JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE

MAPPING THE BARRIERS TO DEAF THEATRE PRACTICE IN GHANA

David Chapman Quayson, Divine Kwabena Atta Kyere-Owusu , Sika Koomson — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Despite global advances in inclusive theatre, deaf individuals in Ghana remain largely excluded from the performing arts, a topic severely neglected in local scholarship. This qualitative study maps the barriers to deaf theatre in Cape Coast by engaging nineteen participants from the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind, including students, staff, and hearing audience members. Grounded in the social model of disability and social inclusion theory, data from interviews and observations reveal five interconnected obstacles: financial constraints limiting resources and personnel; a lack of technical facilities and trained instructors proficient in deaf education and sign language; time pressures within school schedules; and deeply entrenched attitudinal barriers, where societal misconceptions frame deafness as an inability. Despite these challenges, the proactive formation of a student cultural troupe demonstrates resilience and a refusal to accept these barriers as fixed. This study makes significant contributions by addressing a critical gap in Ghanaian scholarship, which has prioritised education and health over cultural access. It provides the first empirically grounded analysis of its kind, operationalising the social model within the cultural realm and offering a diagnostic framework to guide intervention. The findings underscore an urgent need for dedicated funding, infrastructure investment, professional development, and advocacy to foster genuine inclusion.

YORUBA CULTURAL ETHOS AND LIMINAL DRAMATURGY: A DIRECTORIAL TOOL IN AHMED YERIMA’S KUTELU AND IKUDETI

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

African playwrights, relishing on the creative and artistic embellishments in their writings, have used creative ingenuity to present the cultural ethos of Yoruba people to the global world, especially those who are alien to cultural cosmology of the Yoruba people. In the same direction, play directors have also used the tools to bring to the fore of theatre audiences; entertainment, education and enlightenment. In this direction, the creative adventure of Ahmed Yerima, which captures some of these cultural mainframes are identified in the selected play-texts, Kutelu and Ikudeti (2020). This is with a view to showcasing the cultural ethos and the liminal dramaturgy of the Yoruba culture and their relevance to the existence of man in their terrestrial space. Arnold Berleant (2005) theory of cultural aesthetics is used in the paper to explicate the Yoruba ethos and liminal dramaturgy as exploited by Ahmed Yerima in the selected play-texts and how he has through the literary works construct the link that exists between reality and imagination of the cultural philosophy of the Yoruba people. The paper concludes that cultural ethos and liminal dramaturgy are tools that play directors can use to seamlessly articulate African dramatic expressions. Consequently, playwrights are encouraged to explore more cultural ethos and symbolic extractions to showcase African rich cultural heritage.

NEEDLEPOINT TECHNIQUE AS A MEDIUM FOR CULTURAL EXPRESSION: A CASE STUDY OF THE BAMAYA DANCE IN TEXTILE ART

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The needlepoint technique, a decorative textile art traditionally used in upholstery and surface design, remains underexplored within Ghana’s tertiary textile education despite its potential for artistic innovation and cultural preservation. Similarly, the Bamaya dance of the Dagomba people, renowned for its symbolic costumes, rhythmic movements, and historical depth, has received limited scholarly attention as a source of design inspiration. This study bridges these gaps by employing the needlepoint technique to reinterpret the aesthetic and symbolic features of the Bamaya dance into a contemporary textile-based interior décor piece. Adopting a qualitative, practice-led methodology, the research integrated studio experimentation, iterative reflection, and design refinement. Selected Bamaya motifs, colour schemes, and movement patterns were analysed and translated into needlepoint compositions using computer-aided design (CAD) software for pixelation, colour mapping, and stitch planning. Production processes included canvas preparation, sequential stitching, background filling, motif outlining, and finishing. The resulting wall hanging demonstrated that needlepoint, enhanced by digital tools, can effectively convey the movement, symbolism, and visual rhythm of the Bamaya dance. The work proved aesthetically appealing, durable, and contextually appropriate for interior branding, particularly in educational or cultural settings. The findings underscore the potential of integrating indigenous cultural expressions with contemporary textile practices to enrich creative pedagogy, promote skill diversification, and support the revitalization of Ghanaian traditional arts. The paper recommends that the integration of traditional cultural expression with modern textile methods provides a valuable pedagogical model for future textile design education, encouraging culturally responsive creativity and innovation.

