An experienced artist, qualitative researcher, theatre manager, applied theatre practitioner, youth program developer and educator at the post-secondary level with a decade of experience in over fifteen countries across four continents. I am a detail-oriented, creative problem solver, a skilled facilitator, mentor and curriculum/program developer for groups across ages. My overall professional goal is to work in collaboration with youth and communities to counteract structural inequities and their manifestations through projects and programs grounded in social, cultural, environmental and economic justice. I am also: a Research Associate, Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Address: Department of Theatre, University of Victoria, BC
Ethical questioning is a framework for considering the ethical implications and practices in rese... more Ethical questioning is a framework for considering the ethical implications and practices in research and is used as a tool for thinking about the connections between art and health. It enables researchers and practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional dimensions in the field of art and health. In this paper, we propose that ethical questioning, grounded in the principles of ethics of care, can foster a more reflexive and holistic approach to understanding the concept of well-being. We also propose that adopting ethical questioning as a methodology, which requires intentional self-reflection and recognition of positionality, can expose and challenge conventional knowledge hierarchies, resulting in more ethical research outcomes and relationships between researchers and participants. Ultimately, our hypothesis proposes that ethical questioning holds the potential to offer an actionable practice that demonstrates ethics of care.
In this editorial we pick up again the theme of ‘connection’. Over the last year, the disconnecti... more In this editorial we pick up again the theme of ‘connection’. Over the last year, the disconnections from our creative communities provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic have loomed large on our horizon: how do we set about reconnecting? Articles presented in this volume examine these disconnections and explore the ways artists, designers, curators, photographers, gamers, dancers and others draw upon expanded approaches to creativity, initiating imaginative and resourceful ways to reconnect with their audiences and communities.
Perhaps the global pandemic (COVID-19) and the death of George Floyd have brought an immense, dra... more Perhaps the global pandemic (COVID-19) and the death of George Floyd have brought an immense, drastic, and unprecedented turn in human history. Many disciplines are now being intentional about asking critical and ethical questions around race, identity, social justice representation, and systemic change. The same is true for theatre and performance. While events in 2020 stretched and burdened racialized bodies, they also provided opportunities for many racialized bodies to be recognized perhaps because of their knowledge, experiences, identities, and the power and privileges they hold or do not hold. As an African in the Canadian theatre sector and scholarship, I acted in different capacities to address systemic injustice in Canada’s theatre scene during the pandemic. For instance, I co-facilitated some sessions with colleagues from Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPoC) community for the purpose of creating space for dialogue on issues of concern to this community. In this...
Performing Ethos: International Journal of Ethics in Theatre & Performance, 2018
Ethics is a set of moral principles that seeks to guide researchers from harming those they resea... more Ethics is a set of moral principles that seeks to guide researchers from harming those they research. These moral principles aim to protect humanity, establish and sustain a progressive value system that respects and promotes human dignity. Although how ethical consideration is envisioned can be universal, how it is enacted and performed can be relative. It is based on certain contingences that are culturally specific and peculiar. In this article, I argue that irrespective of the universality of some ethical considerations, relational interaction becomes a guiding principle that makes how ethical protocols are achieved relative. Relational interaction emphasizes the other over oneself; hence, it is not transactional. It has at its core quality interaction because it does not maximize self-interest to the detriment of the other. Thus, as varied as these ethical issues are, I argue that what stands at the heart of any appropriate ethical protocol is qualitative humanistic interaction established on values of human dignity, respect, quality welfare, empathy and justice. The idea of relational interaction fosters collaboration, understanding, communication and relationship. These universal ethical protocols are advanced in specific ways as cultures interact and people interpret value systems. I investigate how ethical nuances were explored through performances in internally displaced people camps in Nigeria. An ethical protocol is another performance that positions artists to be responsible and be held responsible for moral practices. I conclude that relational interaction poses a dialogic, responsible, accountable and construction of self in relations to alterity and cultural ethos.
Participation is central to and essentialized in theatre and interactive arts. While scholars hav... more Participation is central to and essentialized in theatre and interactive arts. While scholars have articulated the importance of participation in arts, participation has also been considered a foundational principle in development discourse, and it is largely external. Beyond the notion of participation as an external force, which I term a verb-oriented notion of participation, is the noun-oriented notion of participation, which is innate and organically induced from within an individual and a group or community (collective). In this article, I discuss a dual notion of participation and a relational interaction between these notions, which can lead to a holistic insight on participation. Using a case study that deals with managing conflict and bullying in a secondary drama classroom, an applied theatre project among refugees in Australia, I explore how this holistic insight into participation can influence how participation is framed and conceptualized in any applied theatre project. I argue that participation has been framed using a one-sided, a verb-oriented approach and I propose a holistic notion of participation as a tool to rethink, reposition, reconceptualize and re-evaluate participation in applied theatre practice.
