Abstract
Background: Studies showed that epistemological ways of knowing in artworks has continued in two-fold dimensions between the global north and global south. Despite centuries of local artworks, scholarly works in the field are predominantly Euro-American, with only a few works on Africa. This phenomenon constitutes both knowledge and theory gaps that this article seeks to bridge.
Objectives: This article joined the wider conversation on creative art scholarship questioning the predominance of Euro-American authorship, and examining the phenomena of minimal creative art scholarship in the Global South, Ghana specifically. The discussion of creative arts scholarship on Global South perspectives is not only a contribution to strengthen objectives of this journal but also resonates well with the journal’s readership.
Method: In working towards achieving the aim of the study, a desk review was done, and extant literature was reviewed using various databases and search engines to maximise information.
Results: Results point at minimal art scholarship in Ghana, which is in line with trends across Africa. Reasons include creative art curricula and implementation challenges, the lack of Ghanaian scholars’ interest in creative art scholarship in Ghana and minimal local participation in creative arts discourse. Also, art scholarship is awash with epistemological perceptions which project the proponents of Western creative art as the compelling archetype of ‘global’ creativity.
Conclusion: The study seeks a creative art epistemic change through the creation of more creative art-based local platforms for the practice and promotion of the industry. Also, the article seeks constant creative artistic engagement among academia and creative art practitioners for balance. For promotion, the organisation of annual creative art conferences could lead to special issues on art.
Contribution: The study is of high scientific and art scholarship interest and frame them theoretically. These theoretical models on artistic scholarship, constitute a useful tool for practitioners.
Keywords: creative art scholarship; creative arts research; epistemology; Global South; Global North; Ghana.
Introduction
It is a known fact that, since the first creative industry policies were developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s (Gross 2020), they have travelled widely, and governments of developing countries including Ghana have imported cultural policies that extol the economic potential of their creative industries (UNCTAD 2010). These policies posit creative industries as an integral part of government efforts to strengthen the private sector and create employment, especially for women and youth in urban and rural areas (UNCTAD 2010). This article, therefore, joins the global discourse on creative art regarding the seeming paucity of creative art scholarship from the Global South, specifically, Ghana. Espousing such scholarship is very important since creative industries have been recognised as engines of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development (Pratt 2010), with creative works known to generate income, increase trade and export, foster employment, enhance skill development and promote cultural diversity (Belfiore & Bennett 2008; Belluigi 2009; Pratt 2014; UNCTAD 2008, 2010; UNESCO Global Report 2018).
Despite the African continent’s long tradition of local art and cultural production, scholarly works in the creative field are predominantly Euro-American authored and devoid of local contextual knowledge. For example, Labi (2015) argues that traditionally, Ghana is noted to have some significant creative art forms such as dance, theatre, music, amazing crafts, artefacts and fine garments. Thus, culture and creative development are a central part of Ghanaian development policies, with the government committed to strengthening the capacity and capability of the sector to promote development. The Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda 2014–2017 (GSGDA 2014) recognised the development of ‘a vibrant creative arts industry’ as a key to enhancing private sector competitiveness and productivity. This has paved the way for the development of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, which emphasises creative industries as potential sources for employment generation, wealth creation and skill development (GSGDA 2014). As exemplified by Labi (2015), Ghana’s creative arts encompass a range of activities, including smock weaving, xylophone and calabash making in Savanah and Northern Ghana, kente weaving in Bonwire and Agbozome, and wood carving in Ahwia and Aburi, as well as bead making in Ada and Somanya.
However, extant works on Ghanaian artwork epistemology appear to be predominantly Euro-American. This suggests the historical dearth of Ghanaian scholarly contributions to the country’s art studies. Labi (2015) does not mince words, in his assertion that the huge European interest shown in African art and scholarship resulted in the looting of African art and its relocation to Europe. This has fuelled calls for the reparation of such artworks from European homes and museums.
