South African Black Art Education in Public Schools Matters by Khehla Chepape Makgato

I have been contemplating for some time now the validity and vulnerability of certain assumptions conveniently accepted among politicians and educators, embraced and circulated as ‘convenience’. This ‘convenience’ holds that traditional career choices in science and commercial streams are free from potential unemployment and financial insecurity upon completion. It views the humanities stream as a waste of time in our public schools, hence the Creative Arts subject is taught only at General Education Training (GET) from Grade 7 to Grade 9, but not at Further Education Training (FET) from Grade 10 to Grade 12. It is assumed that the alluring and dynamic subject of creative arts, though not taught by trained professionals in the faculty of arts, holds no significant place or consequences in shaping the future career paths and employment opportunities of students. Furthermore, it assumes that the characteristics of our national arts and culture emanate from a particular ‘Europeanness’ or ‘Whiteness’, separate from and unaccountable to African arts and culture. There appears to be a tacit agreement among art and cultural scholars, particularly those who shaped and produced the Creative Arts study material for GET, that arts in Africa or South Africa have historically been the domain of white perspectives, genius, and power, detached from and unrelated to the presence of black people in South Africa – a population that predates every artist or renowned and perhaps exerted the most covertly radical, influential force on the country’s creative arts.

Creative Arts Learners Book. Courtesy of Internet 

The role of black art education in the classrooms of public schools in South Africa, including those in Limpopo, is multifaceted. Art education offers students an opportunity to explore their cultural heritage, express themselves creatively, and develop critical-thinking skills. It can also serve as a tool for social justice and activism, particularly in addressing issues of historical and contemporary oppression and marginalization. A province as diverse as Limpopo, with its layered culture and heritage, has the potential to employ education that resonates with students, making them more critical and innovative in their approach to life. Art education in public schools can still resonate with learners, especially black learners, when taught in a culturally relevant and responsive manner. This entails integrating culturally diverse art forms and styles, incorporating local and indigenous knowledge, and relating the curriculum to students' lived experiences and communities.

Contemplating this black presence is central to any understanding of our national arts and culture and should not be relegated to the margins of artistic imagination. It may be that the South African creative arts sector distinguishes itself as an intelligible entity because of and in reference to the segregative regime of the apartheid government, but the current democratic government has done little to be inclusive in shaping that curriculum. I have begun to question whether the celebrated themes of South African art and culture, the conflict between social engagement and historical isolation in the prescribed syllabi of both Grade 8 and 9, do not present acute and ambiguous moral dilemmas and inadequate responses to the incoherent, deficient, and superficial presence of black art in the study material. The coded language and deliberate exclusion of blackness by the newly formed government – not so new given it is approaching three decades – persist in its arts literature, despite the syllabus being approved by a black government. The fabricated black presence has been essential to the writer’s sense of their non-Africanness. This fabrication is evident through significant and underscored omissions, heavily nuanced conflicts of interest, stark contrasts between text and visuals, and the representation of bodies and signs of their presence in their work. My curiosity has evolved into an informal study of what I term South African Art Education in Public Schools Matters. It is an investigation and interrogation into how non-white presence was constructed in the Creative Arts in the GET curriculum.

The content in the Grade 8 and 9 Creative Arts study material is divided into four terms: dance, drama, music, and visual arts. A brief review of the visual arts section of the Grade 9 Creative Arts Learners’ Book on the topic of Visual Literacy: The Role of the Artist in Wider Society, as a black South African artist practicing in a country dominated by a black population, prompts me to wonder if I am represented in this study material with authentic dignity. The case study portrays the artist as an observer, focusing on two artists – one black and one white. The discussion portrays the black artist as merely an exhibit, lacking understanding and insight into the themes addressed in his work. It appears that his race plays into his portrayal as an inferior entity devoid of intellectual process and craftsmanship classification. There is an apologetic undertone reminiscent of apartheid in those who produced this material. Shortly after briefly reviewing his work, attention shifts to a white artist with a significantly decorated profile. Emphasis is placed on his education, categorization of his work, mediums used, places his works have been exhibited, and images of him creating art. This study material deliberately alienates potential black learners aspiring to be visual artists and pursuing careers in the field, as nothing in this brief exercise resonates with them. While the mention of a black artist may superficially fulfill representation, the sharp contrast in profiles presented in the visual literary analysis of the two artists completely extinguishes any spark. The truth is that none of those who authored this study material truly understands who we are as black people. Perhaps now is the ideal time to assert that it is not white art 'experts' who should be providing relatable arts education to black children in schools. I argue that black scholars, including practicing arts and cultural practitioners in this country, should be the ones to critically assess the materials taught in our classrooms, thereby indirectly assisting teachers tasked with teaching the subject.

To address the lack of representation of black people in educational materials taught to their children, Chabani Manganyi suggests: "The first and most important requirement is a shift in attitude away from 'African nature'-type explanations to the more valid stance that the cultural and genetic heritage of Africans does not strip them of the essential humanity that characterizes mankind" (Manganyi, 1973: 13). It is evident that the South African educational system is designed not to uplift black children but to undermine their self-worth. Discussing the infamous educational system in America for black children, James Baldwin asserts: "It does not matter whether it crushes the black child by leaving him in the ghetto or drives him mad in the isolation of Harvard; whoever survives this crucible bears witness to the power of the Republic's educational system." Baldwin's sentiments resonate with the reality of the education system in South Africa and to some extent with systems in other African countries. Consider, for example, the authors of the Creative Arts textbooks for Grades 8 and 9.

Freedom of any kind is a 'constant struggle,' as Angela Davis coined. When it comes to systematic oppression, the freedom of previously oppressed peoples must be fully restored. This restoration must recognize that art education literature in our schools remains Eurocentric in its approach, and concerted efforts must be made to integrate African ideas while preserving our ancient philosophical consciousness, or rather to assimilate European ideas without abandoning our own philosophical perspectives. This annexation should be approached and treated as a departure from white supremacy, in a pan-Africanist and Black Consciousness manner.

References:

Manganyi, N.C. (1973). Being Black in the World. Spro-Cas/Ravan.

Khehla Chepape Makgato is an independent visual artist, theatre producer, arts writer, educator, curator, and researcher. He is the founder and creative director of Samanthole Institute of Creative Arts which leads tge Art Focus of Univeristy of Limpopo's FNB Incubation Program. Chepape is a Chief  Curator of William Humphreys Art Gallery, in Kimberley, Northern Cape. He holds a Master's Degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand and has exhibited his work locally and internationally. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Art and Music Department at the University of South Africa. He is a deputy chairperson of South African Museums Association Central (Free State and Northern Cape provinces). He serves on the panel of Acquisition Committee of ArtBank South Africa. He is the the chief patron of Khehla Chepape Makgato Youth Libraries.