A Study Of Transnational Networks Across Europe And Africa

This project focuses on the ways in which (post-)migrant artists and cultural practitioners originating from North-Africa and Madagascar are able to use complex networks across African, European and wider global spaces, it suggests that artists who create or enter such networks make use of, but go far beyond the traditional 'bi-focal', ethnically and spatially defined communities that link originating and sending countries, as studied in much Diaspora research.

They follow a different logic of translocal/ transnational networking. Whilst recently there has been a plethora of research which theorises networks and flows, little empirical research has as yet emerged which studies these in closer detail, by throwing light on the motivations, personal narratives and cultural practices of migrants involved.

In relation to cultural practitioners, film-makers, performers and musicians, whose livelihood depends to a considerable extent on their success in going beyond their immediate localities to perform and publicise their art, even less Is known about the constituency and impact of networks.

Our earlier studies have hinted that artists in the diasporic 'hubs' of capital cities interlink with cultural and social 'movements' in their originating countries for various artistic, economic , social, political and ecological reasons.

Little is known about the new dynamics that bind artists and cultural agents from such cultural movements within wider European networks of similar motivations.Our proposed case-studies of Francophone artists in countries of origin and across selected non-Francophone European spaces build on our own and other researchers' prior work in diasporic metropolitan centres, but follow the complexities of transnational networks beyond these clustered links.

Through empirical studies of artists and cultural practitioners we aim to provide new insights into their creative practices, throw light on their identifications in their artistic and every-day life, their motivations, modes of cultural and social engagement, on opportunities or barriers within and beyond their art.

Importantly, the network approach also aims for a better understanding of the artistic and wider social impact of associated local and networked social groups and associations.The following aims are particularly relevant for a study of (post-)migrant networks in the Arts and Humanities:

- A contribution to theories of Diaspora, cutting across the Arts and Social Sciences.
- A robust research framework for studying networks of migrant artists, developing methodological and analytical procedures to undertake case studies of specific groups across dispersed geographical regions, as well as strategies for generalising from these case studies.
- An understanding of the ways in which artists' networks may /may not be special cases within migration studies.
- An understanding of the role which cultural centres/ movements within countries of origin and of settlement play in the outward/return flow and networking of artists, and in the success/ failure of maintaining links across dispersed populations.
- An understanding of the motivations of migrant artists to stay or move beyond their localities, especially insofar as they cross-over from well-established post-colonial links.
- An understanding of the extent to which artists' engagement with the social and cultural concerns of their country of origin are based on identification and/or on strategic activation of 'transcultural capital'.
- An understanding of the interconnection between cultural and social engagement of groups /associations within civil society, including those of artists themselves, and an evaluation of their impact on a variety of artistic, social, political and ecological factors within countries of settlement and of origin.

Because of its innovative interdisciplinary framework and a strong empirical focus we expect our research to affect the ways in which we understand and research diasporas, and to provide new in-depth insights Into migrant artists' networks and their significance.

We will reach the international research community via conferences, workshops, and refereed publications. However, our engagement goes beyond traditional academic scholarship.

Involving people whose networks we researched as participants/ performers in workshops and cultural events, and as potential beneficiaries in a more long-term collaboration between the different agencies. Here we can expand on previous excellent collaborations with cultural operators in the UK, In France, in Germany, as well as with the existing networks of our consultants in countries of origin.