African Cultural Entrepreneurs in the UK
Introduction
Chapter overview
The thesis sets out to explore the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the UK. The study aims to contribute to debates on cultural entrepreneurship by examining the lived experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in a Western social and cultural context. This thesis employs a multi-theoretical approach to elucidate a wide range of themes emanating from the data analysis. This research is situated on the intersection of cultural and entrepreneurship theory. It broadly draws from entrepreneurship and ethnic entrepreneurship theories and makes a direct contribution to discussions on cultural entrepreneurship. The central question of this thesis asks: what are the lived experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham? What are the particular experiences of being an African and first-generation cultural worker? I further explore the question: how is the cultural practice of first-generation Africans situated in the urban cultural context? This introductory chapter comprise five sections, namely: background; statement of the problem; contributions and significance of research study; research constraints and thesis overview.
Background
The reports and the images of Europe bound African migrants in the perilous Mediterranean seas have raised the profile of immigration debates mainly around the subject of cultural inclusion across Europe. This backdrop engenders discussions on modern 'societing' in the UK and in Western cities. Britain is becoming more diverse and characterised by a 'multi-colour' composition with a significant cultural, social, ethnic and religious variety (Benedictus, 2005). Across Europe, this socio-cultural diversity is demonstrated by estimates that reveal 9.9% of EU's population comprises people born elsewhere and two-thirds these come from outside Europe (Eurostat, 2016: 1). Apart from the statistics, this diversity is evidenced by the emergence of new landscapes across Europe's major cities, which act as the territorial containers in which the majority of recent migrants now live (Raco, 2016). Considering that a city often used as a testing ground for research and new urban policy strategies around living with difference (Phillimore 2013), the implication for European multicultural cities is cultural diversity and new arrangements of community life, which have raised issues of multiculturalism, inclusion, integration and cultural provision. The city of Birmingham has responded to its diversity by adopting a strategy of accommodation, which was demonstrated in 2015 by pledging to be a City of Sanctuary and a welcoming place of safety for all, proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution (Birmingham City Council, 2019). Most of Europe's major cities have turned to the promise of the cultural and creative industries as a response to the challenges of growing diversity. For instance, Oakley (2006) notes that the United Kingdom has linked the culture and creative industries with its diversity programs with the hope that the sector will provide employment to marginalised groups, to address the challenge of social diversity through access to work and of cultural inclusion and exclusion (Oakley, 2006). Accordingly, there has been increasing attention to the significance attached to the culture and creative industries for the economic development of cities and the emancipatory benefits to an individual. What is particularly appealing to policymakers is the promise that the culture and creative industries will address the old labour inequalities and open opportunities of employment for many regardless of race, class and sex (Florida, 2002). The belief in the merits of the sector have informed policy narratives which portray the culture and creative industries as open and meritocratic (Grodach, O'Connor and Gibson, 2017). While in the past culture was regarded as a merit good, now city planners see it as a resource for city development and development strategy itself (Ashworth and Kavaratzis, 2014). Many Western cities have imbibed the cultural-led urban development zeitgeist through the cultural quarter concept (Porter and Barber, 2007). Increasingly, studies have questioned the celebration of the egalitarian merits of the culture and creative industries by associating the sector with inequalities and precariousness. While the proponents of cultural work have highlighted the benefits of autonomy and creative fulfilment (Smith 1998; Howkins 2001; Florida 2002; DCMS 2001; Hartley 2005; Deuze, 2007) the pessimistic outlooks have outlined the intemperate working environments (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011), measures of self-exploitation (McRobbie, 2011), discrimination based on gender (Gill, 2002) and the forced entrepreneurship-related aspects (Oakley, 2014). Thy study has corresponded to the capturing of actual experiences of entrepreneurship through culture through the empirical studies based information requisitions (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011; Banks, 2006). By the study theme, the research has contributed to the discourses involving the cultural work based disciplines through the utilization of acquired experiences as a prism of perspectives and the first generation of the African Cultural entrepreneurs has been utilized to gain such experience from.Thus far, the studies of cultural work are dominated by the perspectives of indigene Europeans and multi-generational minority groups in the cities of the West. However, to this end, there are no studies that have considered the nature of culture and creative work through the experience of recently settled communities such as first-generation African immigrants. The previous census of 2011 had outlined that personnel of colored African origin has been gaining increasing significance and prominence in the UK. The national census report of 2011(Ons.gov.uk, 2012) the population of colored Africans has increased double folds from that of 0.8% during 2001 to that of 1.7% (from 484,783 to 989,628). According to Eurostat (2018), immigrants from non-European countries accounted for 82 % of all who acquired citizenship of an EU Member State in 2017 and these were predominantly of African origin. The growing prominence of African settlement in the UK has seen the development of the African cultural industries. Among the many instances of African culture and creative industries in the UK is the Nollywood film industry, which has been able to record a continuous progression in the numbers of produced movies as per the quality and generation of revenues could be concerned (UK Nollywood Actors Guild, 2019). The growing prominence of African cultural industries in the UK is on its own a call for more scholarly attention to its nature and logic.
