Banana Club has announced the second iteration of the Banana Club Artist Fund (BCAF). The BCAF 2023 Open Call invites artists looking to discuss themes around ‘The socioeconomic patterns among African LGBTQIA+ communities’ through their work. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit a portfolio of their work via a Google form on the bananaemoji.com website. Submissions to the call close Wednesday 5th July 2023, at 5pm.
Established in 2022, The Banana Club Artist Fund is a three month-long residency designed to support LGBTQIA+ artists and creative entrepreneurs as they produce and present an artistic project facilitated through the support of Banana Club. The Fund is open to emerging LGBTQIA+ artists living and practicing in Botswana. This exciting opportunity aims to enable and nurture the creation of new work through a combination of support including mentorship from an established artist, financial and curatorial support, a dedicated public relations programme, and an exhibition at the end if the residency.
The artist will be selected through a free open call and the shortlist and final selection of the artist in residence will be decided by an expert panel of curators and artists. The selected artist will create a new body of work over a period of approximately three months throughout August to October 2023. The entire programme, including the resulting exhibition, will be curated, and produced by Banana Emoji Studio.
Speaking to the choice of theme this year, Tanlume Enyatseng, Banana Club Founder and Creative Director explains, “Over the years, the LGBTQIA+ community has often been sidelined, faced extreme marginalisation and exclusion. Thus, there is a wide socioeconomic variation among queer persons that has been overlooked by previous research, even though socioeconomic status is deeply intertwined with sexual minority status and union status. Banana Club is not only driven to continue to explore and advance the work of marginalised artists and artisans but promote the visual arts as a tool for social change. The residency welcomes visual artists across all disciplines to apply for the transformative opportunity to receive support in making and exhibiting new work.”
Artists interested in applying and would like assistance with their application can contact Banana Club Artist Fund on WhatsApp at +267 72892861 or email bananaemojibw@gmail.com
ABOUT BANANA CLUB
BANANA CLUB is an artist-led collective creating safe space platforms for community dialogues. Founded by Visual Artist and Writer Tanlume Enyatseng, BANANA CLUB aims to work with various key Publics to promote the visibility and inclusion of queer individuals and marginalised bodies through contemporary art and strategic engagements.
Our work tackles pressing societal issues through inspired, and engaging conversation that evoke a call for action while promoting true visibility and inclusion. We have hosted a variety of community led engagements largely through the growing support of the Delegation of the European Union in Botswana, The World Bank and Debswana Diamond Company.
