Positionality of Female Visual Artists in the Ghana

Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie

doi:10.20336/rbs.1006

Authors

Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20336/rbs.1006

Keywords:

gender, positionality, female visual artists, creative industry, Africa

Abstract

Positionality is crucial in determining career participation, representation, and access, especially in the creative industry. However, the creative industry is wrought with inequality and discrimination, which is heightened by the industry’s informality and precariousness. This paper contributes to discussions on gender discrimination in the creative sector by highlighting the unique context of Ghana. It discusses the intersectional positionality (that marginalizes) of female visual artists amidst the booming visual art industry. Drawing on the three tenets of positionality by Kezar and Lester, this paper analyzes the influence of the intersection of gender underrepresentation with a geo-political stereotype and unfavourable socio-cultural expectations in positioning female visual artists at a disadvantage in the industry. The study comprises qualitative research with female visual artists in Ghana, showing that the minority representation of females cast shadows on their professional identity and recognition. This underrepresentation also enables unbalanced power relations favoring male artists in industry entry, practice, and career growth. Contextually, female visual artists face double subordinate positioning, as females and as non-Western artists based in the Global South, when collaborating with Western artists. This racial subordination is further heightened by artists’ struggles to find a balance between the demands of their careers and socio-cultural expectations associated with their gender.

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Author Biography

Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

PhD in Sociology, she is a research fellow at the Centre for Cultural and African Studies (CeCASt) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

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