The SAMRO Foundation is proud to announce Maqhinga Radebe, Nceba Mqolomba, iSupport Music Business, The Brother Moves On and Freshlyground as winners of the first round of the South African International Music Mobility Fund supported by the British Council.
The first round of the Music Mobility Fund saw a selection of four live music tour performances and a research based collaboration tour coming out on top. Ranging from Maskandi, Hip Hop to Jazz, the winners’ projects will take place in Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and the UK.
Unathi Memela (Manager of Maqhinga Radebe) says “Sande Entertainment is really excited and honoured to have been chosen for the mobility fund. This is an innovative concept that does not just generate profit for the artists but is an opportunity for both artists to learn about each other’s countries and music genres. We have partnered with acclaimed Mozambican Folk Singer Dino Miranda. We will be spreading the message that music unites. No more xenophobia. Africa is for all Africans”.
As an established band, Freshly Ground has been awarded the fund in return for undertaking a collaboration with local schools and musicians in Maputo as part of the 2013 Azgo Festival. Winners of the first round will receive R40 000 each towards their project costs.
The winners conducted their own research, identified and communicated with potential partners or hosts based in the country they will work in. The partners include individuals, organisations, established musicians and music professionals.
“The panel of adjudicators hosted by SAMRO Foundation and British Council were very excited that we received such good applications in the first round. We have expanded the scope in the second round and hope to encourage more South African musicians to venture across our borders and share their music, collaborate with our brothers and sisters across the border and foster, in the long term, a vibrant touring circuit in Southern Africa.” says Andre Le Roux – Executive General Manager of the Samro Foundation.
Applications for the second round of the Music Mobility Fund open on 10 June 2013 and will close on 31 July 2013. For more info about the second round please visit www.samro.org.za .
The Great Escape
Another leg of the Music Mobility Fund gave 5 South African music industry professionals an opportunity to travel to the U.K and attend the Great Escape Festival – Europe’s leading festival for new music. Held in Brighton from 16 – 18 May 2013, the festival featured 350 new artists from around the world and showcased various activities across 30 venues.
The selected delegates included Bradley Williams (Motif Records), Erin Crous (Southern Pulse), Stephen Gordon (Music Org ZA), Andre Le Roux (SAMRO Foundation) and Natasha Hodgson (Just Music). The delegates’ activities included panel discussions, networking sessions and attending live music events.
Established by the SAMRO Foundation and the British Council, the South African International Music Mobility Fund is a joint one-year funding programme which offers opportunities for South African music professionals to spend time building links inSouthern African countries and the UK.
The fund is designed to help musicians, music industry professionals and organisations build on already established domestic success and develop connections, markets and audiences in Southern African countries and UK for their work.
Notes to Editors
The types of projects that will be covered by the fund are:
• Tours and concerts (performances; country and regional tours; participation at festivals and showcases, etc.);
• Collaborative projects artistic collaborations between musicians
• Professional development projects and visits
• Projects can take place in one or more of the following countries: United Kingdom, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Seychelles.
Visit the SAMRO website for full terms and conditions and to access application forms.
For more details, contact the SAMRO Foundation at (011) 712-8417/8 or visit www.samrofoundation.org.za.
SAMRO Foundation: As non-profit organisation, the SAMRO Foundation aims to promote the national arts through sponsorships of various kinds, and to encourage excellence in the arts through education, facilitation of economic participation in the creative economy, influencing cultural and arts policies by means of research and advocacy as well as promoting living cultural heritage. The Foundation houses the largest archive of South African art music, as well as some 80 000 contemporary music scores. For more information please visit www.samrofoundation.org.za.
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. For more information please visit www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through www.twitter.com/britishcouncil and www.blog.britishcouncil.org.