CHOREOGRAPHING COEXISTENCE: DANCE, INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, AND CULTURAL MEDIATION IN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES OF NORTHERN GHANA

Tigwe Salifu Jebuni — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the potential of dance as a culturally grounded medium for interfaith dialogue and social mediation within Muslim-majority communities in Northern Ghana. Drawing on qualitative ethnographic research conducted in the Tamale Metropolis, the study engages Muslim clerics from diverse Islamic sects, traditional authorities, dancers, and youth groups to explore contested perceptions of music and dance within Islamic cultural life. Guided by structural functionalist and cultural mediation frameworks, the article argues that traditional dance functions as an embodied social institution capable of fostering moral reflection, dialogue, and communal coexistence. While dominant religious interpretations have contributed to the marginalisation of indigenous dances, the study demonstrates that performance-based interventions particularly the choreographed work Waa-pa zagbegu Musulinsini, developed from Islamic values of peace, tolerance, and faith created spaces for reflection and dialogue among Muslim audiences. Audience responses indicate that dance can operate as a mediating cultural practice rather than a source of religious conflict. The article concludes that choreographed performance, when grounded in local religious and cultural ethics, offers a viable tool for interfaith engagement, cultural sustainability, and peacebuilding in plural African societies.

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY THROUGH MUSIC: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF EMBASSIES AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN INTERCULTURAL ARTS PROGRAMMING

Benjamin Amakye Boateng , Stephen Aidoo, Rosina Foli, Alfred Patrick Addaquay — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the role of embassies and educational institutions in advancing cultural diplomacy through music, focusing on the Béla Bartók Memorial Concert held in Ghana. By analysing the collaborative efforts of the Embassy of Hungary, the University of Ghana’s Department of Music, and Healthy-Minds International School, the research highlights how intercultural arts programming fosters mutual understanding, empathy, and shared cultural creation. Employing a qualitative case study approach with interviews, observations, and document analysis, the paper reveals that music serves as a dynamic medium for transcultural dialogue and pedagogical diplomacy. The findings emphasise the importance of relational and participatory diplomacy, where cultural exchange is co-created rather than unidirectional, and demonstrate the educational and diplomatic impact of such partnerships in promoting global citizenship and soft power. The study advocates for sustainable intercultural collaborations as vital infrastructures for peacebuilding and international cooperation.

CULTURAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE SACRED AND SECULAR PERFORMANCES OF AGAN FESTIVAL OF EGOSI IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Kazeem Rufai-Ahmad — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The effective management of cultural activities especially the traditional festivals has been observed to have been a crucial factor in the attainment of economic growth, national development and cultural recognition as heritage festival by UNESCO. However, Agan festival of Egosi people in Kwara State, Nigeria, has been observed to have restrictive factors such as under-utilisation of mainstream and social media for promotion and being regarded as an archaic practice which hindered its popularity. This paper, therefore, examined the cultural management strategies in the sacred and secular performances of the Agan festival of Egosi, Kwara State, Nigeria to find out how the festival has survived over the years. Qualitative research design is adopted with interview and participant-observation instruments to gather data for the paper. The study revealed that the cultural management of the Agan festival relies on a model combining sacred management and secular management with the participation of multiple community subjects. Despite the number of towns and villages in the Kwara South senatorial district where Agan festival is celebrated, the festival faced the challenges of fund shortage and insufficient promotion in spite of its unique spiritual, socio-cultural and economic potentials to the Egosi people. The paper recommended the intervention of government and private corporations in the areas of financial intervention, promotion and cultural orientation. It is concluded that Agan festival as a mini cultural event can metamorphose into a larger one through adequate finance and promotion.

