The Goma youth center recently presented an ambitious project to provide a solution to the problems of access to funding faced by artists in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Indeed, the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, combined with those of the Covid-19 pandemic, have considerably impacted the financial resources of artists. To respond to this worrying situation, the Goma youth center proposed the PASART project, a support project for the financial empowerment of the cultural and artistic sector.
This project will last eleven months and will involve artists from seven towns in the east of the country, including Goma, Bukavu, Uvira, Kalemie, Bunia, Kisangani and Isiro. Its objective is to strengthen the professional capacities of cultural, creative and artistic actors, in order to make them financially independent. The project also aims to promote access to bank loans and encourage actors from the private financial sector to support artistic and cultural projects.
PASART is funded by the program CREATE IN CENTRAL AFRICA of the ACP-EU CULTURE consortium, which is implemented by Interarts foundation, Culture et Développement, ECCAS and the National Institute of Arts of Kinshasa. Applications to participate in this project are already open and credit access facilities are underway with various project partner banks.
The PASART project responds to a fundamental challenge in the artistic and cultural sector in eastern DRC, where most cultural centers survive on subsidies, and artists struggle to find the necessary means to produce their art. The incubation structures and bank loans offered by PASART will overcome these difficulties and allow artists to concentrate on their art without being limited by financial worries.
In summary, the PASART project is a real asset for the evolution of culture and the arts in the DRC. It will allow artists to benefit from financial and professional support and to strengthen their capacities to face current economic challenges.