Returning to the Early Conversations: Re-Examining the Early Art Schools in Africa during the Colonial Era
Before galleries and biennials, there were classrooms, workshops, and missions. In these overlooked spaces, art was shaped by instruction, constraint, and negotiation—laying the groundwork for debates that would define African art for decades.
Long before African art gained international recognition, early art schools across the continent served as sites of both creative innovation and cultural negotiation. This lecture delves into these institutions – such as Achimota (Ghana), Azaria (Nigeria), Cyrene Mission (Zimbabwe), École des Beaux-Arts (Ivory Coast and Senegal), Polly Street Art Centre (South Africa), Poto Poto (Republic of Congo), and Makerere School of Art (Uganda)—examining their interventions in local arts and the figures who shaped them. It critically explores the entangled legacies of colonialism, highlighting how these schools simultaneously imposed foreign agendas and nurtured new artistic expressions. The roles of Canon Ned Paterson, Father Hans Groeber, Frank McEwen, and Tom Blomefield are scrutinized, revealing the complex interplay between evangelism, artistic mentorship, and colonial authority. By revisiting these early conversations, the lecture interrogates the ways in which these schools and individuals influenced the perception of African art both locally and globally, demonstrating how history is contested, woven from choices, and continuously reinterpreted.
