UCT honors Rehane Abrahams for reimagining decolonization through performance arts
Original framing: “Rehane Abrahams reimagines decolonisation through performance” — bing news
Abrahams’ work is deeply spiritual, drawing on the African concept of Ubuntu and the performative as a space for healing and transformation. This aligns with global artistic movements that see creativity as a form of resistance and reclamation of self.
Rehane Abrahams’ recognition by UCT reflects a broader trend of integrating performance into academic decolonization discourse.
However, this integration must be rooted in ethical collaboration with indigenous and marginalized communities, who have long used performance as a tool for resistance and identity reclamation. By drawing on historical precedents from anti-colonial movements and cross-cultural practices, such as in the Philippines and Latin America, Abrahams’ work can be contextualized within a global framework of decolonial praxis. To move forward, institutions must shift from token recognition to systemic change, supporting grassroots movements and rethinking the epistemological foundations of education and art. This requires not only academic reform but also a reimagining of power structures that have historically excluded non-Western knowledge systems.