Africa 95

Reference and contact details: GB 102 Africa 95
Title: Africa 95
Dates of creation: c. 1957-1996
Held at: School of Oriental and African Studies
Extent: 51 boxes
Name of Creator: Africa 95
Level of Description: fonds
Language of Material: English

Administrative/Biographical History

Africa 95 was founded in 1992 to initiate and organise a nationwide season of the arts of Africa to be held in the UK in the last quarter of 1995. The wide-ranging events included the visual and performing arts, cinema, literature, music and public debate, and programmes on BBC television and radio. Africa 95, a registered company with charitable status, was formed in 1993. It was granted patronage by HM the Queen, President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, and President Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal. The centrepiece of the season was the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition, 'Africa: the Art of a Continent'.

The policy and decision-making body was an Executive Committee chaired by Sir Michael Caine. The offices, with around 10 permanent staff, were at Richard House, 30-32 Mortimer Street, London. Over 20 co-ordinators and consultants were engaged in the project. Funding was provided from over 150 sources, with major grants being made by the European Development Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council, and the Baring Foundation. Company sponsors included British Airways and Blue Circle Industries.

Scope and Content

Archives, [1957]-1996, of Africa 95, including material from the festival administrators, producers and participants.

Various deposits, c1980-1996, on individual artists or on planning Africa 95 include correspondence, printed material, photographs, and slides of the work of artists from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the USA.

Records of the central administration, 1991-1996, comprise planning papers and correspondence, 1991-1993; minutes of the Executive Committee, 1993-1995, Board of Trustees, 1995-1996, Funding Committee, 1993-1994, and Annual General Meeting, 1995; Chairman's correspondence, 1993-1996; research materials on non-western arts in Europe; Executive Council records, comprising correspondence, 1992-1995, reports received, 1993, 1995, and Trustees' report and financial statements, 1995; contracts, information and correspondence of the Co-ordinator, 1993-1994; International Council of Artists proposals, contact lists and correspondence, 1993-1994; brochures, 1993-1995; legal papers concerning incorporation, lease of premises, and charitable status, 1993-1995.

Records relating to arts management, 1980-1996, cover funding and sponsorship, 1993-1995; Publicity, 1994-1995; press activity, 1994-1996, including cuttings; posters, 1993-1995; general administration, including personnel and finance, 1994-1995; arts organisations and other festivals, 1991-1995; subject files, 1985-1996, including exhibition catalogues on people and places including Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, the USA, and Zimbabwe; videos, 1980-1995, including artists and their work; publications and exhibition catalogues, 1980-1995, for Algeria, Angola, France, Korea, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the UK.

Records relating to finance and development, 1991-1996, cover budgets and funding, companies and sponsorship, and Trusts.

Records on receptions and launches, 1993-1995, relate to events in various locations.

Records relating to Africa95 Nigeria, 1994-1995, include correspondence and photographs.

Records relating to arts events across the UK cover visual arts (photography, fine art, sculpture, calligraphy, metalwork, textiles, and architecture), 1991-1996; cinema, 1993-1995; music, including classical, traditional, gospel, world, jazz, reggae, and popular music [1957]-1996 (including videos, sound recordings and scores); performing arts, including dance, theatre, and puppetry, 1989-1996 (including videos); literature, including poetry, 1993-1995.

Records relating to other activities cover conferences on African arts, including events at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Royal African Society, and Courtauld Institute of Art, 1993-1996; education and young peoples' events, 1993-1996; international workshops and residencies, including events in Senegal, Zimbabwe, London, and Yorkshire, 1990-1996; television and radio, 1992-1995 (including sound recordings of programmes on Radios 1, 3 and 4).

Records relating to post-festival administration, 1994-1996, cover evaluation, celebratory concert, finance, and archive arrangements.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The archive was deposited at the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1996.

Access Conditions

Unrestricted

Copyright/Reproduction

No publication without prior written permission. Apply to SOAS Archives in first instance.

Processing information

Description originally compiled for RSLP AIM25 Project. Edited and updated by Rosemary Seton, Archivist, SOAS.

Finding Aids

Unpublished handlist, including index of names, places and subjects