Similarly, Araeen (2005) has expressed concern at the lack of African scholarly writings on art and encouraged African scholars to make a deliberate effort to participate in more scientific artistic discussions based on theory. Araeen (2005) further cites that the appreciation and recognition of artistic works of prominent Africans by Africans themselves is woefully inadequate. This implies a lack of African visibility in their own artistic intellectual spaces, thereby limiting the art research scope on the Global South. Furthermore, this means African art scholars are failing to engage meaningfully to provide an indigenous system which can analyse and translate the works of local African artists. Araeen (2005) notes the works of South African Ernest Mancoba’s compositions as a case of ‘the neglect of the African artists’ contribution to global art studies’. Other cases worth mentioning, which reveal this academic neglect are the works of prominent Ghanaian artists, such as Kotei, Ampofo and Bucknor. What exists on these artists are but a few lines about them just for public demonstration brochures and brief acknowledgements in studies on modern art in Ghana.
Creative entrepreneurship refers to the establishment of a business or the pursuit of self-employment within the realm of creative industries (Howkins 2001). According to Howkins (2001), individuals engaged in creative systems leverage their creativity to access and realise the inherent wealth within themselves. Like true capitalists, they believe that creative wealth, if managed right, will engender more wealth creation. This means that the focus of the creative entrepreneur differs from that of the typical business entrepreneur. Essentially, creative entrepreneurs are investors who use their creative or intellectual talent and skills to earn a living, either their own or other people’s (Kilu et al. 2022). The creative arts possess the capacity to serve as a significant economic catalyst, creating job opportunities, generating revenue and establishing Ghana as a prominent cultural centre internationally. However, there is a paucity of African scholarship in the relevant fields of studies, thereby raising epistemological concerns.
African epistemology examines the concept of knowledge through an African lens, which encompasses the viewpoints of individual African philosophers grounded in their historical and cultural awareness, as well as those of diverse African communities and their scholars. In the modern context, African epistemology comprises three interconnected yet distinct initiatives: ethno-epistemology, analytic African epistemology and ameliorative African epistemology (Ikhane & Ukpokolo 2023). Ethno-epistemology examines knowledge through the lens of specific African communities, drawing insights from their cultural heritage, proverbs, folklore, traditions and practices. Analytic African epistemology focusses on the philosophical exploration of concepts such as ‘knowledge’, ‘justification’, ‘belief’ and ‘truth’ from an African viewpoint, employing analytical methods, critical examination, argumentation and ordinary language philosophy. Lastly, ameliorative African epistemology seeks to address the challenges faced by African knowledge systems and voices in the global knowledge economy, particularly in relation to the broader issue of epistemic injustice experienced by historically marginalised groups (Ikhane & Ukpokolo 2023).
On the origin of art education in the continent of Africa, Labi (2013) posits that African art as a new field of study first surfaced as an area of study in Global North Universities in the 1950s era, then subsequently emerged in the higher education curriculum in Ghana in 1952. According to Blier (1990), the first to graduate and to be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in African Historical Art, was Roy Sieber, an American student.
The persistent unresolved issue found in literature is centred on a lack of critical mass in local participation in the creative arts scholarly discourse from the Global South perspective (Araeen 2005; Blier 1990; Labi 2015). Therefore, the broken thread between the study and production of Art in Ghana, constitute both knowledge and theoretical gaps to be bridged. It implies that the creative artistic knowledge globally, and within the African and Ghanaian contexts, remained undiversified. Ndlovu-Gatshenti (2018) in the ‘Epistemic Freedom in Africa’ argued for an epistemic local content. What this means is that Africans should conceptualise the art world and present it from African perspectives, unencumbered by Eurocentrism. There is, therefore, the need for scholarly engagement towards an artistic diverse ways of knowing, which works against the epistemic lines of duality between the global north and global south (Ndlovu-Gatshenti 2018). The concept of ‘knowing’ can be understood both singularly and plurally, depending on the context. While singular understanding is about individual cognition, thus referring to an individual’s personal knowledge or awareness of something, plural understandings encompass the shared knowledge within a community, thus referring to the collective knowledge or awareness shared by a group of people. Based on this conceptualisation, we hereby emphasised the plurality of knowing underlined by multiple artistic global knowledge systems that integrates both global north and global south. Acknowledging and incorporating diverse types of knowledge could promote a more inclusive and fair society. It equally questions dominant Western knowledge systems and decolonise knowledge by amplifying the voices of those who have been traditionally marginalised. The utilisation of multiple knowledge systems in effect further advocates for the open accessibility of knowledge, thereby serving as a potent instrument for driving epistemic expansion and transformations.
