Navigating Spaces in Africa’s Creative Quarters — A journey from Jamestown to Sophiatown
These two African Townships, James and Sophia (nice gender balance), have one thing in common — they both celebrate heritage and/ or culture (broadly defined) very much different from the now uninhabited city of “Ephesus” in present day Turkey. Why Ephesus? It’s biblical, it’s historical, and I have been there to see it for myself.
Jamestown
Now back to Africa, Jamestown (Accra, Ghana), is equally historical. I got wind of the town on my January 2020 trip to the country. Regrettably, however, I missed the opportunity to fit in a trip there into my schedule. Be that as it may, Jamestown, in my view, is much uncelebrated despite its proximity to the capital city of Accra.
As one 2017 UK Guardian article rightly surmises the spirit, “Accra’s Jamestown is electric — it’s like Hackney Wick on steroids…” Although the lighthouse (see image below) wasn’t quite captured in that article, descriptors such as “electric” and “Hackney Wick on steroids” come pretty close.
Accra’s contemporary culture scene is powerful at the moment, whether it be music, fashion or art — [from the] Ano gallery in Osu [to the] Chale Wote Street art festival [the electricity is live]
According to Come See Ghana, the three main infrastructures built by the British include — the James Fort, the Jamestown Lighthouse and the Wesleyan Missionary Society. These three and many other works in Jamestown strengthen and boosted the trading activities of the British and the people.
Sophiatown
Now to the sister town further down south, Sophiatown, just outside the city of Johannesburg, South Africa is captured in another article that explored “sites of investigation for intergenerational relations approaches for applied drama practitioners in post-apartheid South Africa.” That article provides another angle/ perspective on the creativity/ creative energy oozing out of Africa — from West to South Africa. In this latter case, unlike Jamestown, Sophiatown renowned for Jazz.
“Hip hop and Sophiatown jazz cultures as sites representative of the older and younger generations of South Africa […] It seeks to advocate for the use of applied drama and theatre principles such as ‘dialogic education’ as well as other methodologies to appeal to different groups of people in accordance with what it relevant and meaningful for them.”
So there you have it, James and Sophia — Brother and Sister, Male and Female — have shone some light on the spaces for creativity — or the creative industries to flourish. They need to be celebrated as “Townships” that electrify as much as energise society.
