Neo-liberal Economic Policies and the Changing Face of Arts Performance in Uganda

In 1987, the World Bank and International Monetary fund in liaison with the government of Uganda introduced structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in Uganda, but these programs were not implemented until 1992. At this time, Uganda was just recovering from a 5-year guerrilla war that had ravaged the performance of the economy, disrupted social harmony, and shattered political stability.

SAPs included a package of economic adjustment policies broadly divided into stabilisation and fiscal policies, supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, respectively. These policies were closely linked, their implementation overlapped, and different components of the package had multiple impact (Makhoka, 2001). One of the major components of SAPs was the neo-liberal economic policy that saw privatization and de-nationalization of government ran parastatals.

Whereas economic liberalization was primarily meant to steer and catalyse growth of Uganda’s economy, its consequences extended to affect and impact socially and communally owned and ran cultural and non-cultural activities. In the realm of the arts, this change altered the packaging, performance, appreciation, and contexts of ethnic music and dance practices.

Before neo-liberal policies were adopted in Uganda, performance of music and dance was predominantly participatory and communal, with ownership firmly resting in the hands of collective communities - tribes, clans, villages, etc.  Music and dances were more of a social service than a commercial commodity. They were meant to facilitate social synchrony and stability, and entrench cultural consciousness. Cultural institutions and leaders were the custodians of these artistic practices and they presided over the preservation and promotion of the arts, and guarded the arts against possible abuse.

Adoption of SAPs by the Ugandan government created an economic environment that accelerated and precipitated commercialization of arts practices. Particularly, privatization led to emergency of the urban middle class, a condition that created high demand for entertainment services for leisure and hospitality. To feed this emerging demand, traditional dance troupes were formed. Over the years, these troupes have expropriated dance and music art forms from the countryside tribes and appropriated this artistic material and experiences to fit and quench the clientele demands in urban and semi-urban areas.  Performances have been presented for seminars, weddings, conferences, trade fairs, and other forms of social, commercial and political gatherings. This shift has had an impact on how these art forms are packaged in terms of costume, instrumental and vocal accompaniment, content, form and concepts.

Dancers of Ndere troupe performing before a seated audience at Ndere Center. Courtesy Photo

Additionally, whereas participatory communal performance still exists in some parts of the country, there is a major shift from participatory to presentational style of performance. Instead of communities creating and performing music and dance together, there is speedy artistic stratification, where individuals and groups of individuals have specialized in music and dance performance as an income-generating venture. This trend has created a producer-consumer divide, with the audience being consumers with performers as producers. This economic dynamic has given birth to specialties such as arts promoters, producers, marketers, distributors, copyright experts, critics, among others.

When money and economic survival took center stage, people slowly stopped dancing for the gods, deities, spirits, and kings. Folk dancing scenes changed from family courtyards, religious and sacred sites, cultural and social venues and open community spaces to theaters, conference halls, and other commercial platforms. It is very rare to find rural folk performing dances for the rain or fertility everyday. Looking for money to load air time on a phone is much more important than performing for the gods. You rather send your son to an urban areas to pursue a career as a dancer than letting his stay in the village to become a master dancer of the clan. Drum makers also developed some new ideas. In addition to the normal dance performance drums, drum makers started making different kinds drums for decoration.

The expansion of the arts industry as a commercial base coincided with liberalization of the media sector, both consequences of neo-economic liberalization, which has led to digitalization of arts practices. Currently, there are more than 10 television stations and 30 radio stations in Uganda. With the media acting as one of the sources of entertainment, performing artists have resorted to TV and radio to disseminate their art works. Music and dance forms have continued to migration from communities and now to digitalized media and social media.

It is likely that performing artists will continue to respond to the whims of the ever-changing economic dynamic in Uganda. The more these new artistic and creative trends get deeply entrenched in our society, the more folk dance and music forms will get disengaged from their original contexts, purpose, and essence of performance. 

What is changing traditional dance and music performance lies in our pockets and ATM machines. For as long as the pockets and ATM machines are still begging, the state of traditional music and dance will continue evolving. The only prayers should be that we do not lose it all. 

With all said and done, the status of the arts will never ever be the same again!

Alfdaniels Mabingo is a Fulbright Fellow teaching East African Dances at New York University

An abridged version of this article was published by Global Leaders United online magazine