“The Dam Wall Broke”: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Method Analysis of Writing on the First Decade of Democracy in the South African Art World

Abstract

ABSTRACT The end of each decade of democracy has seen periods of reflection in the South African visual art world through numerous initiatives, especially exhibitions and book publications. In 2024, after 30 years of democracy, the field is poised for another such moment of introspection. This article considers the first decade of democracy from the perspective of writing in the art world. Through a Constructivist Grounded Theory Method extant text analysis, a reading is conducted across various prominent South African art publications reflecting on the first decade, and these texts are coded to discern the major categories, or themes, that emerge through them, thereby distilling the period’s main features and concerns for influential writers and thinkers in the field at the time as themes. These include, (1) emerging onto the international art scene after the boycott, (2) navigating international demands and local challenges, (3) government failures, (4) presuming equality under democracy and globalism, (5) race and the persistence of white dominance, (6) challenging Western- and Eurocentricism, (7) questioning visual arts education, (8) lacking engagement with art, (9) questions around moving on from resistance art, (10) negotiating and representing identity, and (11) the rise and critique of the gallery system. Not only are the major concerns and their textures succinctly revealed through the rigorous Grounded Theory Method coding process, but their crystallisation also deepens our understanding of how the art world has interacted with the periods of democracy, and which particular sets of preoccupations have informed its discourses.