The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP) recently hosted a dialogue which examined timelines and histories of art education, centred around its current Another Roadmap Africa Cluster (ARAC) exhibition.

Another Roadmap Africa Cluster is an exhibition by a group of African scholars and practitioners of artistic and cultural education who have been collaborating since 2015 to pursue a joint programme of research into arts educational practices in their respective localities. Operating in both formal and informal contexts across the African continent, their research is critically informed and grounded in historical analysis, particularly with respect to Africa’s colonial heritage.

The Collective Dialogue on the ARAC exhibition was facilitated by Professor David Andrew and Puleng Plessie, Javett-UP's Curator of Education Mediation. The dialogue examined the unchronological timelines and histories of art education, which are elements present in ARAC’s Javett-UP exhibition.

By engaging with the work, visitors are empowered to contemplate critical questions, says Puleng Plessie, Javett-UP's Curator of Education Mediation.

ARAC is a cluster of Another Roadmap School, which is a self-organised network of practitioners and researchers of artistic and cultural education based in over 24 cities on four continents worldwide. ARAC’s working groups are based in African cities and are currently active in Kampala, Nyanza, Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, Maseru, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Cairo. The cluster’s aim is to build a shared knowledge base and a structure of mutual learning that will benefit African practitioners and contribute to advances in thinking and practice worldwide.

“The ARAC exhibition within the Javett-UP programme is an engaging platform that showcases the Schoolbook Project, offering a profound insight into ARAC’s contributions and the knowledge it has generated since its inception in 2015,” Plessie said. “Through its three Schoolbooks, the exhibition dissects pressing questions, methodologies, and indigenous terminology, fostering a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives within the artistic and educational realms. Visitors gain access to ideas and insights that have emerged from ARAC's dedicated work. By engaging with the work, visitors are empowered to contemplate critical questions, adopt innovative methodologies, and broaden their cultural horizons through the exploration of indigenous African terminology.”

The exhibition sparked the interest of a diverse range of guests including artists, educators, researchers, students, and enthusiasts of art and education.

“The ARAC exhibition embodies the power of shared knowledge and cultivates meaningful dialogues,” Plessie said. “Through the Schoolbook Project, we aim to make accessible the work that ARAC has done and the knowledge that ARAC has produced since 2015. The exhibition, like the pedagogical [educational] practices, becomes fluid and changes over time to allow for the different voices to engage in a meaningful way.”

The exhibition will run at the Javett-UP Art Centre until 14 March 2024.