GB 0102 AFRICA95 - Africa95

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0102 AFRICA95

Title

Africa95

Date(s)

  • [1957]-1996 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

51 boxes including 47 outsize

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Africa95 was founded in 1992 to initiate and organise a nationwide season of the arts of Africa to be held in the UK in the last quarter of 1995. The wide-ranging events included the visual and performing arts, cinema, literature, music and public debate, and programmes on BBC television and radio. Africa95, a registered company with charitable status, was formed in 1993. It was granted patronage by HM the Queen, President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, and President Leopold Sedar Senghor of Sengal. The centrepiece of the season was the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition, 'Africa: the Art of a Continent'.

The policy and decision-making body was an Executive Committee chaired by Sir Michael Caine. The offices, with around 10 permanent staff, were at Richard House, 30-32 Mortimer Street, London. Over 20 co-ordinators and consultants were engaged in the project. Funding was provided from over 150 sources, with major grants being made by the European Development Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council, and the Baring Foundation. Company sponsors included British Airways and Blue Circle Industries.

Following the 1995 season of African arts, Africa95 continued in a minor way, with offices at Windsor House, 83 Kingsway, London.

Archival history

GB 0102 AFRICA95 [1957]-1996 Collection (fonds) 51 boxes including 47 outsize Africa95 , arts festival
Africa95 was founded in 1992 to initiate and organise a nationwide season of the arts of Africa to be held in the UK in the last quarter of 1995. The wide-ranging events included the visual and performing arts, cinema, literature, music and public debate, and programmes on BBC television and radio. Africa95, a registered company with charitable status, was formed in 1993. It was granted patronage by HM the Queen, President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, and President Leopold Sedar Senghor of Sengal. The centrepiece of the season was the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition, 'Africa: the Art of a Continent'.

The policy and decision-making body was an Executive Committee chaired by Sir Michael Caine. The offices, with around 10 permanent staff, were at Richard House, 30-32 Mortimer Street, London. Over 20 co-ordinators and consultants were engaged in the project. Funding was provided from over 150 sources, with major grants being made by the European Development Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council, and the Baring Foundation. Company sponsors included British Airways and Blue Circle Industries.

Following the 1995 season of African arts, Africa95 continued in a minor way, with offices at Windsor House, 83 Kingsway, London.

The School of Oriental and African Studies agreed to house the Africa95 archives in 1996.

Archives, [1957]-1996, of Africa95, including material from the festival administrators, producers and participants.

Various deposits, c1980-1996, on individual artists or on planning Africa95 include correspondence, printed material, photographs, and slides of the work of artists from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the USA.

Records of the central administration, 1991-1996, comprise planning papers and correspondence, 1991-1993; minutes of the Executive Committee, 1993-1995, Board of Trustees, 1995-1996, Funding Committee, 1993-1994, and Annual General Meeting, 1995; Chairman's correspondence, 1993-1996; research materials on non-western arts in Europe; Executive Council records, comprising correspondence, 1992-1995, reports received, 1993, 1995, and Trustees' report and financial statements, 1995; contracts, information and correspondence of the Co-ordinator, 1993-1994; International Council of Artists proposals, contact lists and correspondence, 1993-1994; brochures, 1993-1995; legal papers concerning incorporation, lease of premises, and charitable status, 1993-1995.

Records relating to arts management, 1980-1996, cover funding and sponsorship, 1993-1995; publicity, 1994-1995; press activity, 1994-1996, including cuttings; posters, 1993-1995; general administration, including personnel and finance, 1994-1995; arts organisations and other festivals, 1991-1995; subject files, 1985-1996, including exhibition catalogues on people and places including Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, the USA, and Zimbabwe; videos, 1980-1995, including artists and their work; publications and exhibition catalogues, 1980-1995, for Algeria, Angola, France, Korea, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the UK.

Records relating to finance and development, 1991-1996, cover budgets and funding, companies and sponsorship, and Trusts.

Records on receptions and launches, 1993-1995, relate to events in various locations.

Records relating to Africa95 Nigeria, 1994-1995, include correspondence and photographs.

Records relating to arts events across the UK cover visual arts (photography, fine art, sculpture, calligraphy, metalwork, textiles, and architecture), 1991-1996; cinema, 1993-1995; music, including classical, traditional, gospel, world, jazz, reggae, and popular music [1957]-1996 (including videos, sound recordings and scores); performing arts, including dance, theatre, and puppetry, 1989-1996 (including videos); literature, including poetry, 1993-1995.

Records relating to other activities cover conferences on African arts, including events at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Royal African Society, and Courtauld Institute of Art, 1993-1996; education and young peoples' events, 1993-1996; international workshops and residencies, including events in Senegal, Zimbabwe, London, and Yorkshire, 1990-1996; television and radio, 1992-1995 (including sound recordings of programmes on Radios 1, 3 and 4).

