Whose crisis? COVID-19 explored through arts and cultural practices of African communities

Perry, M. , Armstrong, D. M., Chinkonda, B. E., Kagolobya, R., Lekoko, R. N. and Ajibade, G. O. (2021) Whose crisis? COVID-19 explored through arts and cultural practices of African communities. Journal of Open Humanties Data, 7, 29. (doi: 10.5334/johd.52)

Abstract

The “Whose Crisis?” project is in response to a continually evolving global health pandemic, COVID-19. In this context, the dominant discourses have been generated in the Global North, overwhelmingly by a minority of wealthy and powerful authors, reflecting narrowly on a crisis that, while impacting the whole world, is experienced in vastly different ways. This article frames and contextualises data from this project through an introduction to the background, contexts, and methods of a project designed to reflect the lived experiences of, perspectives on, and responses to COVID-19 in vulnerable communities across sub-Saharan Africa. The project has been carried out by a large team of collaborators who prioritise the lived experiences, customs, and needs of the communities engaged through a culturally responsive and arts-based research approach. The article points to the methodological implications of arts-based research to explore plural perspectives in participatory ways, and the socio-political possibilities of amplifying the voices of under-represented and under-served communities in Africa, in terms of global health in a pandemic context.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research has been funded by the AHRC UKRI; Grant number: AHRC AH/V007947/1; Grant title: Whose Crisis? The Global COVID-19 Crisis from the Perspective of Communities in Africa.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Perry, Professor Mia
• Authors: Perry, M., Armstrong, D. M., Chinkonda, B. E., Kagolobya, R., Lekoko, R. N., and Ajibade, G. O.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Journal of Open Humanties Data
• Publisher: Ubiquity Press
• ISSN: 2059-481X
• ISSN (Online): 2059-481X
• Published Online: 30 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2021
• First Published: First published in Journal of Open Humanties Data 7:29
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
311680		Whose crisis?: The global COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of communities in Africa	Mia Perry	Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)	AH/V007947/1	ED - Education