FACE ADDRESSES 6 KEY ISSUES

How to process traditional arts, educate the young and empower the performer? It took Daniel Labonne 25 years of research in the field and a pilot school in 1990-1991 with the African Centre for the Training of Performing Artists (ACTPA) at the Castle Arts in Southern Africa. 10 years later, a first assessment was conducted followed by an academic study. In 2012, FACE revives the experiment by addressing 6 core issues:

• THE RIGHT MONEY FOR THE RIGHT PURPOSE: A TAILOR-MADE CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
• NEW FORMS OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE ESSENTIAL TO FOSTER HEALTHIER SOUTH-SOUTH AND NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION.
• EDUCATION SHOULD TAP INTO THE VAST FIELD OF PERFORMING ARTS, THE VARIED CULTURAL HERITAGE OF AFRICA AND THE SPECIFIC SKILLS OF THE YOUNG AFRICAN.
• THE NEED FOR ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURES THAT MAY ACCOMMODATE THE FULL STRENGTH AND VARIETY OF CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS IN THE URBANIZED ENVIRONMENT OF DEVELOPING AFRICA.
• PROVIDING FRESH MEANING TO PEACE.
• CORRECTING THE POOR IMAGE OF AFRICA.

MONEY - A vast enterprise affecting hundreds of millions of people and some 50 countries requires large amounts of funds. No more assistance; no more punctual event; no more folklore; arts and culture generate huge returns. The right cultural enterprise responds to specific needs and is uniquely felt in Africa.

EXCHANGE - A new form of cultural dialogue is vital in order to heal the wounds, seal the cracks between the nations of sub-Saharan Africa and build a new bridge between the North and the South that is mutually beneficial. 'Exchange' as advocated by FACE will expand the markets for each quality live product and create - across Africa - a network for every adequately trained performers.

EDUCATION - Unless the school in Africa may accommodate the most meaningful forms of performing arts that inspire and motivate, the young will continue to feel disenfranchised. Similarly, the trained and talented African performer will continue to emigrate to enrich other cultures, unless an ever-increasing audience may access stage work.

INFRASTRUCTURES - Unless a specialist organisation dares to facilitate south-south exchanges, unless these exchanges become regular and viable in the mid-term, progress will be hampered by frustration and poverty. North-South co-operation at city level - not at governmental level - might prove more productive and deliver much needed infrastructures at the heart of the African city.

PEACE - Boosting cultural development for emerging economies and tapping into the creative impulses of individuals living in these countries point towards peace and away from conflict, dependency and corruptive practices. IMAGE – Only Africans themselves may correct the poor image that plagues perceptions and progress. Three methods of attempting that: tell the story of Africa; involve the empowered performer; develop horizontal exchanges.