Decolonising Arts & Knowledge

Description

This project explored the intersections between artists and the academy when it comes to producing knowledge in (post-)conflict spaces. We were particularly interested in how power relationships are negotiated between independent artists and the academy, between the Global South/ Majority World and the Global North/ Minority World, and between colonial and post-colonial societies.

In our project, we engaged in workshops with arts and culture practitioners based in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Uganda. Across these locations, we met with practitioners working in theatre, fashion design, creative writing, poetry, visual arts, and music/sound to discuss the politics of production. In Belfast and in Cape Town, many participants crossed the boundaries between the academy and other artistic spaces in life and in practice, while the lack of comparable infrastructure in Gulu, northern Uganda, meant that when it came to post/conflict-related arts practices, the power relations concerned the international development sector (INGOs).

The project was supported by seedcorn funding, and the conversations and relationship-building laid the foundations for future collaborations.

Impact

As the project was exploratory, there is little potential for wide-ranging; nonetheless, as a research team, we gained expertise and understanding of the politics of ‘decolonising knowledge’ and have begun to bring this into our home institutions and research networks. We were particularly pleased that through hosting the workshops individuals made new local connections and strengthened their professional networks. In follow-up surveys, participants noted that the workshops had been useful opportunities to discuss issues of relevance to their professional careers and the sector as a whole.

Project website

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/the-british-academy-and-british-institute-in-eastern-africa-announce-seed-funding-for-early-career-shape-researchers/