Interfacing Contemporary Art and Art Education inSub‐SaharanAfrica

Abstract

Sub‐Saharan Africa is rife with visual arts, which have been practiced in the area since time immemorial. The movement of colonial settlers into the region resulted in an interface between traditional African art and the settlers' conceptions and practices of art. Similarly, contemporary art in sub‐Saharan Africa is significantly acculturated. This chapter explores the evolution of African art and art education in sub‐Saharan Africa. It examines how art education institutions transformed in the face of the emergent missionary education. It further explores attempts at the integration of contemporary art and art education in sub‐Saharan Africa in the context of cultural contact. A challenge in attempting this exploration is that the unhistoricized contemporary art is ever evolving, meaning that it has not been put into the historical domain. This chapter proffers integration strategies that include making students co‐selectors of curricular content and the implementation of a spiral and concentric approach to curricular innovation.