Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

Box 2.3Africa Remix: Africa speaking loudly, brightly and colourfully2The development dimension“Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent” is the first exhibition to provide a comprehensive overview of present-day artistic activities on the Africancontinent and in the diaspora. It features artists from countries across the African continent, from Algeria to South Africa, as well as from African artistsnow living in Europe and North America. All the work has been created within the last 10 years and includes painting, sculpture, installation, photography,film, drawing, design and video. The exhibition provides an entry point into modern African creativity, dispelling oft-held perceptions of a continent focusedon the past, stuck in ritual and tradition, and engulfed by poverty, disease and war.Curated by Cameroon-born, Paris-based curator, writer and critic Simon Njami, the exhibition was launched in 2004 at the museum kunst palast inDusseldorf, Germany, where it was considered to be the largest exhibition of contemporary African visual art ever held in Europe. It subsequentlytravelled to the Hayward Gallery in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and, morerecently, the Johannesburg Art Gallery in Gauteng, South Africa.Njami’s intention with the exhibition is to address the historical imbalances and inaccurate portrayal of the image of Africa that have been so prevalentin the past and to present an exhibition focusing exclusively on Africa by an African curator and now, most recently, to present it to African audiences. Theartists represent themselves rather than their countries.Africa Remix explores important contemporary themes relevant to Africa’s heritage and cultural diversity: of city and land (the contrasting experiences of urbanand rural life), identity and history (including issues of tradition and modernity and the relationship of the individual to the community) and body and soul (encompassingreligion, spirituality, emotion and sexuality). It powerfully acknowledges the vastness and diversity that are Africa and the wealth of her stories. Currentglobal relationships, however, dictate that many of the interactions of each African country with the continent are brokered by Northern centres of global influence.The current showing of the exhibition in the economic engine room of South Africa is set against the backdrop of a changing reality as the population ofcontinental Africans in Gauteng grows rapidly. New connections are being made as communications and banking groups set up intercontinental partnershipsand students move between academic institutions for research and study purposes. Foodstuffs are imported daily from West Africa into our urban markets.The exhibition is not without its critics, however, particularly its emphasis on contemporary art rather than heritage and folk art. As Jonathan Jones ofThe Guardian 1 says, Africa Remix “uses ‘contemporary art’ in the way it is generally used, to mean art aware of modernism and its aftermath. But whodefines ‘contemporary art’, and why should it matter more than, say, ‘tribal’ or popular art from Africa? And why should African art have to fit a sterile andmiddle-class western idea of the culturally pertinent?”Perhaps this is precisely the point. Africa Remix represents an Africa that is vibrant, urban and modern, not only rural, voiceless and technologically backward. It is indeeda ground-breaking exhibition offering audiences not only a visual explosion of African imagery but also an opportunity to engage with its meanings and theory throughsponsored seminars, guided walkabouts and a catalogue showcasing festivals, journals, institutions and movements that have shaped culture on the continent.1 Jonathan Jones, “Africa Calling”, The Guardian, Wednesday, 9 February 2005. Available at: http://remixtheory.net/?p=116 .By Avril Joffe, Director, CAJ (Culture, Arts and Jobs).predominately rely on income from performances rather thancopyrights, and there is a dearth of venues with the capacity tosupport an artist’s growth beyond their immediate communities.Without a stronger framework to support a local musicindustry, artists will continue to seek opportunities in developedmarkets. One of the policies available to developingcountries that would result in strengthened local markets is thepromotion of better use of public spaces for performances.In an attempt to classify the music industry withinAfrican countries, research prepared for the UNESCOGlobal Alliance for Cultural Diversity developed a taxonomybased on stages of development of the music industry from“countries with emerging or previously established musicindustries” to “countries with embryonic music industries”and “countries where music production and consumption areundertaken on a craft-like scale”. An established industry isone firmly based on a value chain comprising a recordingindustry with players at each stage. A live-performance industrywith a vibrant live-music culture has performing artists,managers and agents, promoters, roadies, sound and lightingengineers, equipment rental and management as well as suitablevenues. These two parts of the industry are served by aneffective and supportive regulatory environment.The study as presented in table 2.1 indicates that onlyseven countries in Africa have established performance industriesand only two have an established recording industry.Most of the rest are embryonic, and in 30 per cent of allcountries in sub-Saharan Africa, there is little evidence of aformal music industry. The table reveals that it is the live performanceof music that is driving the music industry in42 CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010