FROM RITUAL TO FESTIVAL: OFALA AS CULTURAL PERFORMANCE IN CONTEMPORARY IGBO SOCIETY

Charles Ikechukwu Nnaji — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ofala is a historically instituted event in Onitsha, Umueri and other neighboring communities as a sacralised royal ritual that functions as a mechanism of spiritual renewal, political legitimation, and cosmological order, centering the Obi as both ritual and symbolic authority. In contemporary Igbo society, however, Ofala has increasingly been reconstituted beyond its original ritual context and homeland, appearing as a public cultural festival in many communities such as Okeani/Aniyi, Ohuani and Isienu Amagunze Autonomous Communities among others. This paper examines the implication of this shift, interrogating how a localised sacred institution is transformed through processes of cultural replication, aesthetic reconfiguration, public performance and public utility. Employing a qualitative comparative framework grounded in ritual studies and performance theory, the study analyses differences in ritual protocol, symbolic density, spatial organisation, performative authority, and modes of participation between Onitsha Ofala and its contemporary manifestations elsewhere in Igboland. The findings demonstrate that while the Ofala retains a strong ritual core characterised by restricted access, priestly mediation, and cosmological obligation, it now exhibits a marked shift toward inclusivity, spectacle, and cultural display, resulting in a partial desacralisation of ritual meaning. The paper argues that this transformation does not merely signify cultural loss but reflects broader dynamics of adaptation and identity negotiation within modern Igbo society. By situating Ofala within debates on ritual continuity, cultural ownership, and festivals, the study contributes to scholarship on the reconfiguration of indigenous institutions in contemporary African public life.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE SURFACE: A COMPARISON OF MATERIAL ONTOLOGY AND MASTERY IN THE WORKS OF ABLADE GLOVER AND ODD NERDRUM

Emmanuel Antwi, Kwabena Afriyie Poku — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates the "architecture of the surface" in the works of Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum and Ghanaian painter Ablade Glover. Both artists have retreated into a radical dedication to Material Ontology. Which is influenced by Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology, functioning within a "Modern Vacuum" of conceptual de-skilling. These painters regard the canvas as a tangible, sedimentary locus of "empirical truth." The authors, in this work proffer that, Glover’s rhythmic impasto and Nerdrum’s "pixelated" topography function as psychological buffers, in accordance with the Mastery Paradigm. The study affirm also that Glover’s vibrant palette-knife technique encapsulates the "Social Sculpture" of the collective Ghanaian market, whereas Nerdrum’s layering, sanding, and scraping method induces an existential isolation grounded in European "Kitsch." The work concludes that the "architecture of the surface" represents a fundamental ontological resistance to the ephemeral nature of modernity by integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western Institutional Critique.

MAKE-UP ART: A VIABLE CAREER PATH FOR UNDEREMPLOYED GRADUATE GHANAIAN ARTISTS

Noble Nkrumah-Abraham, Ernest Kwasi Amponsah, Sampong Ofori-Anyinam — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study tends to reveal that make-up art can be a lucrative avenue for undervalued Ghanaian graduate painters, demonstrating that the face or body can serve as a substrate for painters to generate income using skills acquired in academic painting programmes. Employing a qualitative single-case study design, the research used homogenous purposive and exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling to select ten participants who are Ghanaian make-up artists and painters who graduated with a painting degree over a decade ago. Primary data were gathered through interviews, audio recordings, observation, and photographs, supplemented by secondary sources, and analysed descriptively. Findings indicate high demand for make-up artistry, with practitioners unable to meet growing service needs, making the field highly lucrative. Experts from theatre, events, and multimedia industries (e.g., film directors, photographers) affirm the relevance of make-up artists across fashion, film, theatre, television, music videos, and commercials, while noting a scarcity of special effects make-up artists. Notably, individuals with strong drawing and painting skills excel in this niche. In contrast, most Ghanaian graduate painters work on inanimate supports like canvas and paper, which face low patronage in Ghana, resulting in unsold works, congestion, improper maintenance, and career abandonment due to frustration and financial constraints. Ironically, make-up art is in high demand locally. The study not only highlights this alternative avenue but also compares the tools, processes, design principles, and technicalities of make-up artistry with traditional painting, outlining striking similarities between the two fields.

