CALL FOR PAPERS ON CULTURAL POLICY, CULTURAL PLANNING AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES : PERSPECTIVES FROM AFRICAN CONTEXTS AND BEYOND
PROPOSED BOOK PROJECT – Call for Papers. Cultural Policy, Cultural Planning and the Creative Industries: Perspectives from African Contexts and Beyond
Co-edited by: Mzo Sirayi & Kennedy Chinyowa, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
In March 2024, the Faculty of the Arts at Tshwane University of Technology, in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture and the South African National Commission for UNESCO, co-hosted an international symposium that focused on the interface between cultural policy and sustainable development in South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the wider African continent. The symposium brought together a diverse selection of local, regional and international stakeholders to explore the different points of intersection between cultural policy and development. While we acknowledge that SADC countries have come to realize the need for strong cultural policy frameworks to help in driving creativity, innovation and development in their national economies, the countries have not yet made visible and practical policy shifts from merely supporting arts, culture and heritage. Most of the SADC countries are still steeped in traditional cultural policy frameworks that tend to have a sectoral specific focus. In fact, communities everywhere in SADC countries and Africa at large are facing rapid population growth, urbanization, the appearance of ghettos/slums, the absence of safety and security, crime, corruption, and the spread of violence, pollution, service delivery protests, overcrowding/traffic congestion and many other societal challenges (Schafer, 1998, Sirayi, 2008).
It is our considered view that cultural policy should be able to contribute to the development of the locality (Bianchini, 2013). Scholars have argued that cultural planning has been one of the most significant cultural policy initiatives over the last two or three decades (Stevenson, 2005; Bianchini, 2013, Mercer, 2006; Redaelli, 2013; Sirayi, 2008). Culture, as a function of the cultural planning approach, is now regarded as a beacon of hope for future sustainable development. Thus a shift from the traditional concept of cultural policy towards a more creative cultural planning approach has been recognized as strategic in boosting social economic growth and infrastructural development. Put differently, there was a shift in the 1970s onwards, from “arts policy” to “cultural policy”, seen as a move from a narrow to a broad conception of culture. This policy shift is associated with a deepening of democracy – from the post-war social democratic concern – to open ‘access to the arts’ and a more participatory and interactive ‘cultural democracy’ (O’Connor, 2013). Furthermore, Garcίa (2004:341) writes that by the mid-1980s, emphasis of cultural policy as a mechanism to enhance community development and encourage social participation was progressively substituted by an emphasis on the potential of cultural policy as a tool for urban economic and physical regeneration.
This call invites proposals/abstracts for papers/chapters that can demonstrate how the cultural policy landscape has, or can be, transformed from a mere preoccupation with preserving arts, culture and heritage towards what Throsby calls, “the economics of cultural policy” (2010:xv). We are of the view that cultural activists, development practitioners, government policymakers, academic researchers and other relevant stakeholders have an interest in understanding, not only the cultural and economic value of cultural policy but also how such policy can best inform cultural planning and the creative industries sector. Indeed, we are witnessing how cultural policy has come to encompass developments in the cultural and creative industries, rural and urban regeneration, business entrepreneurship and other culture-led transformations. This book project comes at a time when it has become imperative to interrogate the present and future direction of cultural policy to see how it can engage with local, national and regional economies in order to attain sustainable development.
The major theme of the book will focus on exploring the interface between cultural policy, cultural planning and the creative industries. Proposals will be expected to address the following sub-themes:
(i) Cultural policy and the African Union’s Agenda 2063
(ii) Cultural policy and the creative economy
(iii) Why South Africa and Africa need a cultural policy
(iv) Dilemmas in cultural policy development
(v) Decolonisation of cultural policy in African contexts
(vi) Cultural policy and the creative industries
(vii) Cultural policy as a marketing strategy
(viii) Creative industries and sustainable development
(ix) Culture, planning and citizenship
(x) Cultural mapping and cultural planning
(i) Cultural diplomacy and/or International cultural policy
(ii) Local cultural policy and rural, town and city regeneration
(iii) Cultural planning and decolonisation
(iv) Cultural planning and sustainable development
(v) Cultural planning and its interpretation
Contributors are invited to submit proposals/abstracts based on the above-mentioned sub-themes. The proposals should not exceed 500 words in length and should be in MS Word format. The deadline for submission of proposals will be 15 February, 2024. Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged and letters of acceptance will be sent to the respective contributors by 30 April, 2024. Please note that each proposal should be accompanied by a brief biography of the contributor(s).
