Music project wins Goethe-Institut Nigeria funding

The cultural centre, which is based in Lagos, had made a call for applications earlier in the year. Interested bodies with at least three years of experience and already with a certain level of preparation were invited to apply.

The institute also expressed a desire to support artists invited to Germany but without the wherewithal to travel.

“We regard this support as a very crucial and important one in order to give young and upcoming people in the cultural landscape of Nigeria a chance to be heard and seen,” reads a statement from Goethe-Institut, which asked for applications from any cultural body that “would like to enter a professional partnership with Goethe-Institut Nigeria”.

The deadline was set for 1 March.

Now almost at the end of three months, the results are out, with seven projects out of "a substantial number of high-quality projects" set to receive funding from the German establishment. The varied nature of the successful projects means support will be given to projects covering a number of culture initiatives involving music, cinema, comic books, poetry, theatre, games and art writing.

According to its own description, the successful music project,  titled Golden Tones: Conversations With Living Legends of Nigerian Music, intends to fill in the gaps in what currently exists concerning music from Nigeria’s past:

“Documenting the artists and their works will be invaluable for the education and information of the public, preservation of the musicians’ specific legacies, and the cultural legacies of Nigeria."

However, there is a restriction. “Because documenting the music and lives of these veterans scattered across Nigeria will be a herculean task requiring huge time and financial resources, Golden Tones has been streamlined to just three genres: highlife, Fuji and juju found in the South West, the homeland of the Yoruba.”

Goethe-Institut says it intends to continue the Support and Connect programme. All successful projects are expected to commence later in the year.

For more information on the winning applications, see the official Goethe-Institut Nigeria website.