The current literature review, therefore, is a contribution to creative art epistemology on the Global South, which aims at balancing the perspectives in the field of creative art studies. This is imperative because creative art study is becoming more important and also constitutes a rapidly growing sub-sector of cultural management studies in Ghana, thus reinforcing interest for academics, researchers, industry players and policymakers. The questions that arise here are as follows: (1) Why has Euro-American epistemic domination continued in creative entrepreneurship research from the Global South? (2) What epistemologies for creative art research in the Global South can be identified to balance the over-reliance on Euro-American epistemic approaches towards the conception of contextualised study frameworks?
Review method
This article draws on an extant literature review to question the Euro-American dominance in creative art scholarship. In view of this, various databases and search engines were deployed to maximise information for the study. Such databases include JSTOR, Emerald, Wiley, SAGE Journals Online, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Annual Reviews and Abstractions. These were used to generate the topology of the database. A combination of keywords like Creative Arts Research, Epistemology, Global South, Global North, theory of knowledge, philosophy of knowledge, gnoseology, cognitive science, ontology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, phenomenology, hermeneutics and epistemicide were used for the main data search to ascertain a topology of database search outcomes.
Results and analyses
In all 48 studies were downloaded and screened for eligibility: One study was duplicated (Annku & Lodonu 2012). Two studies were excluded for ineligibility after examining the overall content (Mahama 2017; Cole and Ross 1977). In all, 44 studies were found eligible and reviewed (Alacovska & Gill 2019; Araeen 2005; Blier 1998; Florida 2002; Labi 2013; ed. Santos 2018; Seidou 2014b; etc). The years of the studies’ publication ranged from 1961 to 2021 (Ahmed & Ahmed 2021; Kwami 2012; Kyerematen 1961; Nunu-Amateifio 2017). The area of the study was assessed to give a sense of the geographical spread of the studies: Thus, Euro-American studies comprised of 25, African studies 9 and Ghanaian studies 10.
The studies were further categorised thematically in relation to the following themes: Art epistemology studies were 26, African Art studies were 11, studies on Art studies in Ghana were 7 and Artistic Entrepreneurship studies were 10. Creative arts scholarship and epistemology studies have largely been dominated by qualitative methodologies, including participatory observations, interviews, focus group discussions, artistic workshops and exhibitions (Van Der Vaart, Gwenda & Huigen 2018). However, some studies have also utilised quantitative methodologies, such as structured surveys (Ahmed & Ahmed 2021; Neergaard & Ulhøi 2007). However, the current article deployed a systematic review as a methodological departure from earlier quantitative and qualitative studies.
Artistic epistemicide within Ghanaian creative art space
By artistic epistemicide, we mean the historic suppression and/or systematic destruction or marginalisation of artistic and art cultural intellectual contributions of marginalised groups by dominant cultures, leading to a loss of diverse artistic knowledge and cultural heritage. Thus, regarding the epistemicide on creative art scholarship in the Ghanaian context, the results indicated minimal art scholarship because of the imposition of dominant narratives from colonial masters and later, creative art curricula and implementation challenges in Ghana (Seidou 2014b). There was also a seeming lack of African scholars’ interest in creative art discourse (Araeen 2005; Labi 2015), and art scholarship was predominantly Westernised (Alacovska & Gill 2019). According to Labi (2015), even though education in Ghana formally began in the 19th century, it was not until the establishment of the Achimota School in 1927 that Art was introduced into the curriculum. In addition, African Art as a discipline in Art Historical Studies emanated from Western universities in the mid-20th century (Labi 2013:18). In addition, there has been a gap between art production and art scholarship in Africa and Ghana in particular, giving rise to debates on how the scholarship and practice gap could be closed (Labi 2015). Seidou (2014b) notes that Art education in Ghana has certain colonial traits that are contrary to Art. This is because the basis upon which Art education in Ghana was established was for the development of skilled manpower in a make-believe colonial industry. A manufacturing agenda for the colonial commonwealth was to train technical and manual labour with a set of curricula adaptations. This form of training favoured ‘pure’ cultural materials such as clay and pigments, because of their implications on industrial design and production. Even though creative Art is part of the pre-tertiary formal education curriculum, national apathy is rife.
