Creative economies

Ama Ofeibea Tetteh is the founder and lead consultant at Chapter54. With a background in Graphics & Communications, Research and Programme Management and academic qualifications from Central St. Martins, Goldsmiths College and SOAS, her career portfolio is driven by a passion to harness the Arts and Creative sector to create opportunities and contribute to new narratives about the Continent. Ama is a Creative in Residence at FLIA.

African creative economies are amongst the fastest-growing sectors on the continent, spanning film, fashion, music, design, visual arts and the digital platforms now carrying them to global audiences. They are also increasingly recognised as one of Africa's strongest soft power assets, shaping how the continent and its diaspora are seen and how they see themselves. The ecosystem is a dense web of practitioners, institutions, cities and informal networks whose work is often deeply entrenched in the wider sociopolitical life of the continent. The five titles below reflect just some of that breadth. Together they move across image-making, fashion, business models, artistic education and design, offering both the artistry and the thinking that are shaping a more confident, deeply-rooted African future.

Àsìkò: On the Future of Artistic and Curatorial Pedagogies in Africa by Bisi Silva

As Co-Director of Àsìkò Art School, I have found this publication to be both the blueprint for the programme's growth and essential reading for African artists, curators and art institutions. Born out of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, and founded by the late Bisi Silva in 2010, Àsìkò is an innovative programme designed to redress the outdated or altogether absent artistic and curatorial curricula within the continent's tertiary academic landscape. Edited by Stephanie Baptiste, the publication includes the work and insights of over 70 cultural producers from 15 African countries, including contributions from the likes of Dr Tamar Garb and Eddie Chambers. Its structure mirrors that of Àsìkò itself, interweaving documents specific to each edition with commissioned essays alongside interviews, artworks and reflections from participants and faculty. It also opens up pervasive enquiries that have circulated in African Art dialogues over the recent decades, whilst also laying a foundation for new debates on visual culture and cultural practices on the continent could be articulated, distributed and archived.

The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power by Amy Sall

Appealing to my own emphasis in lived experience and the archive as key parts of research, The African Gaze explores postcolonial and contemporary photography and cinema from Africa. The book offers a comprehensive introduction to African moving and still imagery, bringing together images, documents, interviews and contributions from writers, academics and curators. Amy Sall is a leading voice in African affairs, critical thought and aesthetics, and it is through that lens that she highlights the work of African image-makers past and present, and the depth of narrative that emerges when stories are captured through an African lens.

Creative Cash Flow: Mastering Money, Business and Growth in the African Creative Economy by Marie Lora-Mungai

The most recent purchase to make it off my wish list, Creative Cash Flow serves as both a reference and guide to sustainable business development across African creative sectors. Drawing together real case studies and sector data, it breaks down the wider landscape and the finance mechanisms that exist and can be leveraged. Author, strategic advisor and sector investor Marie Lora-Mungai helps bridge the dialogue gap and the differences in language that often sit between creative entrepreneurs and the institutions and mechanisms able to support them.

Africa Fashion: A Cultural Renaissance publish by the V&A

In my work mapping the continent's broader creative industries, fashion consistently surfaces as one of the most prominent sectors. It has consistently served as a mirror of society and identity, from materiality and texture through to colour and political statement. Through this perspective, this book explores the cultural renaissance that followed mass independence on the continent and traces how its many styles and expressions have grown into today's dynamic fashion sector. The book also sharpens the debate around language and labelling, showing that while strong historical and sociocultural ties bind the continent's designers, there is no singular African aesthetic. Instead, expert voices from design, making and cultural history present a scene that is contemporary, innovative and layered, and grounded in long histories and practices.

African Design Futures: Decolonising Minds, Education, Spaces and Practices by Yaw Ofosu-Asare

My next read. This book centres on the reimagination of design education in Africa, asking what a decolonised and contextually rooted creative future might look like across various diverse creative disciplines. By focusing on a pedagogy curated from Africa, it sets out to offer insights into alternative models in which social and environmental sustainability, cultural preservation and community empowerment are integral rather than an afterthought. Beyond the individual learner, I am curious to imagine what that transformation might look like at a communal and regional level, while remaining alert to how the act of systemising cultural practices can itself alter the value and standing afforded to local knowledge and ways of working.