Platform/ Plotform is a research project to fathom the working principles of selected independent art spaces in five fast-urbanising African cities by making correlations between aesthetic strategies and the urban environment. The key participants are: Go Down Arts Centre (Nairobi, Kenya); ANO Institute of Art & Knowledge (Accra, Ghana); Townhouse Gallery (Cairo, Egypt); Zoma Museum (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and Nafasi Art Space (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania).

The project is led by Kim Gurney, an ACC Research Associate who conducted the research and fieldwork during 2018-19. A two-day roundtable with key research participants and stakeholders to discuss findings and further inform outputs was hosted in October 2019 at the Tutu Legacy Centre in Cape Town, with a linked public panel, Beyond Our Borders. Work in progress was also presented at University of the Western Cape and Leuven University in Belgium.

Various project outcomes are expected in 2022 including Panya Routes: Independent art spaces in Africa (Motto Books) and a teaching module based on Platform/ Plotform content.