Africa Cluster's contents tagged with "public engagement"

Kampala Working Group Research is Published in The Palgrave Handbook on Race and the Arts in Education

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:02:04 +0000

Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa of the Kampala Working Group had her essay, ‘Margaret Trowell’s School of Art, or How to Keep the Children’s Work Really African’ published in 2018 inThe Palgrave Handbook on Race and the Arts in Education, which was edited by Amelia M. Kraehe, Stephen B. Carpenter II and Rubén Gaztambide Fernández of the Another Roadmap Toronto Working Group.

The Palgrave Handbook on Race and the Arts in Education is the first edited volume to examine how race operates in and through the arts in education. Until now, no single source has brought together such an expansive and interdisciplinary collection in exploration of the ways in which music, visual art, theater, dance, and popular culture intertwine with racist ideologies and race-making. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, contributing authors bring an international perspective to questions of racism and anti-racist interventions in the arts in education. The book’s introduction provides a guiding framework for understanding the arts as white property in schools, museums, and informal education spaces.

Each section is organized thematically around historical, discursive, empirical, and personal dimensions of the arts in education. This handbook is essential reading for students, educators, artists, and researchers across the fields of visual and performing arts education, educational foundations, multicultural education, and curriculum and instruction. Emma’s essay concerns the work of a White British woman named Margaret Trowell (1903–1989), who founded anglophone East Africa’s first “professional” school of fine art in the Uganda Protectorate in the 1930s. Trowell is still popularly remembered in Uganda as someone who, contrary to the dominant European views of her day, genuinely believed in Africans’ creative abilities and championed their artistic expression. However, Emma argues that both her pedagogical theories and her teaching practice were strongly influenced by colonial government policy and that as a consequence her stated commitment to supporting the development of a “true African tradition of art” was far less emancipatory than it at first appeared.

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.

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.