Records relating to post-festival administration, 1994-1996, cover evaluation, celebratory concert, finance, and archive arrangements.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
Mainly English

Unpublished handlist by Emma West, including index of names, places and subjects.

Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Apr 2002 Accounting Africa Africa95 , arts festival Africa95 Nigeria , arts festival African art African cultures African literature Algeria Angola Architecture Archives Artists Art metalwork Associations Audiovisual materials BBC , British Broadcasting Corporation x British Broadcasting Corporation British Broadcasting Corporation , Radio 1 British Broadcasting Corporation , Radio 3 British Broadcasting Corporation , Radio 4 Broadcasting Broadcasting programmes Calligraphy Charitable organisations Classical music Contemporary music Courtauld Institute of Art Côte d'Ivoire Cultural administration Cultural events Cultural exhibitions Cultural finance Cultural interaction Cultural management Cultural organizations Cultural planning Cultural policy Cultural programmes Dance Dissemination of culture East Africa East Asia Economics of culture Egypt England Ethiopia Europe Exhibitions Festivals Finance Financial administration Financial statements Fine arts France Ghana Graphic arts Handicrafts International Council of Artists Ivory Coast Jazz Kenya Korea Law Legal documents Legal systems Leisure Leisure time activities Literary forms and genres Literature London Morocco Music Musical performances Musical styles National art National cultures National literatures Newspaper press Nigeria North Africa North America Organizations Patronage of the arts Personnel management Photographic slides Photographs Plastic arts Poetry Popular music Press Press cuttings Programme content Puppets Radio Radio programmes Recordings Religious music Royal African Society Sculpture Senegal SOAS , School of Oriental and African Studies x School of Oriental and African Studies Sound recordings South Africa Southern Africa Sudan Tanzania UR Television Television programmes Textile arts Theatre Traditional music Tunisia Uganda UK USA Video recordings Visual arts Visual materials West Africa Western Europe Yorkshire Zambia Zimbabwe Information sources Documents Performing arts Organization and administration Health services administration Public administration Government

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The School of Oriental and African Studies agreed to house the Africa95 archives in 1996.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Archives, [1957]-1996, of Africa95, including material from the festival administrators, producers and participants.

Various deposits, c1980-1996, on individual artists or on planning Africa95 include correspondence, printed material, photographs, and slides of the work of artists from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the USA.

Records of the central administration, 1991-1996, comprise planning papers and correspondence, 1991-1993; minutes of the Executive Committee, 1993-1995, Board of Trustees, 1995-1996, Funding Committee, 1993-1994, and Annual General Meeting, 1995; Chairman's correspondence, 1993-1996; research materials on non-western arts in Europe; Executive Council records, comprising correspondence, 1992-1995, reports received, 1993, 1995, and Trustees' report and financial statements, 1995; contracts, information and correspondence of the Co-ordinator, 1993-1994; International Council of Artists proposals, contact lists and correspondence, 1993-1994; brochures, 1993-1995; legal papers concerning incorporation, lease of premises, and charitable status, 1993-1995.

Records relating to arts management, 1980-1996, cover funding and sponsorship, 1993-1995; publicity, 1994-1995; press activity, 1994-1996, including cuttings; posters, 1993-1995; general administration, including personnel and finance, 1994-1995; arts organisations and other festivals, 1991-1995; subject files, 1985-1996, including exhibition catalogues on people and places including Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, the USA, and Zimbabwe; videos, 1980-1995, including artists and their work; publications and exhibition catalogues, 1980-1995, for Algeria, Angola, France, Korea, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the UK.

Records relating to finance and development, 1991-1996, cover budgets and funding, companies and sponsorship, and Trusts.

Records on receptions and launches, 1993-1995, relate to events in various locations.

Records relating to Africa95 Nigeria, 1994-1995, include correspondence and photographs.

Records relating to arts events across the UK cover visual arts (photography, fine art, sculpture, calligraphy, metalwork, textiles, and architecture), 1991-1996; cinema, 1993-1995; music, including classical, traditional, gospel, world, jazz, reggae, and popular music [1957]-1996 (including videos, sound recordings and scores); performing arts, including dance, theatre, and puppetry, 1989-1996 (including videos); literature, including poetry, 1993-1995.

Records relating to other activities cover conferences on African arts, including events at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Royal African Society, and Courtauld Institute of Art, 1993-1996; education and young peoples' events, 1993-1996; international workshops and residencies, including events in Senegal, Zimbabwe, London, and Yorkshire, 1990-1996; television and radio, 1992-1995 (including sound recordings of programmes on Radios 1, 3 and 4).

Records relating to post-festival administration, 1994-1996, cover evaluation, celebratory concert, finance, and archive arrangements.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted.

Conditions governing reproduction

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Mainly English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Unpublished handlist by Emma West, including index of names, places and subjects.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

School of Oriental and African Studies

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area