Accordingly, Ghana’s cultural environment has not been harmed by the content of art instruction (Edusei 2004; Seidou 2014a). As a result of this, Visual Art education in Ghana is full of inefficiencies and misconceptions related to the teacher, student apathy and tutorial relationships (Opoku-Asare, Tachie-Menson & Essel 2015).
Seidou (2014a, 2014b) argues further that in spite of the several adaptations of the Art curricula in Ghana, there are still industrial requirements for the neglect of proper development of Art.
The Art curriculum in Ghana is also traditional, compartmentalised into conventional basketry, ceramics, graphic design, jewellery, painting, sculpture and textiles (Heijnen 2015). Administration of art programmes at the Senior High School (SHS) level closely aligns with the practices found in institutions of higher learning in art. Key aspects include the documentation of the educational system (Seidou 2014a, 2014b), the body of knowledge of the tutors at the SHS level (Flolu 1997; Seidou 2014a, 2014b), the structure of the courses and the curriculum (Tonah 2009) and the end-of-study examination requirements set by the West African Examination Council.
All these conditions do not consider the contemporary requirements of the students and the body of knowledge of SHS teachers who emanate from the same educational system.
In 2015, Labi listed 193 publications in the form of books, journal articles and exhibition catalogues devoted to Ghana’s art. The publications were authored in English, from 1927 to 2014. The publications are housed in the University of Ghana libraries and Labi’s own personal collections. In Labi’s list of publications, 143 items, representing 74.1% were books, not written by Ghanaians, while 50 of the entries, representing 25.9% were authored by Ghanaian writers. Out of the 193 publications listed by Labi, 72 were books and the remaining 121 comprised of chapters in books, with references to Ghana’s art, catalogues and articles. Also, 43 of these 72 books were not written by Ghanaians, while 29 entries were written by local scholars (Labi 2015).
Another survey on African Arts, by Labi (2013), which spanned a period of 48 years in the Legon Journal of Humanity, provided 121 articles on Ghana’s Creative Arts. The Legon Journal of Humanity published by the College of Humanities of the University of Ghana is a peer-reviewed periodical, devoted to the study of humanities. It is operationally conceptualised to report not just the arts and languages but also social science disciplines, such as cultural studies, human geography, international affairs, management studies, political science, psychology and sociology. Again, according to the survey, Ghanaians wrote only 18 of the studies, representing 14.9%, while 103 studies making 85.1% were not written by Ghanaians. This implies that Ghanaian studies are not measured at a critical mass to ensure a more equitable mixing of studies in the journal. A similar case relates to the Journal of African Arts & Culture (JAAC), an online open-source platform for academic discourse relating to African Arts and Culture. Its artistic scope consists of such media as sculpture, painting, pottery, rock art, textiles, masks, personal decoration and jewellery. In 1979, the Journal dedicated a special issue to the study of art in Ghana to provide an avenue for the dissemination of emerging and insightful creative art research.
Drawing from the 1979 special issue, Labi (2015) lamented that no local scholar from Ghana contributed to the call. The authors are of the view that the lack of Ghanaian contributions could be extended to other African countries, thus corroborating Araeen’s assertion that ‘Africans are not engaging enough in the production of Art knowledge’. It echoes Drewal’s (1990) observation that Euro-American scholars have taken the lead in African art in terms of scientific scholarship.
Though recent years have witnessed an increase in studies on creative art, the emphasis however, does not reflect a diversity of creators. On the contrary, there is a prevalence of scholarship with a philosophy of superiority which frames typical contemporary Western creative art producers as the compelling representatives of ‘global’ creative work. This is what Santos (ed. 2007) sees as a philosophical orientation of cognitive injustice. On this score, this article explores critical perspectives on art scholarship in Ghana, taking into account indigenous thought in art discourses. Similar to Labi’s 2015 call for local epistemologies without subjecting them to Western scrutiny, we argue that African art epistemologies in the form of crafts, films, music, textiles and architectural designs among others have the potential to tell the African story to the entire world. As the perspective of the West becomes available in effect to everyone, scholarship on African creative and cultural production is informed by a global and universal mechanism of action (Harding 1993:63).
