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Art Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Perspectives for Transformative Futures

International in outlook while grounded in local experience, this book examines the role of art education in various educational contexts in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. 

Art Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Perspectives for Transformative Futures explores the development of art education across a range of African contexts, examining how educational practices, cultural traditions, and contemporary challenges are shaping the field today. Bringing together contributions from scholars and practitioners working across the region, the book considers the role of art education within schools, universities, communities, and informal learning environments. It addresses topics such as curriculum development, design education, apprenticeship models, Indigenous knowledge systems, technological change, entrepreneurship, cultural heritage, and the decolonization of educational practice. Particular attention is given to the ways in which art education intersects with broader questions of cultural identity, creativity, knowledge production, and social development.

Contributors explore both the opportunities and challenges facing art education in diverse contexts. Several chapters examine the relationship between formal educational systems and longstanding traditions of apprenticeship, craft production, and community-based learning, highlighting the importance of local knowledge and cultural practices in shaping artistic education. The book also considers the continuing influence of colonial educational legacies and the growing interest in developing approaches to art education that are responsive to African histories, cultures, and aesthetic traditions. In doing so, it contributes to wider discussions about curriculum reform, educational transformation, and the future of arts-based learning across the continent.

Art Education in Sub-Saharan Africa will be of interest to students, researchers, educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers working in art education, visual arts education, cultural studies, African studies, and related fields. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate study, it offers a broad introduction to contemporary debates, practices, and developments in art education across the region.


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Table of Contents

Introduction  The Round table dialogue: Perspectives on art education across the African continent  Attwell Mamvuto & Magdeline Mannathoko    1: Repositioning art education reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa. Exploring current challenges  Jorge Gumbe 2: Zaria ‘Rebels’ and the decolonization of art education in Nigeria.  Nadir A. Nasidi 3: Locating the apprenticeship model in art education.  Mutungi Emmanuel 4: Art education and technological proficiency in tertiary education: The pathways and pathblocks.  Ajayi, Noah Oluwasanjo 5: Deconstructing visual anthropology in African aesthetics and art education.  Njabulo Mpofu & Solomon Imbayago 6: Deconstructing the work of three Kenyan Artists: Patrick Kinuthia, Wangechi Mutu and Kioko Mwitiki.  Lydia Muthuma 7: Taking adolescents to adulthood through ancient craft  Christiana Afrikaner 8: Art as a therapeutic antidote during and in post-pandemic among students in universities in Kenya.  Jane Otieno Awuor 9: Design education for inclusivity in Kenya  Esther Kute and Odoch Pido  10: Rethinking the restoration of lost art and crafts in Kenya.  Margaret A. Okumb 11: The Role of Arts Education in Developing Entrepreneurial Skills for the Informal Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa Lily Muringi Kimaru 12: Transitioning Kenya’s Jua Kali Sector to a Greener Economy Mary Clare Akinyi Kidenda 13: Does Kenyan primary school education pave way for design education? Winifred Oyuko Mbeche & Odoch JP Pido 14: Identity and belonging: Valorizing creative education in Kenya Flora Mutere-Okuku 15: Growing your own timber:  A supervisory exploration of post-graduate studies in art education at the North-West University, South Africa.  Merna Meyer

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