International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing ArtsSociété Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle |
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Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du SpectacleBeograd 15-20 septembre 1980. Beograd : 1982. ISSN 0361-7500
Dr A. TurksonThe Concept and Development of the Performing Arts in Africapp. 156-165
1. Concepts of the Arts The performing arts in Africa to a large extent share a common heritage and demonstrate similarities and common techniques and conventions. The performing arts of Africa are closely interrelated almost to the degree of being inseparable. And this is how they are conceived of in Africa. There is hardly any performance of dance without music. Similarly there is music to accompany the drama of rituals and festivals. Thus it would be wrong to isolate music from the rest of the performing arts in Africa. Any analysis of features of African rhythm proceeds from a deep awareness of movement and the dance on which to a large degree it is based. To appreciate African music fully it is desirable to develop a feeling for movement in order to relate inwardly to the repulsive effect of recurrent patterns. To be able to perform this music, it is necessary to develop a sense of periodicity, the ability to repeat phrases, rhythm patterns at the same point of entry within cycles of a given time span. The African experience in the performing arts can best be observed within the framework of community life for they are conceived of not only as a mode of artistic expression but more importantly as social activity. They offer the individual certain aesthetic experiences as well as a sense of belonging to a community. During ceremonials as well as performances these experiences are shared with the entire community. They are regarded as social activity in Africa and so performances generally take place on social occasions where groups come together for recreation, or the celebration of festivals, the performance of rites and ceremonies, or the worship of divinities. Traditional performances therefore take place on a variety of social settings. The performance itself generally takes into account not only the aims and purposes of the occasion, but also the emotional needs of the participants. In the process music tends to be part of a complex of events in which the various artistic expressions are integrated. It is linked not only to the dance but also to the variety of forms of visual display conceived as elements in dramatic commmunication or as focuses of aesthetic appreciation. 2. A Programme of the Arts Because there is a very rapid transformation currently taking place in Africa, posing great threat to their vitality and integrity, as well as their very survival as living expressions of Africa's cultural values, the need to preserve and promote the performing arts in Africa has become very necessary. The preservation and promotion of the traditional arts are becoming increasingly necessary especially with the rather enormous changes in the socio-economic structure of the traditional societies under the surge of science and technology and industrialization. For this purpose a recommendation was made at a symposium on the UNESCO Ten Year Plan, held in Kinshasa, Zaire on 25th-29th September, 1978 for consideration by UNESCO to set up a pilot centre in Africa to preserve and promote the performing arts in Africa. The aim of the centre is to preserve the artistic heritage; expand and improve training programmes; encourage creativity; disseminate artistic and cultural material and finally provide an institutional infrastructure to sustain its own activity. Since the performing arts in Africa share a common heritage and show similarities and common techniques and conventions, it is necessary to maintain a pan-African outlook and a common approach in the formulation of programmes. This would facilitate the provision of common advisory and consultancy services, usage of pooled resources, coordination of work and adoption of uniform measures. It will also help in greater co-operation, cultural contacts and exchange between African countries and encourage researches in common areas of the arts. One such area is the survey and documentation work especially in music, dance and drama. There are problems identical to the arts in all African countries and these call for uniform approaches and measures. The problems will be found in the modern methods of training in the performing arts and preparation of scientific teaching and, production of cultural materials and their dissemination, preparation of texts and books on the arts and encouragement of interdisciplinary researches and seminars. The problems facing the performing arts in Africa will be seen in the need for promotion and preservation by means of research, creative experiments, education, the training of cultural officers, research personnel as well as performing artists and teachers of music, dance and drama. Hence the role of universities and institutions of higher education becomes very evident in the development of the arts. The role of Ministries of Education and Culture is to deal with cultural policy and finance. Arts Councils should have efficient machinery to preserve and promote the arts. Like the Ministries, Arts Councils are not as equipped generally to handle the task of research, teaching and training of teachers, nor do they award certificates and diplomas in the performing arts. The two organizations may however work closely with Universities or such other institutions and centres attached to them for this purpose. The need for training and research into the performing arts in Ghana was met by setting up in the University of Ghana the Institute of African Studies with a focus on historical and cultural research and the School of Performing Arts with a focus on the training of performers and teachers of the arts. Other institutions in Ghana soon showed interest in various areas of the arts. The University of Cape Coast for example, established a Music Department with a focus on the teaching and training of teachers of music up to the undergraduate level; the programme also has a bias in dance. Similarly the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, established a Centre for Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Social Studies which provided the cultural needs of the University and its neighbourhood. A research programme has been mounted at the Centre to look into the scientific production of traditional music instruments. Vacation courses are organized yearly to cater to the needs of those interested in improving their knowledge of music, dance and drama. The National Academy of Music, Winneba, was established by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the training of music teachers for the first and second cycle schools. The Arts Council has embarked on a scheme creating some opportunities for the study of the performing arts on part time basis at the Accra Music Centre. Other centres are soon to be established in other parts of the country. The centres are meant for those people aspiring to be professional musicians, dancers and actors as well as those who wish to acquire certain skills so that they can participate in performance events in their communities. Other beneficiaries are those who wish to improve their knowledge and appreciation of the arts to enable them to fully enjoy music, dance and drama. The pursuit of the part time courses will ultimately improve the general level of performance of certain types of music, dance and drama in the country, increase understanding of the arts and stimulate greater participation in the performing arts. 3. Development The development of the performing arts in Africa has given rise to the establishment of a few schools of performing arts within universities in many African countries. The first of these is the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana. Perhaps a general look at this school, its