Approcreations – the creative leeway and artistic identity of a non-native instrumentalist within the riptides of cultural appropriation disputes

The Approcreations doctoral research explores the limits of musical creativity and the construction of a non-native artist’s identity on traditionally perceived instruments in the crossfire of cultural appropriation discourse. The West African diatonic balafon and the kora harp serve as tools of research while the artist herself becomes the auto-ethnographic focal point as a representative of a dominant culture behind the traditional instruments. In the publication series, artistic expression progresses from conventional to experimental opening a doorway to a debate on the interface between inspiration and appropriation in music and other performing arts. The aims are to outline acceptable uses of cultural influences in this era from both the artist’s and the public’s perspective, to shine a spotlight on our often latent preconceptions in a situation where the ethnicities of an artist and art medium do not meet, and to promote culturally aware art-making without shackling artistic freedom by excessive over-cautiousness.

Keywords: affordance, african tradition, artistic research, artistic identity, balafon, cultural appropriation, mande

Maarika Autio is a doctoral student in the Arts Study Programme at the MuTri Doctoral School.