Creating a network on and off-line, in and out of Africa: African Women Playwright Network

• Published in: Research in drama education Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 508 - 521
• Main Authors: Hutchison, Yvette, Ranford, Steve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-10-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: African; African Culture; Artists; Authors; Business networking; Comparative Analysis; Computer Mediated Communication; digital; Drama; Dramatists; Females; Foreign Countries; Indigenous Knowledge; Networking; Networks; playwrights; Playwriting; Theater; Women; Africa
• ISSN: 1356-9783; 1470-112X
• DOI: 10.1080/13569783.2019.1646122

This article compares and analyses factors that impact when creating a network on both online and live networking platforms, designed as spaces for artistic and critical engagement both within Africa and beyond. As I draw on the African Womens' Playwright Network as my example, I consider how we can acknowledge the materiality of the processes and relationships involved in these kinds of networks, which as Stephansen argues, also involve the making of new publics. In this analysis I particularly reflect on the impact of using Linda Tuhiwai Smith's approach to decolonising indigenous research methodologies when creating a cross-cultural network.