Artistic epistemicide beyond the Ghanaian creative art space
The results showed signs of a shift with more emphasis on Afrocentric creative artistic scholarship. This means the move to a more balanced outlook as opposed to the overly reliant Euro-American epistemic approaches towards the conception of contextualised study frameworks. The formal teaching of art at the Achimota school helped institutionalise a tradition of Afrocentric art (Labi 2013; Woets 2014). Since its inception in 1927, Achimota began applying art principles to inspire new generations of students with an interest in African and Ghanaian arts. This influenced and shaped the school’s programmes (Nunu-Amateifio 2017). It is encouraging to see how Ghana has invested in the creative arts through these institutions.
The establishment of the College of Art at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1964, the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon, and the National Film and Theatre Institute are also significant milestones. These institutions have played a crucial role in nurturing talents in various fields such as dance, music, theatre arts, painting, sculpture, industrial art, and film and television production. These efforts have not only promoted and popularised creative arts in Ghana but also contributed to the country’s cultural and economic development. The creative arts sector in Ghana continues to grow, with many contemporary artists and their works gaining international recognition (Edusei 2004).
Notable among the Ghanaian artists are El Anatsui’s Gawu (2003–2008), Mahama’s (2017) Non-Orientable Nkansa II; Annku and Lodonu’s Consumption of Visual Art Forms in Contemporary Ghana (2012); Edusei’s ‘Overview of Visual Art Education in Ghanaian Schools’ (2014) and Flolu’s music in Ghanaian Education (1997). Others include Opoku-Asare, Tachie-Menson and Ampeh’s ‘Instructional Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning of Creative Arts: the Dilemma of Generalist Teachers in Ghana’ (2015); Seidou, Ampratwum, Kissiedu and Riskin’s ‘Silent Raptures: Emergent Art of the Kumasi College of Art’ in (2015); Seidou’s adaptive art education in Achimota College (2014a); Araeen’s ‘Modernity, Modernism, and Africa’s place in the History of Art of our Age’ (2005); and Cole and Ross’s The Arts of Ghana (1977).
Also, some Ghanaian revolutionary artistic scholarly works demonstrate a clear breaking of barriers and the building of art epistemology bridges in the country. Ephraim Amu is considered the Father of art music in Ghana. He was the first music master in Achimota school, a prolific composer and choir master. Amu’s works were introduced into the school curriculum and provided a soundtrack for life in the school and in later years for the nation as a whole. Amu used his art to educate people on African values and norms. Music was a high-profile subject in the teaching of creative arts in most Ghanaian schools. It was not only employed for scholarly reasons but also for entertainment and religious rites (Nunu-Amateifio 2017). Kwami (2012) confirms the value and impact of Amu by noting that artists at the time were held in high esteem and their works enjoyed high patronage under the first president of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Ghana produced some fine writers who stimulated the country’s growing literary culture. Historian Kofi Baku observes that many books are now being written by Africans on Africa for Africans. Hitherto, most of the Ghanaian art books were previously written by English or American authors and dealt with events far from Africa. The emergence of critical and incisive writers on the African reality changed the situation considerably. The likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Ayi Kwei Armah, Kofi Awoonor and Cyprian Ekwensi are worth mentioning in this regard. Others include Efua Sutherland, Kwesi Brew, Atukwei Okine and Ama Ata Adu. They were part of a generation of African intellectuals who wrote extensively on the dreams of African liberation in the 1950s and 1960s. This Afrocentric turn is also commented on by Price (1975) who contends that many Western-trained African artists who were hitherto imitating Western styles now turned to the arts of their own people and express themselves as Africans. This emerging artistic consciousness was a positive development that helped open Ghanaians’ minds towards a de-westernisation of art epistemologies.
