In what ways has African society reverberated its cultural dynamism within modern day transnational artistic imaginings? Playwrights on the African continent and in the African diaspora are well endowed with tools to provide enlightenment. Creative methodologies and thematic concerns amongst playwrights in Africa and the African World of the Americas are derived from a plethora of sources and influences. The African has at his disposal a reservoir of resources, including the use of African languages, rituals, myth and other traditional and contemporary mores. Common topics include colonialism and the exigencies of cultural, social and political transformation into the modern world.

Storytelling in Africa has been a traditional event since the presence of the Griots who—through music and poetry—became the creative custodians of oral history. By extension some African-American dramatists view preachers, spoken word artists, stand-up comics, blues singers and playwrights as part of that tradition. They examine and record through text based platforms the trials, tribulations and conditions of a people who evolved from slavery to become one of the most celebrated cultures globally. The aesthetic values and humane concerns which hover their works clearly speak to an African continuum in the New World. Not only does the commonality of practices and history between modern day African and African-American playwrights deserve notice, of seminal importance is their mutual struggle to devote attention to their craft—as modern day Griots—in a hostile environment often imbued with racism, colonialism and inept governments.

Questions abound towards the survival of these writers in separate lands. How are playwrights funded in Africa in the face of corrupt regimes that feel threatened by the pen and have little or no appreciation for the arts? What can be done about the disparity in funding which goes to the development of black playwrights in the US as opposed to their white counterparts? Where do these playwrights share or showcase their work and to what audiences given the limited building spaces available to them on both sides of the Atlantic? How do playwrights engage in debates about identity and authenticity within an African diaspora? What are the different ways in which international boundaries shape the African experience and how do they manifest in writing and performance? If the notion of Africa is to be broadened, the specifics of these playwrights’ experiences and practices must be examined.

The purpose of Camargo’s transatlantic black playwright residency would be to afford the opportunity of sharing work, discussing viewpoints and approaches towards enduring as Black artistes—in a safe haven—free of occidental screening and judgment with no self explanations and no obligation to represent anyone but oneself. Exploring one’s craft, voice and African-ness in a picturesque and encouraging atmosphere with kindred spirits would be an essential raison d’être.

In selecting the participants, the Camargo Foundation worked with a panel composed of internationally recognized reviewers from the United States, the African continent, and Europe: Alicia Adams (Vice-President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, US); Walter Chakela (Playwright, South Africa); Mamadou Diouf (Professor of African Studies and History, Director of the Institute for African Studies at Columbia University, US); and Jan Goossens (Director of the Marseille Performing Arts Festival, France).

The program is designed to offer participants time and space to:

• Research, experiment & create: applicants may apply either with a specific project or a specific area of inquiry on which they would like to work during the residency. An area of inquiry should be specific and represent exploration and investigation in the resident’s field. The Camargo Foundation welcomes both open-ended exploration, or more focused works and long-term research projects;

• Exchange & network: during the residency, discussions are held regularly to foster exchanges between the selected artists. In addition, the Camargo Foundation’s staff provides formal and informal links with local professionals to develop possible creative collaborations between the selected artists and the region of the Marseille-Provence area. The selected artists will also attend performances with other cultural organizations and artists in the Marseille-Provence area.