Statement of the problem
This thesis addresses the dominance of Western perspectives in cultural entrepreneurship studies literature. Alacovska and Gill (2019) contend that creative labour studies are virtually focused on the creative hubs from the Euro-American urban perspectives. Thus, the creative working personnel which they could comprehend are generally white in color, urban in nature, middle class and primarily are male. The arguments of Alacovska and Gill have suggested the necessity of questioning such notions regarding creative innovation which have been so far accepted universally as truths although such notions have been derived from the research processes which have been oriented towards the exclusive study of these supposed creative hubs from the Euro-American perspectives (Alacovska and Gill, 2019). Apart from these, the majority of the research studies on cultural entrepreneurship have retained their focus exclusively on the native population and more established ethnic groups, while neglecting recently settled communities. An observation of Birmingham's African community indicates significant cultural activities within the community. However, due to the recency of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, most of the practice remains under the radar. The cultural entrepreneurship of Africans in the UK has not been subjected to systematic research and remains unexplored. Most studies on the minority cultural practice have assumed a quantitative approach by concentrating on the levels of research engagement and have not involved qualitative exploration of the various experiences as well as the cultural customs of the individuals. In spite of the merit involving the quantitative research of participation levels by such individuals, the applied methods are mostly limited in terms of encapsulating the rich experiences of the participants concerning the discourse under consideration. The cultural entrepreneurship, in accordance with the entire perspective of African entrepreneurship within the UK, is primarily a tenuous undertaking. In spite of the expanding knowledge structure of the holistic perspective involving the ethnic entrepreneurship within the UK, entrepreneurship undertaken by the Africans have not been studied in depth. The dearth of studies in this perspective has persisted despite the fact that African entrepreneurs have superseded the Caribbean ones in number. So far, the performed studies regarding ethnic entrepreneurship within the UK (Ram and Jones, 2008; Lam, Harris and Yang, 2019; Smallbone et al., 2005) have primarily focused on the broadened categories of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities. The studies performed have not been able to complete the gap in understanding of the specificities regarding the African cultural entrepreneurship effects. Nwankwo (2005) has outlined that the dearth of previously performed research focus regarding generic entrepreneurship of Afro-Caribbean personnel has culminated in the generalization of Black ethnic entrepreneurship as a singular and definite group. The application of vague identifiers such as the Afro-Caribbean entrepreneurship, African-Caribbean entrepreneurship, and Black entrepreneurship has consistently complicated and subsumed the entrepreneurship which has emerged from the African Black ethnic groups (Ojo, 2013). The paucity of appreciation of the uniqueness of the distinction of such entrepreneurial contexts that have been related to the minority groups has been further demonstrated through such indistinct designations.
Personal motivation and background
Part of the motivation behind this study is personal experience and reflections as a first-generation creative practitioner. I immigrated to the UK at the turn of the millennium. In the intervening period, I developed a multi-disciplinary cultural practice, which includes new media, journalism, photography and gospel music. I have released an album and had an experience with theatre production and directing. A significant part of my professional development was through higher education in the areas of media and communication. As a graduate and practitioner and creative professional my interactions with fellow minority creative professionals have prompted critical reflections on personal experience of working in the culture and creative industries.