role and the purpose for which it was established will throw some light on the development of the performing arts in Africa. The School was established in October, 1962 in Legon, as the School of Music, Dance and Drama to link the University of Ghana to the National Theatre Movement. It was set up in the Institute of African Studies as an extension of its music and related arts programme so as to facilitate its development as the main focus for training and creative experiments in the performing arts of Ghana. Since the University, at the time, had no courses in music, dance and drama, it was thought that these courses, based on the research work of the Fellows of the Institute of African Studies, could be developed alongside other arts courses and integrated into unit training programmes in the various areas. The growth of the School became so rapid that in 1967, barely five years after its establishment, it was felt that plans could be made to separate its administration from that of the Institute of African Studies and develop it steadily into a Faculty of Performing Arts. This view has been embodied in the Busia Report on the School of Music, Dance and Drama submitted to the Vice-Chancellor at his own request by the late Professor K.A. Busia, then the Chairman of the Special Committee for the Delimitation of Functions of University Institutions in Ghana. To pave the way for its establishment, certain developments were initiated in the matter of staff development programme, the building up of financial resources as well as expansion of facilities for the School. Consequently the School now has a strong team of Ghanaian and expatriate staff. Additionally, there are are presently a number of students of music, dance and drama on the University of Ghana graduate scholarship designed to meet the staff development. The courses offered in the School include certificate and diploma as well as degree courses in each of the three departments. The Music Department has courses leading to the higher degrees of Master Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. The School therefore has a vigorous and more varied teaching and research programme now than before. As a result of these, academic responsibility for these courses has increased enormously and points to the need for establishing a departmental framework for each discipline for the development, organization and supervision of courses in the School. The courses are fully subscribed not only by Ghanaians but also by students from other African countries (both Anglophone and Francophone) as well as students from Europe and America. With the diversification of courses and growth in the number of students taking courses in the various departments of the performing arts, the scope of the School and its potential for growth has widened considerably, thus administrative responsibilities in the School increased considerably and required the oversight of a director. The School has established two departments each headed by a professor or a senior lecturer. (a) Department of MusicIn addition to the director, each department is represented on the Board of Faculty of Arts by its head. The activities of the School is funded separately by government subvention, presently through the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. The evolution of the School of Performing Arts into a separate faculty is being kept, in view of the development of its programmes and future structural organization. The separation of the School from the Institute of African Studies has enabled the Institute to focus attention on its own fields of activity in graduate teaching, research, ancillary programmes in African Studies and extension programmes in the area of cultural development. It also functions as an interdisciplinary institution with emphasis on historical and sociocultural research in Ghana and her neighbouring regions and Africa in general. 4. Documentation of Theatres A great deal of documentary research has been done in the Institute leading to the accumulation of a wide variety of materials on festivals, traditional ceremonies, dances and music. The library of recordings holds field materials from Ghana and different parts of Africa, including published recordings by various institutions and recording companies which it shares with the School of Performing Arts. The School also has its own collection of field recordings of materials on festivals, rituals as well as ceremonials. A well equipped transcription centre has been acquired where field recordings are transcribed for analytical study. The centre is open to both lecturers and students of the School as well as Research Fellows of the institute and can seat from persons at a time. A museum of the arts in the Institute has a good collection of exhibits to depict the culture of the land. Inspite of the fact that Ghana has rich theatre crafts, and in many forms of dance and theatre, colourful and gorgeous costumes, head-gears and jewelery are used, and there is a staggering variety of traditional musical instruments, there are no museums of performing arts. It is intended to establish a Museum of Performing Arts in the University. If necessary a special section of performing arts would be added to the existing museums of arts especially the National Museum in Accra. The establishment of such museums of performing arts has acquired urgency because of the fact that many forms of dance, theatre and music are gradually disappearing, as well as the traditional craftsmen manufacturing a variety of articles are now giving up these crafts to take up other vocations in the cities. The museums will greatly facilitate the preservation of the performing arts, as well as serve as material sources to directors and designers for experimental work using traditional materials and forms. A very close collaboration exists between the School and its parent body, the Institute of African Studies in common areas of interest in teaching and research as well as the organization of programmes which contribute to the development and growth of the University of Ghana as a centre foi the creative arts. 5. Goals of the School One of the aims of establishing the School of Performing Arts in the University is to link the University to the cultural development in the country and enable it to play a leadership role in the vital areas of the arts. Since research into the performing arts was necessary for the preservation and promotion as well as for creative experiments, it was necessary to carry this out in an academic setting where materials could be fed directly into teaching and training programmes in the performing arts. Traditional musicians and dance teachers have been employed on the staff as demonstrators and assistants. There are plans to recruit certain traditional musicians and dancers, on temporary basis, from other African countries to enhance the teaching programme of the School. There are programmes for training amateur actors, dancers, playwrights and producers through participation in drama productions and workshops in the schools. The School's graduates include materials from various African countries, notably, the Ivory Coast, Togoland, Nigeria, Zaire, Uganda and Zambia. Students from Europe and America have also received training in the School. The majority of these students have successfully completed their training and have since returned to their various countries as teachers of the performing arts. The Ghanaian graduates are mostly found in the Teaching Service, the Arts Council as well the mass media. With the growing interest in the performing arts in Africa all over the world, the time has surely come for Africans to give a lead in area and comparative studies of the arts. Certainly in the field of performing arts there is much that we can contribute from our African experience. And it is my ardent hope, therefore, that Ghana will act as a spearhead in the development of the performing arts of Africa.
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