and DGARTES have joined forces to launch this new programme of scholarships for artistic exchange and improvement in the geographical areas of Ibero-America and the CPLP, with the aim of promoting and enhancing artistic exchange, without forgetting the importance of supporting internationalisation.

S+T+ARTS Afropean Intelligence (#AI) opens a call for artists to support 10 artistic residencies in Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will support 10 African artists in their creation process, by providing digital tools and Afro-European transversal expertise; encouraging them to reshape narratives that promote social justice, inclusivity and challenge racial paradigms.

In partnership with Villa Karo, the Finnish Institute for West Africa, the British Council is supporting two designers—one UK-based and one West African-based (from Nigeria or Ghana)—to spend eight weeks at Villa Karo in Benin from 23 March to 17 May 2026.

Zeppelin University (Germany) and the University of Cape Coast (Ghana) are organising the international project ‘Reframing Colonial Legacies’ funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from 2025 to 2026. They invite international Germany alumni from countries in Africa and Europe (not based in Germany) to apply for 22 places.

Co-Cr8 is a four-week experimental cross-disciplinary residency that brings together six artists from various disciplines, including fashion design, photography, painting, textile design, dance, and poetry. The residency is from October to November 2024, in Kaduna, Nigeria, and will include local and international artists.

The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) invites applications for up to two Artists in Residence for three months each at the University of Ghana (in the Academic Year 2025/2026).

The Creative Europe-funded project CONTESTED DESIRES: Constructive Dialogues (CDCD) is calling for applications from visual artists who are passionate about unravelling colonial legacies and who are based in Tunisia, Ghana, Hungary, Chile, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Spain, the Netherlands or the UK.

In 2024 the British Council is launching the Festival Connect Fund, which enables new and innovative ways for connections, mobility, and exchanges and showcases contemporary arts between festivals across Africa and internationally.

The 14th Bamako Encounters – The African Biennale of Photography will be held from 16 November 2024 to 15 January 2025 in Bamako, Mali. This call is open to artists from the African world and its diaspora – photographers and videographers, amateurs or professionals, alone or in groups, with no limit of age or nationality.

STARTS4AFRICA is has announced the Call for Artists for the first STARTS Residency Programme fully dedicated to promoting Sub-Saharan Africa innovation at the nexus of Science + Technology + Arts.