Contributions and significance research study
A distinctive feature of the study is its interdisciplinarity approach and a web of conversations within a wide range of categories of theory. The thesis straddles the boundaries of cultural studies and entrepreneurship studies. I engage the discussions in the general study of entrepreneurship, while contributing to the discussions in the area of ethnic entrepreneurship. Although the study is primarily centred in the area of cultural entrepreneurship, the ethnic identity of the study population requires illumination from the debates in ethnic entrepreneurship to develop understanding about a specific entrepreneurial practice whose provenance is non-Western. The different experiences are explored through a variety of theoretical lenses which include spatial politics, Bourdieu’s theory of capitals, hopeful labour, liminality and double consciousness. The significance and application of this study are both broad and narrow. The narrow focus is the context of the UK through the case of Birmingham. However, the findings of the study could apply in most European cities as the same questions could be asked about the experience of newly arrived cultural workers in a different context. The work provides qualitative knowledge of the experiences of the African cultural workers in the UK, which concurrently extends the knowledge of the qualitative experiences of minorities in the culture and creative industries, which so far has concentrated on the levels of participation e.g. Warwick Report (2015). The understanding of the experiences of first-generation Africans has potential significance for matters of integration into host communities in European policy. Correspondingly, the study contributes new knowledge of the spatial patterns of first-generation Africans, mainly how their cultural expression is hosted in the cultural infrastructure of the host cities and how it is evaluated in the processes of value assessment. The understanding of the spatial experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs has implications for how new categories of cultural expression and practice are accommodated in Europe's urban cultural spaces. The study contributes to the existing debates on the nature of culture and creative work (Gill and Pratt, 2008; Oakley's 2013; Forket, 2016 and Naudin, 2018). In these debates, I add the dimension of the constituency of recently settled immigrant group. The appreciation of the unique experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is achieved by contrasting and comparing with the knowledge of the nature of the native cultural entrepreneurship. The study adds to the existing debates on cultural labour by highlighting added dimensions of precariousness in the experience of new immigrant cultural entrepreneurs. I develop an understanding of a cultural practice that is deficient of host country capitals resources and the knowledge of the agentic capacity for navigating and mitigating the challenges. The study instigates a departure from the broad BAME category towards a more particularised treatment of African cultural entrepreneurship. The understanding of African cultural entrepreneurship adds to the knowledge of the entrepreneurial actions of minority communities in European locales. This research could inform the actions of government policymakers whose remit may include immigrants and cultural inclusion. A significant contribution is the understanding of the church as a significant space for the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans. The study explores the cultural economy of the church and the nature of its work and labour relations. The religiosity of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs raises important insights about how religious belief and tenets influence entrepreneurial intent. The transnational dimension of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs affords understanding about the double-consciousness because of being variously located. The experiences of the being simultaneously attached to at least two cultural contexts raise insights about the transition experience to a new cultural context. The notion of liminality is employed to illustrate a major contribution of the study, which is the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs of perpetual abeyance between existences. I contribute knowledge about the identarian schemes that arise from the complex experience of being variously located. The study uncovers the importance of a continentally rooted identity to African cultural entrepreneurship and how this is maintained through various performances.
Research constraints
The study deploys a collective approach to the research population. Although the intention was to depart from the monolithic treatment of African population in the UK, the same charge can be levelled against this study. This general approach overlooks the details of various cultural contexts in the African continent. However, the study is still significant for signalling a departure from the broad identifiers for Britain's ethnic minorities. The final considerations are the limitations that pertain to the methodology and positionality of the researcher. Typically, the size of the sample in qualitative research often raises issues of generalisability. While some aspects of the research could apply to other contexts beyond the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the data collection strategies and preferences may reduce the possibility of generalising this research to other contexts of Africans settlement. The qualitative nature of the data analysis and the researcher's shared experience with the participants can result in bias, which raises the importance of reflexivity and acknowledgement of the researcher as an instrument of data collection in qualitative studies.
Thesis overview
The thesis is constituted through eight different chapters. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review which is further subdivided into 3 parts. The first part has been the literature survey involving the cultural and creative industries and the cultural work-related aspects. To extend the credibility and authenticity of this academic endeavor, the exploration of the African creative and cultural industries has been undertaken alsong with the context of origin for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The second part entails a survey of the debates on the umbrella notion entrepreneurship and the subfields of ethnic entrepreneurship and culminating with a broader appreciation of the debates in cultural entrepreneurship. The third part considers scholarship on the significance of race and ethnicity in cultural production for the understanding of how these shape the lived experiences of new immigrant cultural entrepreneurs. The review exercise reveals the dominance of the Western perspectives on entrepreneurship and significant dearth in the studies of the cultural entrepreneurship of new immigrant communities. Chapter 3 has introduced the research methodology and design to outline the conceptual framework of the study. The rationale involving the Qualitative method of data collection and analysis would be discussed in the chapter as well and these discussions would involve semi-structured interviews through which the data would be collected which is augmented by participant observation and the urban walkabout. The chapter discusses the researcher's insider/outsider status and corresponding reflexivity on the potential influences and biases and the appropriate mitigation. I explain the practical steps and considerations for managing and analysing the data. The chapter will conclude by detailing the ethical considerations and approval for this research. An important consideration is the marginality of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, hence the neeed for a methodological approach that affords the voice and sensitivity to their cultural idiosyncrasies. The balance of the thesis is comprised of findings chapters. The presentation of findings took a thematic approach. Rather than have a chapter of specific findings then a chapter of discussion, the individual chapters combine the analysis, findings and discussion. The findings raise a wide gamut of themes, which are bound by a through-line of the experience of interstitial location and liminal existence in lived experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. First, is the chapter 4 entitled as 'Birmingham as a place and space for African cultural entrepreneurship'. This chapter functions as an establishing shot of the geographic context of the entrepreneurial experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The aim of this chapter is to situate the cultural expression of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in policy and geographical context of Birmingham. The focus on Birmingham is premised on the appreciation of the interactions, specificities and policies at local levels, and how their implication impacts its diverse residents. I explore the significance of Birmingham as a space and place for African cultural expression. The chapter is critical for characterising the African culture as interstitially situated which is a theme that is coupled with the aspect of liminality, which is pervasive throughout the study. Chapter 5 is concerned with the experience of being a first-generation immigrant cultural entrepreneur. The objective of the chapter is to gain a profound understanding of the distinctive experiences associated with 'firstness' and recency of settlement in a foreign cultural milieu. The chapter considers how the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs experience the process of resuming practice in a new cultural context. Pierre Bourdieu's theory of capitals is deployed for discussing the resources at their disposal, which are critical for effective practice in the native networks. The accounts of new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs reveal invaluable insights into the experiences of embarking on a cultural enterprise as a first-generation immigrant. The chapter discusses the impotence of their human capital in the context of dense native networks. The findings are another instalment of rejoinders to the narratives of the openness of the culture and creative industries. Chapter six is an in-depth exploration of the multiple dimensions of the centrality of the religion to African cultural entrepreneurship. The central argument here is that the theocentricity of African cultural workers is a significant distinguishing aspect for them from postmodern Western cultural entrepreneurship. The chapter explores the significance of the church for hosting the cultural practices of first-generation Africans and the tenets that influence the entrepreneurial ideologies regarding motivation and risk. The chapter contributes to procedures of debates on the spiritual dimension of cultural value in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, which is often neglected by the fixation economic value. The discussions the religiosity is complemented the exploration of an aspect of transnationality in Chapter 7. The chapter is entitled "One foot here one foot in African" to portray the transnational dimension of the experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The transition from the African context to that of the cultural and creative sectors relating to the Western milieu is the focal point of this chapter. I explore the transition experience is a progression from one cultural logic to another. A broader discussion on the liminality aspect as a result of being held at a limbo between stations has been concentrated upon as well. The chapter explores how the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs experience a perpetual tension of being simultaneously tethered to several cultural contexts and how the competing allegiances complicate and shape their sense of identity. Chapter 7 is followed by the thesis conclusion, which provides a summary of the findings. The chapter articulates the significance, implications and the major contribution to knowledge and reflects on limitations of this study and culminates with the suggestion for alternative lines of investigation.
Summary
The chapter has outlined the background and rationale for the study. It has also provided the significance and original contribution to knowledge, which have also involved the qualitative experiences of new immigrant cultural entrepreneurs. It also outlined the sequence of the chapters in the thesis. The outline of chapters mainly comprises the literature review, methodology and four findings chapters. The following chapter will be the literature view which is composed of three parts.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Preamble
A literature review is essential to perform an appraisal of the salient issues of current knowledge and to assess existent theoretical and methodological contributions to a specific research area. The goal of the review is to explore definitions and debates in the area of cultural entrepreneurship and its allied subtopics. The review road map begins with a discussion of debates on the subject of culture and creative industries in the UK. This will be complemented by an exploration of the scholarship on the culture and creative industries in Africa. The review process will proceed by examining the general entrepreneurship field and the key theories and models in the domain of ethnic entrepreneurship. At the centre of the review process is the notion of cultural entrepreneurship whose understanding will help to shape and clarify the contextual agenda for the rest of the study. The latter part of the literature review will focus on issues of race in cultural production.
