The field of non-formal art/s education and vocational training for artists in Africa leads a shadowy existence. Although embracing the vital interface of education/art/culture, related approaches and projects frequently fail to meet the prevalent funding frames. However, African actors have long been autonomously contouring and shaping the interstitial space of non-formality with their ideas, concepts, and practice. What concrete form does their work take? What basic conditions is it subject to? Which formative effects are caused by current cultural and funding policies? These and other questions are elaborated in this volume with special reference to five actors in South Africa, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.
The authors are:
Nicola Lauré al-Samarai, Fouad Asfour, Judith Reker, Rangoato Hlasane and Malose Malahlela
Table of Contents
006 Preface
012 Acknowledgments
016 Authors’ Note
020 Introduction
028 Chapter 1 Discursive Locating
Framing the Field of Art/s Education and Vocational Artistic Training and Professionalization
088 Chapter 2 Prior to Entry
A Critical Attunement to Field Research
118 Chapter 3 Fragmentary Depictions
Shaping the Field of Non-Formal Artistic Education/Training and Professionalization
206 Chapter 4 Formative Effects
Non-Formal Vocational Artistic Training and Professionalization within the Context of Western Cultural Funding
228 Chapter 5 Bigger than the Tick Box
Defining Interdisciplinary Art/s Education to Funders in South Africa by Rangoato Hlasane and Malose Malahlela Keleketla! Library
266 Chapter 6 The Challenges of Interstitiality
Reconsidering Cultural and Funding Policies for the Non-Formal Artistic/Cultural Field
288 Bibliography
300 Contact Zones Nairobi
302 Imprint
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This study aims to provide a critical overview of non-formal, non-certified artist training facilities in Africa to serve as a foundation for developing informed funding recommendations and more sustainable, context-specific cooperative models between Western institutions and local partners.
- The interstitial nature of non-formal art/s education and its complex relationship with "developmental" cultural policies.
- The formative influence and structural constraints imposed by Western-dominated funding landscapes on African creative scenes.
- Methodological approaches to identifying and supporting innovative, context-specific training strategies beyond formal Western institutional frameworks.
- The lived realities and "interstitial" work practices of cultural actors in diverse African urban settings (e.g., Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Kisangani).
- The necessity of shifting from product-oriented metrics to process-oriented support for long-term artistic capacity building.
Excerpt from the Book
The Limitations of Research in Theory and Practice
Any attempt at investigating the conceptual and practical shaping of the field of non-formal artistic education/training and professionalization in African contexts or at offering fragmentary depictions of the same must inevitably remain limited. Even a very restricted approach does not allow researchers to do empirical or analytical justice to the multiplicity of regional and local relationships, or to their cultural diversity, their different historical backgrounds, and their present structural sets of conditions. Given the sociocultural preconditions, ideational stances, real spheres of activity, as well as places and practices of mediation and networking, it is equally difficult to meet the complex multifacetedness of the field. This situation is further complicated by non-formal organizations and initiatives that, although active within the sphere of artistic education/training and professionalization, operate outside the “visible” intra-African and international cultural networks. Thus the selection and research of only a few case studies in African contexts is presented as a fundamentally ambivalent undertaking currently permitting, at best, a descriptive approximation to the wide range of options for non-formality and for artistic education/training and professionalization.
But even these approximations contain certain restrictions. For one thing, the field under investigation is structured by numerous interdependent factors, both external and internal, that would therefore require an informed examination of current power relations and their historical formation, a task not even partially feasible within the limits of the present study. For another, this field is a constituent of various different social spaces that are characterized by an unequal distribution of economic, social, cultural, and symbolic capital. This gives rise to force fields within which various actors continually reposition themselves in different ways and according to different preconditions. In the face of temporal and spatial complexities, such dynamics can be revealed merely as snapshots of specific places and moments.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1 Discursive Locating: Analyzes the theoretical and policy frameworks that define art/s education, highlighting how these often reflect Eurocentric biases and marginalize non-formal, locally specific training structures.
Chapter 2 Prior to Entry: Reflects on the methodological challenges of conducting field research in post-colonial contexts, acknowledging the inherent power imbalances between Western researchers and local actors.
Chapter 3 Fragmentary Depictions: Examines the practical infrastructure, financing, and training models of four case study organizations in South Africa, Senegal, DR Congo, and Ethiopia.
Chapter 4 Formative Effects: Discusses the systemic impact of Western-dominated funding policies, arguing that current project-based models fail to support the long-term, process-oriented nature of non-formal artistic work.
Chapter 5 Bigger than the Tick Box: Features a guest contribution by Keleketla! Library that challenges traditional funding metrics by showcasing their interdisciplinary, community-rooted work in Johannesburg.
Chapter 6 The Challenges of Interstitiality: Synthesizes the study’s findings to propose new policy directions that prioritize dialogue, sustainability, and the de-hierarchization of funding structures.
Keywords
Art/s Education, Non-Formal Training, Vocational Artistic Training, Cultural Policy, Western Funding, Post-Colonialism, Interstitiality, Cultural Mediation, Creative Industries, Knowledge Production, African Contexts, Participatory Research, Cultural Sustainability, Capacity Building, Relational Geographies
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The work focuses on the landscape of non-formal, non-certified art/s education and vocational training for artists in Africa, analyzing how these sectors operate between local realities and international funding policies.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The book covers discursive framing, structural infrastructure, the limitations of Western funding models, and the role of cultural organizations in fostering social and civic engagement.
What is the core objective of the publication?
The primary goal is to critically analyze the existing structures of artistic training and to propose more sustainable, context-sensitive funding criteria that move beyond rigid, product-oriented categories.
Which research methodology is employed?
The study utilizes a critical, reflexive approach including discursive analysis of policy documents and media, supplemented by qualitative case studies based on extensive field research and interviews with actors in four countries.
What is the significance of the "interstitial" field?
The term refers to the space between formal and informal education, where cultural actors often operate without institutional support, and which this study seeks to make visible and actionable for policymakers.
Which key terms characterize the study?
Keywords like "interstitiality," "post-colonial," "cultural policy," and "vocational artistic training" are central to understanding the book's critical framework.
How does the book address the impact of Western funding on local organizations?
It argues that Western funding models often impose rigid requirements—like attendance registers or short-term project cycles—that force local organizations to adopt "marketable" structures at the expense of long-term process and community-specific needs.
What unique perspective does the Keleketla! Library chapter offer?
Chapter 5 provides an "insider" view from local practitioners who have had to constantly negotiate and redefine their program's identity to survive within a funding climate that struggles to categorize interdisciplinary, process-led work.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Nicola Lauré al-Samarai (Autor:in), Fouad Asfour (Autor:in), Judith Reker (Autor:in), Rangoato Hlasane (Autor:in), Malose Malahlela (Autor:in), 2015, Creating Spaces. Non-Formal Art/s Education and Vocational Training for Artists in Africa between Cultural Policies and Cultural Funding, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/288136
