Image Credit: Oladimeji Odunsi
Co-creation and collaboration in the time of Covid
Our evaluation of the British Council’s Sub-Saharan Africa Arts programme has informed the 2021/2022 strategy of the programme.
Rhiannon Davies
Senior Consultant
Rhiannon is an experienced consultant who has spent the last ten years working in a variety of roles in the cultural and higher education sectors, since the start of her career at Arts Council England.
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The exchange of and access to resources and techniques are just as important in the creative and cultural sector as is the creation of art and culture itself.
During the past two years, the British Council conducted the Sub-Saharan Africa Arts programme.
This programme aims at fostering cultural exchange between young people and sharing skills and knowledge between SSA countries and the UK, as well as showcasing and supporting the creation of new art.
Our evaluation of the programme spanned 18 countries and focused on three clusters within the region (East, South and West) and involved interviews and a short survey with participants and partners between 2019-2021.
Our key findings:
It is important for creative economy programmes to be tailored to the country context and should maximise local ownership and co-creation with partners and participants whenever possible;
British Council programmes are actively expanding participants’ professional networks and there was improvement in sector-specific and transferable skills over time indicating the increasing cohesion and effectiveness of the programme;
The switch to digital forms of outreach, specifically through Instagram, as a result of the pandemic increased opportunities for participants to develop partnerships and access markets;
Overall, the British Council’s strategy for the SSA region was well received, with recommendations for future programmes including balancing strategy and expected impacts between large countries and associated investments and smaller countries.
Delivering this kind of programme cross-regionally during a pandemic required an increased investment of time, communication, and strategy. It needed innovative efforts to make an impact on creative and cultural professionals’ lives through adopting digital approaches to building audiences, accessing markets, and developing professional networks. With greater experience working with these tools, future programmes can help to reach an even wider base of creative and cultural professionals with a desire to connect with others around the world.
Download the full report below.
Our evaluation of the programme has informed the 2021/2022 strategy of the programme, which will continue to focus on supporting creative and cultural professionals in the region.
Project Report
Evaluation of SubSaharan Africa Arts – 2018-21 Impact report
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