The situation of artists in the Democratic Republic of Congo is difficult, due to the lack of funding for their projects. Faced with this problem, the Goma youth center launched the PASART project, a program that aims to support artistic and cultural structures in their financial empowerment.
This project is spread over a period of 11 months and involves artists from seven towns in the east of the country, including Goma, Bukavu, Uvira, Kalemie, Bunia, Kisangani and Isiro. It proposes to strengthen the professional capacities of artists, to promote access to bank loans and to encourage the private financial sector to support artistic and cultural projects.
PASART is funded by the Create in Central Africa program of the ACP-EU Culture consortium, and aims to make artists and cultural structures financially autonomous. The program notably provides for the training of cultural center managers, the incubation of their projects and access to bank loans.
The project is an initiative welcomed by the artists, who hope to find funds for the realization of their projects. The credit access facilities are already underway with various partner banks, and the call for applications has been launched for cultural structures wishing to participate.
PASART is an important initiative for culture and the arts in the DRC, which will allow artists and cultural structures to become financially independent and promote their development in the country.