Response to Voices Article: Taking the Arts Seriously in Africa, by Helen Oosthuizen
Helen Oosthuizen has provided a valuable account of the 2010 Drama for Life Africa Research Conference, held last August in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference explored many ways in which the arts have been used as a healing mechanism in many African countries. Dramatic works led audiences on a journey of healing through political unrest, the sufferings of war and promotion of peace, and socially taboo topics like sex and sexuality. A presenter from Rwanda shared experiences in working with the children of both perpetrators and victims of political violence, in an effort to mend these broken relationships. The various presentations showed how the dramatic arts are being used to promote physical, relational, and emotional health throughout the African continent.
It seems as though Helen’s account of the drama conference had a heavy focus on South Africa specifically. While it is great to read about the progress made there, I have to say that I disagree with some of the generalizations Helen makes about the entire African continent based on the success stories of South Africa. After all, the socio-economic status of South Africa is certainly the exception when considering the status of the continent as a whole. I would like to learn more about the kinds of work being done in low-economic African countries, similar to the stories Helen shares about the strides being taken in Zimbabwe and Rwanda. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the summer of 2009 in Malawi, Africa, and am therefore particularly interested in learning about the successes and challenges of populations with similar standing to that of Malawi. Statistically the fourth poorest nation in the world, Malawi is certainly on the low end of the world economic spectrum and has vastly different needs, both musical and non-musical, than people in developed nations. My experience in Malawi changed my American perspective on the many roles that the arts can play in people’s lives. Rather than using music for entertainment, cinematic, and business marketing purposes so prevalent in America, I saw music engrained into people’s very existence. Music is an integral part of the culture, religion, and everyday life in Malawi, and is therefore revered by the people as a valuable part of human existence. I can certainly see a music therapy program being successful in addressing the problems described at the conference, such as political oppression, HIV/AIDS and sex education in Malawi and many countries like it.
As I read Helen’s account of her tour through the South African Constitutional Court and her experience of being faced with her own country’s political and racial hardships, I am starkly reminded of the many memorials dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement in America. Drama, music, and art are all closely associated with nationwide events honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and African American History Month every February. As Helen describes, we are faced with the difficult realities of our own nation’s past, while celebrating how far we have come since then. Powerful stories of cultural justice are brought to life by drama, musical productions, and art exhibits. However, as countries like the U.S. and South Africa look back on our social and political progress, we must not forget that many countries do not yet have that hope-filled future that developed nations have experienced. Many African nations still suffer from political unrest, starvation, and rampant disease. It is important to study the ways in which the arts, and music therapy in particular, can address these countless problems, in order to bring about this hope-filled future that countries like South Africa and America now have.
When speaking of Africa as a whole and the kinds of issues that can be addressed by the arts, I think we need to take care that we do not base our perspectives on only one or two countries with which we are familiar. To base our beliefs on South Africa’s political progress and status would be very misleading, just as it would to base our beliefs on those of Malawi. Because the continent is so richly diverse, we must be certain that we take the economic, political, and social standing of the different countries into consideration when discussing the needs and progress of the peoples of Africa. By investing further study in the work being done through the arts in countries of varying political and socio-economic standing, we will broaden our perspective to be representative of the African continent as a whole and, in turn, be better equipped as music therapists to meet the needs in this area.
Response to Voices Article: Taking the Arts Seriously in Africa, by Helen Oosthuizen
Helen Oosthuizen has provided a valuable account of the 2010 Drama for Life Africa Research Conference, held last August in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference explored many ways in which the arts have been used as a healing mechanism in many African countries. Dramatic works led audiences on a journey of healing through political unrest, the sufferings of war and promotion of peace, and socially taboo topics like sex and sexuality. A presenter from Rwanda shared experiences in working with the children of both perpetrators and victims of political violence, in an effort to mend these broken relationships. The various presentations showed how the dramatic arts are being used to promote physical, relational, and emotional health throughout the African continent.
It seems as though Helen’s account of the drama conference had a heavy focus on South Africa specifically. While it is great to read about the progress made there, I have to say that I disagree with some of the generalizations Helen makes about the entire African continent based on the success stories of South Africa. After all, the socio-economic status of South Africa is certainly the exception when considering the status of the continent as a whole. I would like to learn more about the kinds of work being done in low-economic African countries, similar to the stories Helen shares about the strides being taken in Zimbabwe and Rwanda. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the summer of 2009 in Malawi, Africa, and am therefore particularly interested in learning about the successes and challenges of populations with similar standing to that of Malawi. Statistically the fourth poorest nation in the world, Malawi is certainly on the low end of the world economic spectrum and has vastly different needs, both musical and non-musical, than people in developed nations. My experience in Malawi changed my American perspective on the many roles that the arts can play in people’s lives. Rather than using music for entertainment, cinematic, and business marketing purposes so prevalent in America, I saw music engrained into people’s very existence. Music is an integral part of the culture, religion, and everyday life in Malawi, and is therefore revered by the people as a valuable part of human existence. I can certainly see a music therapy program being successful in addressing the problems described at the conference, such as political oppression, HIV/AIDS and sex education in Malawi and many countries like it.
As I read Helen’s account of her tour through the South African Constitutional Court and her experience of being faced with her own country’s political and racial hardships, I am starkly reminded of the many memorials dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement in America. Drama, music, and art are all closely associated with nationwide events honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and African American History Month every February. As Helen describes, we are faced with the difficult realities of our own nation’s past, while celebrating how far we have come since then. Powerful stories of cultural justice are brought to life by drama, musical productions, and art exhibits. However, as countries like the U.S. and South Africa look back on our social and political progress, we must not forget that many countries do not yet have that hope-filled future that developed nations have experienced. Many African nations still suffer from political unrest, starvation, and rampant disease. It is important to study the ways in which the arts, and music therapy in particular, can address these countless problems, in order to bring about this hope-filled future that countries like South Africa and America now have.
When speaking of Africa as a whole and the kinds of issues that can be addressed by the arts, I think we need to take care that we do not base our perspectives on only one or two countries with which we are familiar. To base our beliefs on South Africa’s political progress and status would be very misleading, just as it would to base our beliefs on those of Malawi. Because the continent is so richly diverse, we must be certain that we take the economic, political, and social standing of the different countries into consideration when discussing the needs and progress of the peoples of Africa. By investing further study in the work being done through the arts in countries of varying political and socio-economic standing, we will broaden our perspective to be representative of the African continent as a whole and, in turn, be better equipped as music therapists to meet the needs in this area.