Africa Cluster's contents tagged with "kampala working group"

ARAC Goes to documenta fifteen

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 15:02:35 +0000

The contribution of the Another Roadmap School Africa Cluster (ARAC) to documenta fifteen is a sequence of three week-long editorial meetings held in June, July and August 2022 in Kassel, comprising open and closed sessions and contributions to the documenta fifteen public programme.

The editorial meetings are a continuation of ARAC’s Schoolbook Project, a series of five “exercises books”, namely: Provocations Book, Exercises Book, Glossaries Book, Images Book, and a Playlist Book. The five books aim to make accessible the work that ARAC has done and the knowledge that ARAC has produced since 2015. The ARAC’s Schoolbooks are an evolution of the Another Roadmap School’s existing practice of creating “learning units”.

The three editorial meetings are held in a modular setting that attends to ARAC’s chronologies; its genealogies; and its Typologies. The setting was developed through Another Roadmap’s method of “an exhibition kit”: an open-ended method of art making and learning through creating company and fellowship. The setting plays host to works developed through ARAC’s collective methods including the Un/Chrono/Logical Timeline; the Traveling Printing Suitcase that extends the artistic methods of the Medu Art Ensemble, a South African collective that used jazz and poster making in their fight against apartheid; wooden sculptures developed by the staff and students of École d’art de Nyundo as part of the art school pedagogical programme, in an exchange of the context of the study of the school’s history not only through recorded media and books, bu t also through material practice as well. The setting also features further symbolic creative works in various formats and media emerging from ARAC Members’s own practices; rotating entries of works that keep ARAC’s artistic company; and a preview of ARAC’s Images Book presented as a stream of projections across the space.

The public programme, held within and beyond ARAC’s space at Fridskul includes workshops; École du soir or evening programmes made of screenings and discussions; and People Who Think Together Dance Together, a recurring moment of musical gatherings; all of which feature friends and guests of ARAC.

Altogether, ARAC uses documenta fifteen as a welcome opportunity to meet and work together in Kassel to complete first drafts of 3 of the 5 Schoolbooks, but also as a momentous occasion to engage deeply with fellow collectives from across the planet and to develop methods and frameworks for long-lasting mutual exchanges.

Fulbright Specialist Recommends that Learning Units created by the Kampala Working Group are used as Templates for Art School Curricula (August 2019)

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:06:42 +0000

The US-based artist and art educator Sherry Erskine spent a semester in residence at the Nagenda International Academy of Art in Design (NIAAD), home of the Kampala Working Group. While she was at NIAAD, Sherry, who is a Fulbright Specialist in World Learning, both observed teaching and reviewed curricula.

In the report that she submitted at the end of her residency, Sherry recommended to NIAAD Senior Management that the academy adopt the teaching and learning formats developed through practice-based research by the Kampala Working Group within the context of the Intertwining Hi/Stories research as a template for all diploma and certificate course modules!

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.

- - -

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 Will Convene for its 3rd Colloquium in Maseru (7-13 January 2017)

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:00:51 +0000

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.

Our Common Ghosts: the Nyanza and Kampala Working Groups Meet at the Venice Biennale (May 2017)

Wed, 10 May 2017 12:46:04 +0000

Africa Cluster Colloquium 2 (April 2017) Public Programme

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:14:40 +0000

The Another Roadmap Africa Cluster held their Second Colloquium from 3-7 April, 2017. We reserved the Thursday and part of the Friday for public events hosted at the Wits University School of Arts and School of Education.

Highlights

Thursday 6 April, 8-11am, Public timeline making event at Wits School of Education

ARAC members were invited to create a timeline that was juxtaposed with the history of visual arts in South Africa and the world at large. In this exercise, people added dates that held significance to them personally or in their work in order to demonstrate how history intertwines and mark one's place as part of history.

Lunch:13.15 – 4pm, Wits School of Arts (The Point Of Order)

Members introduced themselves and shared their research and experiences with the public. The timeline created earlier in the day was rolled out on the floor as part of the conversation and a symbolic representation of what brought the different working groups together. The gathering included an interactive writing exercise as well as music session to help bring working groups and audience members closer together.

Friday 7 April

1.15 – 4pm, Semi-Public: The Point of Order
Wits School of Arts Fine Arts ‘Drawing & Contemporary Practice’ III: 3rd year student made presentations on Medu Art Ensemble Newsletters in groups. The activity was followed by casual discussions between working groups and students about archiving, recovering and disseminating knowledge.

Evening: 6pm onwards, public
The cluster hosted a reception and dance party to wrap up the weeklong discussion, presentations and deliberations. Every member was invited to play a DJ set as part of the mutual exchange and connectivity of the group. The event offered everyone the chance to recap on an intense yet fruitful week while brainstorming ideas for the way forward.

African Tertiary Arts Education Networking Event, Cape Town (30 November – 2 December 2015)

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 18:53:18 +0000

The African Arts Institute (AFAI) together with the Goethe-Institut South Africa, welcomed delegates from across the continent to the first African Tertiary Arts Education (ATAE) Networking Event. Hosted at Hiddingh Campus, University of Cape Town, the conference aimed to open up and discuss challenges currently facing arts education in Africa.

From left to right: Ruth Simbao (Rhodes University, Makhanda, ZA), Castro Kissiedu (Kwame Nkrumah Institute of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GH) & Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa (Kampala Working Group / Nagenda International Academy of Art & Design, Namulanda, UG).

Ten countries were represented by high-profile African leaders of formal tertiary and non-formal institutions engaged in arts education in an exclusive action-oriented networking event. To ensure the networking event remained focused, representative and interactive, participation was limited to active, key decision makers and professionals in the arts education space to network, exchange and identify key areas of concern and collaboration.

Taking place over two days, the meeting also aimed, among other things, to provide feedback sessions on the “Another Road Map for Arts Education” Africa Cluster, NEPAD Arts Education Conference recommendations and share new research on informal arts education in Africa.

Professor Mzobanzi Mboya, Head of the Education and Training Desk at NEPAD, welcomed delegates with an introduction of the challenges currently existing at a governmental and political level with regards to arts development and education. Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa (Kampala Working Group) in her capacity as Director of Research at the Nagenda International Academy of Art and Design in Uganda as well as a research fellow at the University of the Arts, Zurich, then presented a session ‘in conversation’ with Molema Moiloa, then head of VANSA, about the Goethe Institut research report Creating Spaces: Non-formal Arts Education and Vocational training for artists in Africa. Their conversation centred on questions that the report presents, including how creative practices and processes are constituted in Africa, what the structures across the continent that maintain, sustain and develop the arts are, and how western funding bodies dictate creative practices. The study also aimed to identify and study specific and innovative approaches, which were looked at in depth. (An ePub of Creating Spaces is free to download from here.)

An extended report on the African Tertiary Arts Education (ATAE) Networking Event can be found on the AFAI website..