Audiovisual production in Africa - AfriMus 2026

This open call is meant for African musicians/sound artists residing in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, in possession of a passport to travel to Europe, English or French-speaking, no age limit; applicants should be engaged in African electronic music/sounds.  

Submission of application until 14th of November 2025 23:59 (CEST)
 

The musical residency AfriMus aims to put urban and electronic music scenes, movements, and styles at the forefront.

The musicology collections of the AfricaMuseum consist of 37,000 sound recordings, 20,000 photographs, and 9,000 musical instruments. In addition, there are archives documenting the musical traditions of Central Africa during the colonial period and the second half of the 20th century. Despite their historical importance, these collections are no longer representative of current African musical practices. It is therefore necessary to renew the audiovisual archives of the AfricaMuseum.

Objectives of the residency:

• Strengthen the capacities, visibility, access to professional opportunities, and network of African musicians and disseminate these cultural coproductions with the AfricaMuseum through digital/multimedia channels.
• Support the creation of audiovisual projects such as a video clip, video podcast, documentary, etc. by musicians and sound artists
• Provoke discussions and dialogues on musical heritage and contribute to the resounding and revival of the collection
• Research period by musicians and sound artists at the AfricaMuseum for the realization of the audiovisual projects and facilitate the valorization of sound archives and collections to the international public.
• Develop new concepts on creation, restitution and the decolonisation of ethnographic museum archives and collections through musical and research activities
• AfriMus invites a single, selected candidate to Belgium to create a space for reflection, or to create work related to the museum's collections; to consider questions of identity, the history of the collections, and the musical practices of the countries of origin
   

The residency offers:

• A budget to support an audiovisual production (videoclip, video podcast, documentary etc) in Africa with a local team during March – June.
• A residency at the AfricaMuseum for 4 weeks between September and October 2026. Travel costs, accommodation, per diem and fees (lump sum/week) will be covered by the AfricaMuseum.

During the residency in Belgium, a budget is foreseen for a finalised audiovisual/auditory work to be displayed to the public.


Deadline for submitting applications: Friday 14th of November 2025 at 23:59 (CEST)

AfriMus is made possible thanks to two African partners: Nyege Nyege (Uganda) and The Black Power Station (South Africa).