Studies on Ghana’s art have produced a better understanding culled from ‘models from different disciplines, including art, sociology, anthropology, archaeology and history’. Kyerematen’s 1961 work ‘Regalia for an Ashanti Durbar’, is an example. A good part of his works are photographs and scripts he wrote when commissioned by the government to create an exhibition for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ghana in 1959 (Labi 2015). These outputs were published in 1964. Kyerematen ‘co-authored one article with Allen Bassing in 1972 and published his last known work in 1977’ (Labi 2015). Also, art historians and scholars deemed it imperative to pay attention to local Ghanaian art studies which were of academic material.
Antubam’s research on Osei Bonsu, a prominent Ghanaian sculptor, stands out as one of the earliest important studies in art history studies. In 1968, Fagg was among the first European art historians to acknowledge the contributions of Ghanaian artists (Labi 2015). The work of Vincent Kofi, Ablade Glover, Ato Delaquis and others has prompted the study of contemporary Ghanaian creative arts as a significant area of inquiry. Chernoff (1977), Kristen (1980), Falgayrettes-Leveau (2003) and Ross (2014) are among the works that explored Ghanaian artists and their genres. The more recent writings of Hess (2006), Kwami (2012), Labi (2013) and Woets (2014) have contributed to the research on Ghana’s contemporary and modern art.
Fosu (1986) further explored the dynamics and aesthetic satisfaction in visual innovations in Ghana’s cities in the postcolonial era, where many unskilled people from the countryside are confronted with challenges of modernity. There are hairstyles and thought-provoking creative art designs and writings on trotro, mini-buses, studio backdrops and a wide range of other imaginative compositions, depicted in urban street creative art in these cities (Quarcoopome 2009).
Beyond the reach of the epistemicide in question, efforts are being made to decentralise and diversify creative art geographies (Gibson 2010). Moreover, with more awareness of the predominance of Global North as the site of empirical creative artworks, some scholars are exercising epistemic resistance (ed. Santos 2007) by refusing to ‘go North’, and rather turning their investigative and creative lenses on remote places such as Global South (Gibson 2010). Scholars are now trying to ‘re-contextualise’, ‘re-localise’ and hence ‘re-socialise’ creative artworks to ensure a fine geographic mix (Alacovska & Gill 2019; Banks 2006; McRobbie 2016). A plurality of knowledge can function as a critique of the dominant paradigm of Western modern science (ed. Santos 2007). This implies that alternative paradigms or different ways of knowing and being should be promoted, popularised and encouraged (ed. Santos 2007).
Discussion
This article examined existing epistemologies for creative entrepreneurship research in the Global South to contribute to perspectives seeking a corrective to Euro-American epistemic approaches regarding the conception of contextualised study frameworks. On creative artistic epistemicide in the Global South, the article points to a delay in the introduction of art education in Ghana because of a number of factors. These include delays in art curriculum development and its introduction in Ghanaian schools. A further significant factor is the perceived lack of interest by African scholars in creative art discourse and art scholarship due in part to a sense of it being Westernised, despite many years of continental and national art practice (Alacovska & Gill 2019; Araeen 2005; Seidou 2014b). This situation has resulted in a gap between Ghanaian art scholarship and creativity, posing questions about how this artistic divide could be closed (Labi 2015).
The article further showed how African art as a field of study originated rather from European and American contexts in the mid-20th century (Labi 2013:18). It is no wonder some art historians expressed shock that just a handful of creative art books on Africa have been written by Africans, with the majority of creative art books on Africa being authored by Euro-American scholars (Araeen 2005; Labi 2015). The delay in introduction and implementation of art education and curriculum meant the future development of creative art education in the country was affected. The implication of these obstacles was that students could not artistically learn about themselves, their culture and their communities. Because of the slow implementation of art classes, students could not even visualise the world differently in their formative years.
The apparent paucity of Ghanaian scholarly contribution (Labi 2015) raises the following question in this study: ‘Why is there an abundant literature on Ghanaian art, yet the authors are largely Euro-Americans?’ Labi’s 2015 work mentions various reasons, including apathy and inadequate skills. This suggests that while Euro-American authors seem to be more enthusiastic about African creative art and customs, their Ghanaian counterparts are somewhat apathetic to their culture. This phenomenon of non-Ghanaians being more interested in conducting research on Ghanaian creative art than Ghanaian scholars could be attributed to two factors: Firstly, non-Ghanaians have more resources and secondly, Ghanaians underestimate the value of their creative arts. Therefore, we view the epistemic break as an admittance of knowledge differentials between what is being done elsewhere, and what pertains among Ghanaian scholars. The Ghanaian challenge has to do in part with how art-based theoretical frameworks are taught and used. Further challenges are the shortage of opportunities and resources to apply established art-based methodologies to research. This is compounded by the inability of local art journals, galleries and museums to make use of the results of research. The absence of art enthusiasts, the inability of art foundations to provide funding and limited government support, are crucial obstacles.