Ethical questioning is a framework for considering the ethical implications and practices in rese... more Ethical questioning is a framework for considering the ethical implications and practices in research and is used as a tool for thinking about the connections between art and health. It enables researchers and practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional dimensions in the field of art and health. In this paper, we propose that ethical questioning, grounded in the principles of ethics of care, can foster a more reflexive and holistic approach to understanding the concept of well-being. We also propose that adopting ethical questioning as a methodology, which requires intentional self-reflection and recognition of positionality, can expose and challenge conventional knowledge hierarchies, resulting in more ethical research outcomes and relationships between researchers and participants. Ultimately, our hypothesis proposes that ethical questioning holds the potential to offer an actionable practice that demonstrates ethics of care.
In this editorial we pick up again the theme of ‘connection’. Over the last year, the disconnecti... more In this editorial we pick up again the theme of ‘connection’. Over the last year, the disconnections from our creative communities provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic have loomed large on our horizon: how do we set about reconnecting? Articles presented in this volume examine these disconnections and explore the ways artists, designers, curators, photographers, gamers, dancers and others draw upon expanded approaches to creativity, initiating imaginative and resourceful ways to reconnect with their audiences and communities.
Perhaps the global pandemic (COVID-19) and the death of George Floyd have brought an immense, dra... more Perhaps the global pandemic (COVID-19) and the death of George Floyd have brought an immense, drastic, and unprecedented turn in human history. Many disciplines are now being intentional about asking critical and ethical questions around race, identity, social justice representation, and systemic change. The same is true for theatre and performance. While events in 2020 stretched and burdened racialized bodies, they also provided opportunities for many racialized bodies to be recognized perhaps because of their knowledge, experiences, identities, and the power and privileges they hold or do not hold. As an African in the Canadian theatre sector and scholarship, I acted in different capacities to address systemic injustice in Canada’s theatre scene during the pandemic. For instance, I co-facilitated some sessions with colleagues from Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPoC) community for the purpose of creating space for dialogue on issues of concern to this community. In this...
Performing Ethos: International Journal of Ethics in Theatre & Performance, 2018
Ethics is a set of moral principles that seeks to guide researchers from harming those they resea... more Ethics is a set of moral principles that seeks to guide researchers from harming those they research. These moral principles aim to protect humanity, establish and sustain a progressive value system that respects and promotes human dignity. Although how ethical consideration is envisioned can be universal, how it is enacted and performed can be relative. It is based on certain contingences that are culturally specific and peculiar. In this article, I argue that irrespective of the universality of some ethical considerations, relational interaction becomes a guiding principle that makes how ethical protocols are achieved relative. Relational interaction emphasizes the other over oneself; hence, it is not transactional. It has at its core quality interaction because it does not maximize self-interest to the detriment of the other. Thus, as varied as these ethical issues are, I argue that what stands at the heart of any appropriate ethical protocol is qualitative humanistic interaction established on values of human dignity, respect, quality welfare, empathy and justice. The idea of relational interaction fosters collaboration, understanding, communication and relationship. These universal ethical protocols are advanced in specific ways as cultures interact and people interpret value systems. I investigate how ethical nuances were explored through performances in internally displaced people camps in Nigeria. An ethical protocol is another performance that positions artists to be responsible and be held responsible for moral practices. I conclude that relational interaction poses a dialogic, responsible, accountable and construction of self in relations to alterity and cultural ethos.
Participation is central to and essentialized in theatre and interactive arts. While scholars hav... more Participation is central to and essentialized in theatre and interactive arts. While scholars have articulated the importance of participation in arts, participation has also been considered a foundational principle in development discourse, and it is largely external. Beyond the notion of participation as an external force, which I term a verb-oriented notion of participation, is the noun-oriented notion of participation, which is innate and organically induced from within an individual and a group or community (collective). In this article, I discuss a dual notion of participation and a relational interaction between these notions, which can lead to a holistic insight on participation. Using a case study that deals with managing conflict and bullying in a secondary drama classroom, an applied theatre project among refugees in Australia, I explore how this holistic insight into participation can influence how participation is framed and conceptualized in any applied theatre project. I argue that participation has been framed using a one-sided, a verb-oriented approach and I propose a holistic notion of participation as a tool to rethink, reposition, reconceptualize and re-evaluate participation in applied theatre practice.
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Papers by Taiwo Afolabi