FROM RITUAL TO SCREEN: WESTERN THEATRE MAKE-UP REVOLUTIONS AND AFRICAN INDIGENOUS INNOVATION

Shadiat Olapeju Shuaib — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper re-examines the historical development of theatrical make-up by challenging the dominant linear narrative that frames Western innovation as the universal endpoint of cosmetic progress. Drawing on historical analysis, performance theory, and postcolonial perspectives, it traces how make-up evolved from ritual body transformation practices into a technologically sophisticated component of modern stage and screen production. Highlighting Western theatrical make-up breakthroughs such as the nineteenth-century introduction of greasepaint and the twentieth-century development of camera-ready cosmetic formulations as context-specific responses to changes in lighting, performance aesthetics, and visual recording technologies rather than as markers of global superiority. The study places these developments in dialogue with African indigenous make-up traditions, demonstrating that such systems embody equally complex forms of material knowledge rooted in ritual transformation, ecological awareness, and embodied cognition. Through comparative analysis, the paper argues that Western make-up practices historically prioritised realism, optical control, and psychological legibility, whereas African indigenous practices emphasised visibility, spiritual mediation, and communal identity formation. These differing orientations reveal not a hierarchy of progress but parallel trajectories of innovation shaped by distinct cultural ontologies of the body and performance. By reframing theatrical make-up as a trans-historical technology of identity and embodiment, the paper contributes to contemporary debates in theatre studies, performance anthropology, and cultural production. It further proposes that the future of global make-up industries particularly within rapidly expanding film sectors such as Nollywood and Ghallywood depends on integrating indigenous materials and knowledge systems with modern production technologies. Such integration offers pathways toward sustainable, culturally grounded, and economically viable cosmetic innovation beyond Eurocentric models.

NIGERIAN GOSPEL MUSICIANS’ PERCEPTION OF ILLNESS, HEALING AND ITS RELEVANCE: SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REALITIES

Taiye Shola Adeola — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The popularity and influence of gospel music grows by the day in Nigeria and has drawn scholars’ attention generating discussions on different aspects of it. However, the theme of illness and healing in the content of the Nigerian gospel music is an ongoing discourse. The focus of this paper is therefore, to discuss the relevance of the perception of the Nigerian gospel musicians on illness and healing to the social, economic and political realities of the country. The qualitative methodology is engaged with content and discographical analysis of some Nigerian gospel songs in order to discuss the manifestations of illness and healing in the songs and to discuss their relevance to the social, economic and political realities of the country. Interview with some gospel musicians is also employed. The paper relies on George Soros’ reflexivity theory as its theoretical framework. It is observed that there are terms, descriptions and symbolic representations in the gospel songs for illness and healing that are not unconnected with the expressions used in the context of the culture and traditions within which the musicians grow. The paper concludes that the gospel musicians’ perception of illness and healing is relevant to the social, economic and political realities of Nigeria because they help in the identification of the dimensions of illness, give insight into the real state of affairs, air the views of the citizens, react to the situation that they identify and proffer what they perceive as solution to the identified problems.

ETHNOMUSICOLOGY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: PRESERVING AND REINTERPRETING AFRICAN INDIGENOUS SOUNDS THROUGH DIGITAL ARCHIVES

Akin Osunniyi, Iyanuoluwa Ajayi — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Digital technology has significantly shaped the evolution of ethnomusicology in the twenty-first century, transforming how music is recorded, preserved, studied, and shared. African indigenous music, which traditionally relies on oral transmission, collective memory, and direct engagement with cultural custodians, is increasingly vulnerable as these knowledge holders age and pass on. This underscores the urgent need for sustainable preservation strategies. The study explores how digitalisation projects, digital archives, and virtual ethnographic methods are redefining the study of African traditional music in the digital era. It highlights the role of metadata-driven archives, online repositories, and audio-visual documentation in ensuring long-term accessibility and safeguarding endangered musical traditions. Furthermore, it examines how digital archives support academic research, enhance intergenerational knowledge transfer, and enable creative reinterpretations of musical forms. The study also addresses ethical concerns relating to cultural ownership, representation, and consent, arguing that culturally sensitive and ethically grounded digital practices are essential for preserving Africa’s musical heritage in a globalised world.