Beyond the epistemicide, characterised by knowledge of marginality and exclusion, there are steps towards Afrocentric artistic scholarship to ensure multiple artistic knowledge systems for inclusivity and diversity (Araeen 2005; Labi 2015; Seidou 2014b). This implies a change in bridging the art epistemological gaps between the global north and global south. The article holds the view that the general understanding of the world of creative art and creative art epistemologies far exceeds the bounded Western projections and understanding of art. In this regard, the argument of Santos (ed. 2018) that there is no global social justice without global cognitive justice is a useful touchstone. Hence, the failure to recognise and appreciate the different forms of art knowledge and how people across the globe run their lives and provide meaning to their existence is a worry. With reference to Santos’s (ed. 2018) arguments, we may intuit that Western art domination has profoundly marginalised existing traditions and practices of art knowledge and artistic wisdom in the Global South.
Scholarly marginalisation rooted in disciplinary and identity-based biases, is theorised to act as another barrier to different ways of knowing and universal scholarship This is what Settles et al. (2021) referred to as an ‘epistemic exclusion’. It is contended in this article that it is imperative to recover and valorise the creative artistic epistemological diversities of the world thus ensuring the possibility of a fine blend of both South and North epistemologies in the creative art scholarship. This is particularly the case as Africa and Ghana’s Creative Art is perhaps the oldest, and includes dance, theatre, music, crafts, painting, sculpture, artefacts and fine garments (Nunu-Amateifio 2017). Banks (2006) argues that the cultural industries stand in unique relation to aspects of risk and social trust because they exhibit distinctive forms of motivation, organisation and working practices. Moreover, they are guided by, and constitutive of, characteristic forms of risk management and trust development which have been identified as central to social transformation in the late modern period.
The epistemology of the Global South and its situated and contextualised dynamics are receiving increasing research recognition. According to McRobbie (2002), creative work is ‘de-spatialised’ as well as ‘de-socialised’ and therefore also ‘de-politicised’. Hence, as mentioned earlier, scholars are making efforts to ‘re-contextualise’, ‘re-localise’ and thus ‘re-socialise’ creative works (Alacovska & Gill 2019; Banks 2006; McRobbie 2016). A plurality of knowledge is highly subscribed to, on the one hand, and offers a critique of the dominant paradigm of hegemonic Western modern science on the other hand (ed. Santos 2007). Consequently, alternative paradigms, or many ways of knowing and being, are promoted and encouraged.
We are of the view that plurality of knowledge contributes to a more sustainable, equitable and democratic world. In this scholarly march towards epistemic justice, emphasis has been on breaking of knowledge structural barriers and building bridges for creative artistic mobility and equality (Visvanathan 2009). Santos (ed. 2018) holds the perspective of restoring and enhancing the epistemological diversity of the world. And certain researchers argue further that the epistemologies of the South are characterised by bottom-up cosmopolitanism, featuring conviviality, solidarity and life triumph against the logic of market-ridden greed and individualism (ed. Santos 2018; Visvanathan 2009).
Conclusion
According to the current research, there is a minimal amount of artistic scholarship in Ghana. The least art knowledge is because of delays in the introduction of the art curriculum and a perceived lack of interest by African scholars in creative art discourse. Another reason is art scholarship is perceived as Westernised, despite decades of continental and national art practices and engagements. This provides an answer to the first research question: Why Euro-American epistemic domination in creative entrepreneurship research from the Global South? However, beyond the epistemicide, the article identifies a regime of change, in which Afrocentric creative artistic scholarship aims at balancing the overly reliant Euro-American epistemic approaches towards the conception of contextualised study frameworks. For example, the introduction of formal teaching of creative art as a course in Achimota school, the school’s application of art principles to inspire a new generation of art students and the set-up of schools and colleges of Art at various public universities in Ghana with faculties and departments in various art programmes. There is also the fact of emerging creative art research publications by Africans and/or Ghanaians on Africa and/or Ghanaians. This also provides an answer to the second research question: What epistemologies for creative entrepreneurship research in the Global South could be identified to complement the over-reliance on Euro-American epistemic approaches to the conception of contextualised study frameworks?
