Mutual Supports: North <> South

Abstract

In this chapter we will focus more closely on national cultural institutions in the North and the role they play in the facilitation and activation of transnational cultural networks. To what extent do institutions such as the British Council, the Institut francais, the Goethe-Institut and those associated with them in the South such as the Cercle germanomalgache/Goethe Cultural Centre, the Alliance francaise, the Centre culturel Albert Camus or cultural divisions of various embassies engage in ‘top-down’ initiatives with North Africa and Madagascar and to what extent do such initiatives work in tandem with other local cultural actors based in the South? This chapter will also focus on the complex nature of the relationship between cultural institutions attached to the former colonial power (that is, the Institut francais in the case of North Africa and Madagascar) and cultural actors (for example festival organizers, musicians) who are based in the former colonies. The first section of the chapter will provide a brief overview of the historical and political contexts surrounding the establishment of these institutions, before going on to consider the main ways in which such bodies intervene in the various cultural scenes in Morocco and Madagascar, taking as our focus a number of key case studies drawn from our field research with musicians, cultural producers and institutional representatives.