Season 4: Episode 3 - Bernard Akoi-Jackson

Welcome to Season 4 of the ICA podcast, where we interview artists and curators who perform and curate live interdisciplinary works. 

Our third episode features an interview with artist Bernard Akoi-Jackson who speaks about his site-specific work, DESTINATIONS - With Anthem for The Union (…and where, from birth, would they have berthed, should a dearth of destinations have prevailed?).

During Ghana’s independence from Britain in 1957, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the newly formed nation-state, declared that his country’s independence would mean nothing if it was not intrinsically linked with the struggle of all possible states within Africa that were yet to embark on their quests for freedom from colonial oppressors. Indeed, the winds of change blew throughout the continent and liberation became rife. Several bodies since have sought to keep these hopes alive and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) has through many failures and challenges, morphed into the African Union (AU), also bedevilled with a variety of challenges. 

In the performance DESTINATIONS … the public was encouraged to ponder on some of these concerns, whilst they moved slowly through the city, observing remnants and ruins of some of the past dreams of our mothers and fathers, with the hope that our futures would not become as bleak as our present.

Navigating the nuances of this complex work in the podcast, Akoi-Jackson reflects on his theory of ‘disturbed methodologies’ - in one instance he created a whole new anthem with the help of the public, a wry critique of the African Union. This prolific and deeply engaging artist goes onto examine ritual, rites of passage and disruption through his method of performance.

Season 4 of the ICA Podcast comprises interviews conducted by Nkgopoleng Moloi and  produced by Atiyyah Khan.

This is an initiative created by the Institute for Creative Arts which is based at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Thank you for listening.