Africa Cluster's contents tagged with "Cultural Policy"

Contributions from the Johannesburg and Kinshasa Working Groups published in Artl@s Bulletin 7, no. 1 (2018)

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 09:53:45 +0000

Essays by David Andrew (Johannesburg Working Group) and Cedrick Nzolo (Kinshasa Working Group) have been published in a special issue of Artl@s Bulletin, “Mediating Past, Present and Future of D.R.Congo’s Historical Narratives on Art in a Global South Dialogue”

This special issue aims to bring to readers some of the main themes, discussions, research topics, dialogues and exchanges that were central to the symposium “Mediating Past, Present and Future: Historical Narratives and 20th/ 21st Century Art – Dialogues with Global South Experiences”, which took place at the Académie des Beaux Arts in Kinshasa 18 - 21 January 2016 – as reported by Sari Middernacht (Lububmashi Working Group) for Contemporary And (C&).

Cedrick’s essay, ‘Think natural! Une nécessité qui ne se cache plus’ and David’s essay, ‘Notes from Johannesburg - Dialogues and Itineraries of the South from Kinshasa: Art, History, and Education can be accessed here: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/artlas/vol7/iss1/1/

Kampala and Maseru Working Groups represent ARAC in Basel at ‘Crossroads’ (8-10 February 2018)

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 09:19:32 +0000

CROSSROADS, organised by The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) brought together cultural practitioners from Switzerland, India, the Arab world and Southern Africa in Basel and Geneva for a conference and multidisciplinary cultural programme that explored the impact that cultural exchange and international networks might have, and the roles that art and culture can play in the process of social change.

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What impact do cultural exchange and international networks have?

What roles do art and culture play in the process of social change?

CROSSROADS, organised by The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), provided a 3-day platform for discussion with a conference and a cultural programme in Basel and Geneva.

CROSSROADS brought together two Swiss institutions dedicated to culture in an international context: the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia have both been active for many years in numerous regions around the world, including what is known as the Global South. In addition to that, the oldest three liaison offices of Pro Helvetia, in Cairo, New Delhi and Johannesburg celebrated round anniversaries between 2017 and 2018.

CROSSROADS took a look behind the scenes of cultural production and promotion in various parts of the world and, by means of a conference and panels, explored possible ways ahead in the cultural cooperation of the future.

CROSSROADS united cultural practitioners from Switzerland, India, the Arab world and Southern Africa and offered a multidisciplinary cultural programme lasting three days.

Lineo Segoete of the Maseru Working Group and Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa of the Kampala Working Group were both invited to present the work that ARAC has been doing across Africa with the financial support of ProHelvetia Johannesburg.

Lineo Segoete (Maseru Working Group) spoke on the panel entitled "how to talk about what no one wants to talk about" which addressed demographic, ethnic, religious and sexual minorities who are faced with marginalisation, violence and the suppression of their histories. These topics are highlighted in the work of many critical artists today. The panel explored how varying (political) contexts require distinct strategies and formats to make these issues accessible to a broader audience. the core questions revolved around what such strategies could be along with the obstacles artists face when taking up such issues. The panel was moderated by Sophie Vögele (Scientific Associate, Institute for Art Education – Department of Cultural Analysis, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland).

Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa (Kampala Working Group) spoke about ARAC on the panel entitled "arts politics and power", the premise of which was that art and politics are closely intertwined, that artists are often important critical voices in the arena of political discourse, and that the arts can serve as a means to challenge conformist narratives and dominant discourse, calling into question our habitual political views and practice. The panel was Moderated by Federica Martini (Art historian and curator, Dean of Visual Arts at the ECAV/Sierre, Switzerland).

You can read more about the Crossroads conference here. The full programme of events can be viewed here.

ARAC participates in the 2nd NEPAD Regional Conference on Arts Education in Africa (23-27 May 2017)

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 09:35:39 +0000

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), an economic development program of the African Union, launched regional Arts Education Conferences in 2015 to bring together various stakeholders to share learning experiences and best practices and work together in a consultative manner towards developing a continental framework to guide the implementation of Arts Education in Africa. The 1st Arts Education Conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015. Building on the success of this Conference, the 2nd Arts Education Conference took place in Egypt from 23 – 25 May 2017. Dubbed “the Cairo Conference,” it was produced by NEPAD in collaboration with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Cairo Conference sought to promote the cultivation of innovation and creativity for social cohesion and a unified economy. It highlighted the importance of using indigenous cultural expressions to develop the thinking and problem-solving skills of African learners and researchers.

During the Cairo Conference, participating countries delivered national reports on participation rates in Arts Education across the spectrum from the lower levels all the way to tertiary level, review of Education Policy and how it approaches Arts Education, status of Learning, Teaching, Support Material (LTSM) on Arts Education (including E-learning materials), advocacy and formalization of Arts Education in Curricula as well as assessing teacher support in this area to improve teaching of the Arts.

David Andrew (Johannesburg Working Group) and Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa (Kampala Working Group) both attended as speakers, with support from the floor from the Cairo Working Group.