Open Call Mentorship Building Beyond #2

The Creative Industries Fund NL and The Prince Claus Fund jointly organize the programme Building Beyond for the second time. We invite designers, makers, artists, thinkers, architects from the African continent to define the future of public space and community on the growing African continent by activating the imagined possibilities of their local context. Building Beyond is an invitation to dream new realities into being. The final goal is to reimagine the future of African cities through design and spatial practice.

30 June 2022

Our cities are shaped by a dynamic interflow between people, politics, cultural expressions, infrastructure, economies, and dreams. More than ever, this dynamism has been felt in the African city as Africa is the planet’s the fastest growing continent - holding the youngest population and the highest urban growth rate. Many African cities are seeing a swell of new and heightened phenomena, such as increased privatisation, expanding surveillance, and escalating climate change, with simultaneously shrinking civic and public spaces. With the growing complexities of the city, there is a greater need than ever to engage critical questioning in a variety of forms and consider how we live and what the future could hold. Designers, artists, and cultural practitioners are opening up avenues for community and care, whilst offering creative perspectives that rethink belonging, place, and space.

At the Creative Industries Fund NL and Prince Claus Fund we believe in making space for creatives to actively challenge dominant power structures and put forward different methods for engaging with their communities. We believe in making space for a multitude of perspectives - perspectives that make you think twice, think deeper, or think differently. This programme is part of a longer conversation on how creative practices rooted in localities, community, queer theory, embodiment practices, decoloniality, and/or intersectional approaches can lead us toward different epistemologies, methodologies, and ecologies that foster transformative urban agendas.

Creatively driven critical design practices and cultural productions can reaffirm agency, restate ownership, andreimagine space. This is at the core of Building Beyond, an alternative educational structure where you can come together with your peers and postulate the future of your communities. We invite you to engage with how your practice relates to design, public space, architecture, activism, policy, and the digital space to propose new methods for engaging with challenges relating to your city’s public space and its communities.

open call

If you are a designer, creative, artist, thinker, architect, or are working anywhere in-between, from and based in Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Chad, South Africa, or South-Sudan, we welcome you to apply to this call.

With Building Beyond we host 12 designers, creatives, and artists over the course of a year and aim to foster thought leadership, promote criticality and solidarity, and reframe design-based practices. The programme consists of peer group sessions, masterclasses, and two mentoring intensives in the form of Lab Weeks (one in the African continent, and one in the Netherlands) where there will be opportunities for exchange and to build your network in different scenes. In addition to this, each participant receives an award of €10,000 and guidance from mentors to work on the concept for a body of work that is outlined in their application.

We are specifically looking for individuals with around 5 to 10 years of experience in design and/or spatial research and/or spatial practice. We are excited by experimental work that moves beyond disciplinary and thematic boundaries, and especially welcome applications that consider community needs and desires while promoting the inclusion of marginalised groups and identities.

how to apply?

Applications can be completed via the Prince Claus Awards Platform. Please consult the Guidelines & Eligibility before applying & check out our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

The deadline for the submission of applications is 4 August 2022 23:59 CEST. Only complete applications submissions to the platform before the deadline can be considered.

Building Beyond Mentorship 2021–2022

View the 12 selected artists and designers of the first round here. Hailing from 9 African countries these creatives work in a wide range of design fields that include architecture, urbanism, digital design, visual arts, photography, research and performance.

about the Creative Industries Fund NL

The Creative Industries Fund NL is the Dutch cultural fund for design, architecture, digital culture and every imaginable crossover. The Fund supports remarkable and innovative projects, research and activities by designers, makers and cultural organisations in the creative industry. Through various schemes and open calls, the Fund’s Internationalisation programme aims to promote international exchange and collaboration with the Dutch creative industry. One specific component is the international programme Inclusive Cities and Societies through Design, through which the Fund stimulates the contribution of design to the Sustainable Development Goals (11 and 16). For this programme component, the Fund focuses on (knowledge) exchange between the Dutch creative industry and African creative industries. The Building Beyond Mentorship and partnership with the Prins Claus Fonds are part of this programme.

about the Prince Claus Fund

The Prince Claus Fund has more than 25 years of experience in supporting cultural and artistic initiatives in challenging circumstances. The Fund's mission is to support, connect and celebrate cultural practitioners where culture is under pressure through a sequence of the Prince Claus Awards: Seed, Mentorship & Impact Awards. The Fund has been a successful actor and liaison in the arts and culture sectors globally, generating possibilities for critical discussion and boosting creative expression. Because of its track record and autonomy, the Fund is seen as a global leader in supporting independent cultural initiatives of the highest quality with a broad social impact.