contemporary art in Tanzania // interview
Dec 2021
Interview with Rebecca Mzengi Corey by Niccolo Lucarelli for Artribune (Italy)
What are Nafasi's purposes?
The central goal of the Nafasi Art Space is to elevate and foster human potential through the medium of contemporary art. Over the years, Nafasi has focused on supporting artists and striving to increase the public interested in Tanzanian conceptual art, both within the country and throughout the southern African region. Our main areas of focus are artist development, audience engagement, building partnerships and networks, and increasing the sustainability and resilience of the arts sector. Nafasi has always been a space for experimentation, collaboration and innovation. Contemporary visual artists have worked alongside contemporary dancers, musicians, directors, fashion designers and other creatives, Nafasi regularly hosts group and solo exhibitions, an international artist-in-residence program that has welcomed more than one hundred artists from over 30 countries (13 of which are African), multidisciplinary art events and festivals, film screenings, debates on art and symposia. We have also hosted more than 100 workshops for artists in theory, technique and entrepreneurship and in 2020 we launched the Nafasi Academy, a one-year research-based and locally developed art path that emphasizes the discovery of contemporary art practices for young aspiring Tanzanian artists, especially those from the most vulnerable social groups.