Abstracts should be submitted to: Brenda Nkhumise (NkhumiseMB@tut.ac.za) and Kennedy Chinyowa (ChinyowaKC@tut.ac.za)
Timelines for submission of proposals and chapters:
Call for proposals: 30 November 2024
Deadline for submission of proposals: 15 February 2024
Acceptance of proposals: 30 April 2024
Submission of draft chapters: 31 July 2024
Peer review process: July – October 2024
Expected date of publication: April 2024
Length of chapters: 5,000-8,000 words
Format of references: Harvard Referencing Style
In March 2024, the Faculty of the Arts at Tshwane University of Technology, in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture and the South African National Commission for UNESCO, co-hosted an international symposium that focused on the interface between cultural policy and sustainable development in South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the wider African continent. The symposium brought together a diverse selection of local, regional and international stakeholders to explore the different points of intersection between cultural policy and development. While we acknowledge that SADC countries have come to realize the need for strong cultural policy frameworks to help in driving creativity, innovation and development in their national economies, the countries have not yet made visible and practical policy shifts from merely supporting arts, culture and heritage. Most of the SADC countries are still steeped in traditional cultural policy frameworks that tend to have a sectoral specific focus. In fact, communities everywhere in SADC countries and Africa at large are facing rapid population growth, urbanization, the appearance of ghettos/slums, the absence of safety and security, crime, corruption, and the spread of violence, pollution, service delivery protests, overcrowding/traffic congestion and many other societal challenges (Schafer, 1998, Sirayi, 2008).
It is our considered view that cultural policy should be able to contribute to the development of the locality (Bianchini, 2013). Scholars have argued that cultural planning has been one of the most significant cultural policy initiatives over the last two or three decades (Stevenson, 2005; Bianchini, 2013, Mercer, 2006; Redaelli, 2013; Sirayi, 2008). Culture, as a function of the cultural planning approach, is now regarded as a beacon of hope for future sustainable development. Thus a shift from the traditional concept of cultural policy towards a more creative cultural planning approach has been recognized as strategic in boosting social economic growth and infrastructural development. Put differently, there was a shift in the 1970s onwards, from “arts policy” to “cultural policy”, seen as a move from a narrow to a broad conception of culture. This policy shift is associated with a deepening of democracy – from the post-war social democratic concern – to open ‘access to the arts’ and a more participatory and interactive ‘cultural democracy’ (O’Connor, 2013). Furthermore, Garcίa (2004:341) writes that by the mid-1980s, emphasis of cultural policy as a mechanism to enhance community development and encourage social participation was progressively substituted by an emphasis on the potential of cultural policy as a tool for urban economic and physical regeneration.
This call invites proposals/abstracts for papers/chapters that can demonstrate how the cultural policy landscape has, or can be, transformed from a mere preoccupation with preserving arts, culture and heritage towards what Throsby calls, “the economics of cultural policy” (2010:xv). We are of the view that cultural activists, development practitioners, government policymakers, academic researchers and other relevant stakeholders have an interest in understanding, not only the cultural and economic value of cultural policy but also how such policy can best inform cultural planning and the creative industries sector. Indeed, we are witnessing how cultural policy has come to encompass developments in the cultural and creative industries, rural and urban regeneration, business entrepreneurship and other culture-led transformations. This book project comes at a time when it has become imperative to interrogate the present and future direction of cultural policy to see how it can engage with local, national and regional economies in order to attain sustainable development.
The major theme of the book will focus on exploring the interface between cultural policy, cultural planning and the creative industries. Proposals will be expected to address the following sub-themes:
(i) Cultural policy and the African Union’s Agenda 2063
(ii) Cultural policy and the creative economy
(iii) Why South Africa and Africa need a cultural policy
(iv) Dilemmas in cultural policy development
(v) Decolonisation of cultural policy in African contexts
(vi) Cultural policy and the creative industries
(vii) Cultural policy as a marketing strategy
(viii) Creative industries and sustainable development
(ix) Culture, planning and citizenship
(x) Cultural mapping and cultural planning
(i) Cultural diplomacy and/or International cultural policy
(ii) Local cultural policy and rural, town and city regeneration
(iii) Cultural planning and decolonisation
(iv) Cultural planning and sustainable development
(v) Cultural planning and its interpretation
Contributors are invited to submit proposals/abstracts based on the above-mentioned sub-themes. The proposals should not exceed 500 words in length and should be in MS Word format. The deadline for submission of proposals will be 15 February, 2024. Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged and letters of acceptance will be sent to the respective contributors by 30 April, 2024. Please note that each proposal should be accompanied by a brief biography of the contributor(s).
Abstracts should be submitted to: Brenda Nkhumise (NkhumiseMB@tut.ac.za) and Kennedy Chinyowa (ChinyowaKC@tut.ac.za)
Timelines for submission of proposals and chapters:
Call for proposals: 30 November 2024
Deadline for submission of proposals: 15 February 2024
Acceptance of proposals: 30 April 2024
Submission of draft chapters: 31 July 2024
Peer review process: July – October 2024
Expected date of publication: April 2024
Length of chapters: 5,000-8,000 words
Format of references: Harvard Referencing Style