The Arterial Network was launched at a conference on Goiree Island, Senegal in March 2007, with the theme Vitalising African Cultural Assets.  The Conference took place against the backdrop of the adoption of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions; the challenge was to position African artists, creative practice and cultural industries so that they could benefit from the recommendations of the Convention and assert their place on the global stage and in the global creative economy.  

Breyten Breytenbach delivered the keynote address on the theme Imagine Africa, an inspiring call to imagine an Africa beyond the television images of poverty, brutality, war, corruption, disease and the like. 

The aims of the conference were:
a. to reflect on the current situation of the cultural sector in Africa
b. to investigate possible new strategies for networking, coordination, capacity-building and funding modalities to do this
c. with a view to overcoming the obstacles that hinder the setting up of sustainable initiatives in the cultural sector on the continent



Conference delegates identified the following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within the cultural sector on the African continent.
Strengths
Our major strength – in an increasingly globalized and homogenized world - is the uniquely African content of the cultural forms produced in the various disciplines across the continent – and that African culture is still an integral part of daily life in most countries across the continent. We have many prominent role models producing world-class products that are eagerly consumed around the world and there are many examples of best practice institutions in the different disciplines across the continent. All of which means we have existing cultural capital – people, skills, basic infrastructure and some distribution channels  - as a foundation to build on.
Weaknesses
Limited government support and political will to prioritize culture means that there is an absence of policy and supportive legislation, ineffective government structures and poorly equipped officials. This status quo arises chiefly from the marginalization of the arts, its lack of priority as a development issue and the perception that arts & culture are luxuries and not intrinsic to and necessary for healthy societies.

Fragmentation, limited leadership capacity and weak unions and advocacy groups within the arts sector itself means that there is poor lobbying and organizing capacity to shift the status quo. The lack of reliable statistical information on the economic contribution of the arts limits the lobbying power of the sector – as does the poor understanding of artists of the political and social terrain and how to negotiate it effectively.

The combination of limited disposable income, lack of locally-owned distribution channels, limited resources to market African product and values/ideas into global markets and the perceived low value of local cultural consumer goods means that higher costing local products are competing in a limited local market against lower costing, more readily available imported goods.

The funding environment is not supportive and encourages donor dependency from institutions and grant-funding dependency amongst artists inhibiting entrepreneurialism and lateral thinking in the sector.

Poor education and training and the development of skilled artists is a problem across the continent. This is compounded by a lack of trained teachers, absence of art education in formal curricula, and the cost of training where it is available. Artists traditionally also have poor marketing and business skills and growth is constrained without the support of entrepreneurs and the private sector in the form of business partnerships and sponsorship.
The environment does not enable the flourishing of the arts. Logistical and infrastructural challenges in individual countries and across the continent, impact on the dissemination of products, organisation of festivals and events, and the ability of the arts sector to organize. Language and the cost of travel are other barriers to organisation and hamper the already limited networking and sharing of information of opportunities on the continent.

The low status of the arts and artists means that laws protecting artists’ rights are not prioritized and it also means there is limited critical discourse on arts & culture in the public and media – both a function and result of a lack of trained critical arts journalists.
Opportunities
New technology and modes of distribution present opportunities for dealing with issues of access to information and markets.   The growth of tourism in general and cultural tourism in particular, coupled with the growth of markets for ‘products with stories’, presents an opportunity for accessing new markets that have an interest in culture.

The adoption of the conventions with the AU, Unesco and the Millenium Development Goals, presents an opportunity for lobbying governments to commit to the terms of these conventions as culture is on the agenda. Increasingly governments are recognising the economic value of the Cultural Industries and doors are opening for synergy with other economic and social clusters (social development, economic development and tourism).
International focus on Africa and the trade not aid discourse presents an opportunity for the cultural sector to engage with foreign governments and donors on terms that will enhance sustainable interventions.

Existing festivals and fairs that have established their reputations provide further market access opportunities regionally (and continentally) and provide space for increased partnerships and collaboration across disciplines.  Local markets are untapped opportunities for the consumption of locally produced goods.

Threats
African culture in its myriad forms – both traditional and contemporary – is under threat from the homogenization and consumerism of globalization as under-resourced local practitioners have to compete with multi-national distribution monopolies and very accessible and cheap foreign goods. This threat is more significant in a situation where poverty already marginalizes culture in people’s lives and where local culture has a perceived lower value.
In turn the availability of foreign goods leads to the undermining of the African aesthetic and identity. While the growth in cultural tourism also threatens the integrity of local products as tourists demand what they expect and local producers make what they think tourists want.

The lack of protection of Intellectual Property along with the loss of ownership of African art/copyright to international collections/studios holds the threat of the loss of ownership and income from the cultural capital of the continent.

Dependency on donors and the possibility of their withdrawal and/or change in focus is a threat for institutions.  Political instability in many countries in the continent, the rise of fundamentalism, along with the perception that lobbying and/or organizations promoting freedom of expression are anti-government, are threats to the promotion of pluralism and the space for cultural expression.

Poor career prospects for artists results in a creative brain drain as we lose talent to other sectors and other parts of the world. Poor education and training, cost of production and limited resources that support creation and innovation, are significant threats to the continued development of artists.  While digital technology is a potential opportunity it also poses a threat in that is ‘assists’ piracy and privileges the lowest common denominator and does not necessarily promote excellence.

Primary needs to be addressed
Based on the SWOT analysis and a variety of workshops on themes including culture and poverty reduction strategies, current trends in developing the creative industries, international cultural festivals and platforms for distributing work, information-sharing and international co-operation, conference delegates identified the following as primary areas of that need to be addressed.
1. Lobbying for enabling legislative, policy and funding environments
2. Capacity-building for leadership, educator, artist, management training
3. Research on economic impact studies, data collection, mapping
4. Support for cultural entrepreneurship and business skills, financing
5. Distribution channels such as festivals, tours, access to markets
6. Distribution of information through media, websites, arts journalists
7. Cultural exchange including regional, continental, and international
8. Marketing and the development of audiences and markets
9. Seminars, conferences, publications for critical discourse and debate
10. Support for creative production and development of artists

Task Team

A Task Team was elected at the Conference to devise and drive a programme of action to address these primary needs, and to ensure that the Conference was not just another talk shop.  With the support of a number of funding partners, various initiatives were implemented over the last two years, based on the plans made by Task Team at its first meeting in August 2007.  Given the progress made, we are now at the point of having the Second Arterial Network Conference just before the World Summit on Arts and Culture, and as planned by the Task Team at that first meeting.