Madagascar, an island of over 28 million inhabitants in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is a formidable creative breeding ground where a culture of resourcefulness reigns, due to a lack of resources. These constraints result in great creativity, which, unfortunately, is rarely enough to meet the technical standards that allow an artist to "make a living from their art" or reach international markets. It is to provide a framework and enable the new generation of Malagasy creatives to be supported and access international production and distribution networks that the ONY association was created by Ahélya Randriambolaina and artist Orelsan in 2021. ONY aims to foster the birth of an ecosystem, inject dynamism into the Indian Ocean, and help create economic opportunities in the Cultural and Creative Industries sector in Madagascar.
The Genesis: Study of the Needs of the Malagasy Sector
With the desire to implement a project with a dual economic and social impact in Madagascar, artist Orelsan and his wife Ahélya first sought to define a project that would best meet the expectations of local populations. In 2020, an initial assessment of Malagasy CCIs helped define priority impact levers for building a social impact project that corresponds to the local context and laying the groundwork for the ONY project while meeting an entire ecosystem of actors who are now involved in the project.
ONY in Action
In a country with immense creative potential but where artists lack support to emerge, the objective of the ONY project is to support local creatives and cultural entrepreneurs by providing them with training, mentoring, access to professional equipment, and by fostering collaborations and skills transfer. ONY thus aims to develop an ecosystem of projects in the video game, animation, cinema, and music sectors, and structures its activities around 3 pillars:
- The ONY Booster: designed for Malagasy professionals in the cultural and creative industries, this acceleration program offers training workshops, mentoring sessions, and scholarships, enabling skill development and project development.
- The ONY Academy: dedicated to the practice of trades in cinema, music, 3D animation, and video games, the school offers experience sharing and vocational training. The emphasis is primarily on practical work through the creation of collective projects from start to finish.
- The ONY House: a 400m² learning and creation space located in the heart of Antananarivo and dedicated to all actors in the ONY ecosystem. Equipped with workspaces, filming and recording studios, and fully outfitted with professional equipment, the ONY House offers a place where it is possible to create, work, and collaborate with creatives from other disciplines.
To structure and amplify all these activities, the ONY project is currently supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institut Français as part of the Cultural Entrepreneurship Support Fund (FAEC) and by the Institut Français.
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