There Are No Silos When We Are All Suffering: Interviews and Reflections on Ubuntu and the Arts in South Africa during COVID-19

Article Information

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2022) 8(1):71–88 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2022/8/2

There Are No Silos When We Are All Suffering: Interviews and Reflections on Ubuntu and the Arts in South Africa during COVID-19

Abstract

This article will draw upon some of the creative work being done in South Africa from March 2020 through December 2021, during the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide pandemic, by artists working across disciplines in education, community, health, and mental health. The authors had been located in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early 2020, when their stay was cut short by the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the worldwide border shutdowns that followed as they were recalled to the USA in March 2020. They have remained in communication and contact with their colleagues in South Africa, and this article is based upon these observations and interactions. This article will describe some of the initiatives and programs developed by artists in the country as well as by the faculty in the Drama for Life program at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Art Therapy program at the University of Johannesburg. These initiatives have been used toward survival and healing in this liminal space of the COVID-19 crises.

Keywords: COVID-19, arts, arts and health, arts and healing, Ubuntu, South Africa

摘要

本文将借鉴南非在2020年3月至2021年12月冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 全球性疫情期间所做的一些创造性工作。这些艺术家们在教育、社区、健康、心理健康等领域工作。作者们2020年初已位于南非约翰内斯堡,当时他们的逗留时间因 COVID-19 病毒的传播和随之而来的全球边境关闭而缩短, 他们于 2020 年 3 月被召回美国。他们一直与南非的同事保持沟通和联系, 而这篇文章正是基于这些观察和互动。本文将描述由该国艺术家以及金山大学的"生活戏剧"项目和约翰内斯堡大学美术治疗项目的教师们所发起的一些倡议和计划。身处COVID-19危机的临界空间, 这些倡议得以运用, 促进生存和疗愈。

关键词： COVID-19, 艺术, 艺术与健康, 艺术与疗愈, 乌班图精神 (Ubuntu), 南非