TURN

In 2012, the Federal Cultural Foundation established the TURN – Fund for Artistic Cooperation between Germany and African Countries in order to encourage a wide range of German institutions to shift their focus on the artistic production and cultural debates in African countries.

New forms of artistic collaboration

German cultural organisations in all artistic areas had been called upon to engage in new forms of artistic collaboration with African partners. The programme offered incentives primarily to German institutions and artists (museums, theatres, dance companies, art associations, composers, writers, publishers, etc.) to enhance their profile with new themes, working methods and perspectives.

Dynamic African art scenes

Many museums in Germany have meanwhile turned their attention to the activities taking place in the highly dynamic African art scenes. Closer study of the debates, artistic styles and trends in African countries has proven extraordinarily conducive to honing our view of the artistic positions in the Global South.

A total of 101 projects and research measures has been funded through the TURN Fund. In the first round of applications, the Foundation awarded one-time funding to project-preparatory research projects (external link, opens in a new window). In order to respond to the continued interest in these joint projects and encourage the museums to remain focused on Africa in the long term, the Federal Cultural Foundation has extended the programme with additional funding until 2021 (originally scheduled to end in September 2020).

What is funded?

Between 2012 and 2021, the TURN Fund provided funding to artistic projects which represent an innovative contribution toward enhancing Germany's view of contemporary artistic production in Africa, possess high artistic quality and have a public impact in Germany. Each project must requested at least 50,000 euros in funding; the applying institution was required to contribute 20 percent of the total cost with capital resources of its own. Applicants from African countries hs been required to apply together with an institutional partner in Germany.

In order to encourage thematic and artistic exchange between the partners, the Federal Cultural Foundation organized a series of project-related forums for directors, curators, choreographers, writers, publishers, musicians, designers and filmmakers from the funded projects along with other experts in Germany and the participating African countries.

The Federal Cultural Foundation provided a total of 14.23 Million Euros for the TURN Fund in the period 2012 to 2021.