Un/making difference through performance and mediation in contemporary Africa

This paper offers a decolonial reading of Filega, an annual grassroots street performance organized by Ethiopian dance artist Melaku Belay in the context of an Orthodox Christian religious festival Timket. Our contextualized reading illuminates Ethiopian artists’ capacity to create beauty, joy and community; they do so by disrupting the dichotomies between discipline and freedom, the sacred and the profane. Filega’s decolonial significance also lies in its potential to transform public spaces and collective memories in service of community. In constructing this paper, we seek to decolonize our writing practice by unsettling the theory/practice dichotomy, and by experimenting with modes of co-authorship. Along with Filega participants and witnesses, we search for decolonized understandings of self, community, and discipline.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Un/making difference through performance and mediation in contemporary Africa

Cited by 2 publications

References 21 publications

Animating Performances: Prayers and African Popular Pleasures

Animating Performances: Prayers and African Popular Pleasures

<em>Filega</em>/In Search: Embodying Community in Ethiopia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About