Efforts towards creative art epistemologies of the South among scholars and relevant stakeholders imply a belief and commitment to equity between different ways of knowing creative art and different kinds of artistic knowledge. This, in the view of the article, will promote diversity and inclusivity in creative art scholarship, a prerequisite for epistemological hybridity and artistic-driven social innovation. Indeed, a broad, global and diversified understanding of art should surpass the hegemonic, monocultural, Western-centric perspective on the subject. Therefore, embracing plurality and diversity in art scholarship is highly recommended. This ecology of knowledge in modern art is essential for uncovering the epistemology of the South.
Epistemologies of the South are tools to accomplish global cognitive justice. It is the South that resists and produces alternatives in relation to the imperialism and colonialism of the North. These epistemologies of the South when explored, will rescue the non-visible creative artistic experiences. The authors are of the view that artistic epistemologies from the South give a loud voice and amplify the meaning of art innovations, what this article coined as ‘art of emergence’.
In working towards an artistic epistemic balance between the global north and global south, it is recommended that, with respect to the paucity of artistic knowledge from the Global South, an emphasis be placed on the creation of creative art-based local platforms for indigenous art voices. Such local platforms will encourage interactions and exchanges on teaching, learning and research on African art. Also, constant engagements and a mix of perspectives among academia and experienced creative art practitioners to diversify the current Euro-American-inspired epistemologies in the field are advisable. Research by Ghanaian scholars from various backgrounds will produce new art-based models, definitions and terminologies that consider language, myths, beliefs and inputs from traditional leaders and cultural custodians. The results of such research will improve local perspectives and art discourse (Visvanathan 2009). Equally critical for a sustained art-based interest is the formation of strong art-based associations and clubs, organisation of annual creative art symposia, travels, conferences, development and publishing of special issues and special sections on creative art from the Global South perspectives. Collaborative art-based research projects with both local and international universities and scholars, as well as projects across borders in the sub-region to trace origins, histories, artistic styles forms and influences will surely strengthen sub-regional creative art capacities. This implies an increased discourse in schools and on university campuses. The promotion and popularising of African and Ghanaian creative art should not just be for novelty, but to foster knowledge and respect for Africans. It should advertise African art, and place it a par with global artistic traditions and scholarly discourses.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Grant Number 18-05-CBS) for the project ‘Advancing Creative Industries for Development in Ghana’. This interdisciplinary research investigates the dynamics of creative work and entrepreneurship in Ghana. Three universities are involved: the University of Ghana Business School in Ghana, Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and Loughborough University in London. The project began in 2019 and was supposed to end in 2024, it was extended to May 2025 due to COVID - 19 implementation delays. The authors would like to thank the organisers of the AFAM 6th Biennial Conference in Cairo, 2023, where this article was first presented and received valuable feedback for improvement. The authors are also grateful to the two reviewers and the editor of the African Journal of Creative Economy (AJCE) for their insightful comments.
Competing interests
The author reported that they received funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (grant number 18-05-CBS), which may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed publication. The author has disclosed those interests fully and has implemented an approved plan for managing any potential conflicts arising from their involvement. The terms of these funding arrangements have been reviewed and approved by the affiliated University in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.
Authors’ contributions
R.H.K. conceptualised the article idea, wrote the original article, and reviewed and edited it. M.-A.S. contributed to securing project funds, administering the project, and reviewing and editing the work.
Ethical considerations
Ethical approval to conduct this study was obtained from the University of Ghana Ethics Committee for Humanities (reference no.: ECH 074/19-20).
Funding information
This work was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (grant number 18-05-CBS).
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, R.H.K., upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional research. The article does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency or that of the publisher. The authors are responsible for this article’s results, findings and content.
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