On the 31/01/2020 Kerstin Hacker organised on behalf of the Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University a Symposium under the theme Telling our tales through ambiguous photography: Decolonizing the visual library of the African continent.
We received funding in January 2021, after a delay due to Covid-19, from Anglia Ruskin University through the Under Graduate Research Assistant Scheme to edit and publish the recordings from the day.
Please see the links to the individual speakers below or click on the playlist link to see all videos from the day.
Contributors:
NataliaGonzalez Acosta (Mexico)
The day brought to light the complex and ambiguous nature of photography in relation to the African continent. The conversations identified a number of key themes that could be the potential of future conversations.
1) Decolonisation is an activity, which requires the stakeholders to recognise that the conversations are complex and need to actively confront existing norms and assumptions. This will create learning experiences when we start to unpick historical contexts of photographs and archives and their current location in the knowledge system.
2) We recognised within the conversations the need for an African contextualisation of historic archives and current photographic practices in Africa, by African photographers and of African narratives.
3) Dialogue and collaboration can develop meaningful exchanges, especially if they acknowledge and embrace the diversity of gazes.
4) The challenge of censorship in African photography, from state, society and self is causing restrictions in the development of critical conversations on photographic representation.
The symposium showcased practitioners, practice researchers and theorists who are working towards renewed and diverse visual understandings of the continent. The speakers highlighted the importance of collective making and collaboration with partners from the north and south. We are inviting comments to this blogpost to further develop our conversation.
Note:
The videos were edited by Eleni Spathi, who is a second year BA (Hons) Photography student and is this Kerstin Hacker's Undergraduate Research Assistant for 20/21.
