The Restricted Freedom of African Artists
There are reasons why most African artists nowadays, do not cover topics such as gay rights and politics. It is due to the fear of oppression. Topics that may be considered offensive or negative towards the country are completely out of bounds. Some have argued that despite the boost of technology and multi-party democracy of the 1990s there hasn’t been artistic freedom since then. The question is, how free are African Artist’s in film, literature and music to tell their own stories? Artistst’s in Africa are subject to tight censorship. A painting of President Jacob Zuma was recently banned and forced to be removed due to political pressure. Likewise in Uganda a play about gay rights was also banned. An ordinary African Artist has to undergo and face these kind of problems.
Patrik Sekyaya director of the Uganda film was born and raised in Uganda. When he first joined the movie industry during 1999 life was easy. He didn´t need a license to shoot a film and no one had to proofread his script in order to make sure it would be appropriate. Nowadays he has come to the realization that not all stories can be told. He often feels the need to think twice about his stories because of safety. Actors often deny roles in movies due to fear of oppression. Especially when they believe they are going against government rules and expectations. Patrik Sekyaya explained his apalling situation, as he said “ Here you don´t just wake up to say you are doing a film about the gay community, a film about the political situation, or a film that paints a bad picture of Uganda. One day I had to drop a story that was inspired by the practice of female genital mutilation amongst some communities in Uganda.” Everyone kept telling him the story was not safe. He eventually found himself forced to drop it. Patrik Sekyaya who loves his country despite all the negative aspects, would rather stay in his country and follow rules than face dangerous prejudice and have no option but to flee( which is what many artists have done in order to seek for freedom). Many artists stay simply due to the love they have for their country. Can art in Africa really advance in this manner?
Furthermore, Victor Viyouh a Cameroonian film maker gives us more reasons why artists in Africa are unable to develop. According to him film makers and other artists need a bigger budget for support. Societies are financially impoverished and art is usually undervalued in Africa. Governments usually have different priorities and businesses believe supporting the arts is worthless. The only way an artist can succeed is by getting people to make donations and by raising money. He recently argued “Another not-so-obvious deterrent to an artist's freedom is the requirement by some governments that artists submit scripts for approval before filming permits are granted.” It is not permitted to be critical of the government or country. Traditions, expectations and finance are the main barriers blocking these talented African artists.
African artists usually end up producing what the rest of the world expects from them. Africa is often seen as a continent full of poverty, war, corruption and political crime. It has been engraved in the human consciousness as well as the mind of the African visual artist. Sandile Mememela strongly believes that white authority and economic control makes it hard for African Artists to give a positive picture of the African experience. He recently argued “Some African artists may want to broaden the depiction of the African human experience. But they find that they are prescribed and limited by those who not only control the purse strings but the power to open up opportunities for them and thus determine the content of their work. Of course, due to their economic might, white Europeans and Americans control and manage the elite cultural industries and thus dictate what happens and what does not. In fact, what they demand and dictate is that the market wants a negative view of Africa.” In his point of view, it has limited Artistic freedom. Africa shouldn’t deny its defects, instead African artists should be able to reflect the multidimensional human experience within the continent and be a mirror that reflects positive and negative aspects.
Patrik Sekyaya director of the Uganda film was born and raised in Uganda. When he first joined the movie industry during 1999 life was easy. He didn´t need a license to shoot a film and no one had to proofread his script in order to make sure it would be appropriate. Nowadays he has come to the realization that not all stories can be told. He often feels the need to think twice about his stories because of safety. Actors often deny roles in movies due to fear of oppression. Especially when they believe they are going against government rules and expectations. Patrik Sekyaya explained his apalling situation, as he said “ Here you don´t just wake up to say you are doing a film about the gay community, a film about the political situation, or a film that paints a bad picture of Uganda. One day I had to drop a story that was inspired by the practice of female genital mutilation amongst some communities in Uganda.” Everyone kept telling him the story was not safe. He eventually found himself forced to drop it. Patrik Sekyaya who loves his country despite all the negative aspects, would rather stay in his country and follow rules than face dangerous prejudice and have no option but to flee( which is what many artists have done in order to seek for freedom). Many artists stay simply due to the love they have for their country. Can art in Africa really advance in this manner?
Furthermore, Victor Viyouh a Cameroonian film maker gives us more reasons why artists in Africa are unable to develop. According to him film makers and other artists need a bigger budget for support. Societies are financially impoverished and art is usually undervalued in Africa. Governments usually have different priorities and businesses believe supporting the arts is worthless. The only way an artist can succeed is by getting people to make donations and by raising money. He recently argued “Another not-so-obvious deterrent to an artist's freedom is the requirement by some governments that artists submit scripts for approval before filming permits are granted.” It is not permitted to be critical of the government or country. Traditions, expectations and finance are the main barriers blocking these talented African artists.
African artists usually end up producing what the rest of the world expects from them. Africa is often seen as a continent full of poverty, war, corruption and political crime. It has been engraved in the human consciousness as well as the mind of the African visual artist. Sandile Mememela strongly believes that white authority and economic control makes it hard for African Artists to give a positive picture of the African experience. He recently argued “Some African artists may want to broaden the depiction of the African human experience. But they find that they are prescribed and limited by those who not only control the purse strings but the power to open up opportunities for them and thus determine the content of their work. Of course, due to their economic might, white Europeans and Americans control and manage the elite cultural industries and thus dictate what happens and what does not. In fact, what they demand and dictate is that the market wants a negative view of Africa.” In his point of view, it has limited Artistic freedom. Africa shouldn’t deny its defects, instead African artists should be able to reflect the multidimensional human experience within the continent and be a mirror that reflects positive and negative aspects.