Part One: Cultural and creative industries
Introduction
The previous two decades have outlined the formulation of a highlighted profile of the creative and cultural industries related policies and these have formed the backdrop on which the experiences of the first generation of entrepreneurs of African origin have been evaluated. The challenges which prevail in the global economy have been responsible to reinforce the necessity of alternative measures of production within the UK and Europe. Thus, the necessity of the development of new approaches regarding economic growth has been formulated as well. Such economic growth has not been established based on financial speculations. Instead, the emphasis has been on the adaptation to the climate changes, on the utilization of the IT applications in the most judicious manner, utilization of new applications from the nanotechnologies and biotechnologies and finally, implementation of institutional changes at the macro and micro levels(Neweconomics.org, 2017). The creative and cultural industries, apart from the responsibility of hosting the present research study undertakings, also effectively engage in the procedures of the first production and then in the distribution of the cultural texts. Thus, these have the potential to impart specific influences on the perceptual conceptions about the global scheme of operations (Hesmondhalgh, 2012). Specific understanding of the formulation processes of the texts could be gained through the cultural industries related studies and this approach could as well impart the understanding regarding the role of primacy accorded to such texts in the contemporary social structures (ibid). The ideological and symbolic charging of the outputs of the creative and cultural industries could be derived from the fundamental distinction which these industries have from those of the other industries. Thus particular social and political inquests are generated by such industries in opposition to the other conventional industries (UNESCO, 2013). The experiences related to the minority labor forces become imperative to be studied by the resultant appreciation of the significance of the ideologies associated with such cultural and creative industries. The assessment of the definitions of cultural industries would be performed along with the discussions of the semantic contextuality and fluidity of the same in the subsequent literature review section. This would involve a deliberate analysis of the various conceptions related to the ideas of the creative industries as a holistic policy initiative undertaken by the New Labour Government (Neweconomics.org, 2017).
Defining cultural industries and related terms
The exercise of defining the culture and creative industries presents a challenge of contextuality and interchangeability its terminology in different instances of scholarship and policy. The research will narrow the range of definitions to the European and UK context as the conception of "creative industries" varies widely according to geopolitical context and corresponding histories (Banks and O'Connor 2009, 366). Although the present work is essentially situated within the UK context, the African background of the focus study group has the potential to trigger further conceptual complexities as it will be discussed in the later sections. Most commentators cite 1997 when New Labour came into power and when the DCMS was established as the seminal moment when 'creativity' began to feature in policy and later in academic discourse (Moore, 2014). Through the passage of the years, the discussions undertaken within this specific sector have been reflective of the new terms which have been generated so far and these involve "cultural and communication industries", "the creative business sector", "media industries", "content industries", "knowledge economies", "experience economy", "art-centric business" and"copyright industries"(Moore, 2014). Kong (2014) has observed that within the previous two decades, the discourses of the creative industries have prevailed upon the policy-based and academic specifics and the outcome has replaced the previously observed references involving the cultural industries. Despite these, the terms such as “creative industries” and “cultural industries” could be often interchangeably utilized in various policy-based literatures which could reinforce the existing inconsistency of such terminologies and the associated confusion as well (Galloway and Dunlop, 2007). The subsequent review has been utilized to employ a bifurcated approach through treating the terminologies such as “creativity” and “culture” on an individual basis and to particularly reassociate the same with the existing industrial notions. Hesmondhalgh (2007) has defined the cultural industries as the particular institutions which could be most significantly involved in the development of the underlying meanings. In this context, the cultural aspects have contributed to the generation of the debates which have been accorded greater significance based on the fact that such terms have particular nebulous nature. Throsby (2001) has outlined that the fundamentals related to the original implications of culture demonstrated activities that have further contributed to the artistic and intellectual developments related to any person. The concept had developed through the discourse of the time and the application of it had been undertaken to demonstrate the features including customs, social or demographic expressions as well as systems (Galloway and Dunlop, 2007). However, generation and communication of meaningfulness are essential concerning undertaking specific discussions about people (ibid).To this effect, O’Connor has defined the cultural industries as activities that are associated with symbolic goods the primary economic significance of which could be obtained from the cultural value (O'Connor 1999, p. 5). According to Hesmondhalgh (2007), the debate does occur over the measure to which culture could be specified as a direct distinction of different cultural industries. Hesmondhalgh (2007) has suggested that it could be argued that all of the industries could be related to culture. Furthermore, he has also identified the possibility of the emergence of misdirection regarding differentiating the cultural industries from those of the other industries under the influence of the application of an extensively broader view. In this context, considerable discussion has been generated by the conflation of creative disciplines. Creativity concept had been emphasized upon by the UK Labour Government as it outlined the creative industries as to have their origins in the formulation through the exploitation and generation of intellectual acumen (DCMS, 2001:5). Hartley (2005) has defined creativity in the manner of the development of new ideas to identify the criteria, 4 in number, of such ideation. These are the necessities of creativity to be original, personal, useful and meaningful. However, these properties could become extensively problematic regarding the encountering of potential complications concerning the application in a certain creative workforce based operational contexts. As an instance, the personal element could become incongruous in terms of collaboration-based work processes within various creative and cultural industries. Hartley (2005) had outlined these two fundamentals regarding the creative industries to be affected by incompatibility. He has noted that creativity is suggestive of the preclusion of the entire organization on the industrial scale and the industries are indicative of the preclusion of majority of creative capabilities of the involved personnel from the process of consideration. Hartley (2005, p.106) has summed it up as creativity has got nothing to do with industries since it is considered to be a part of the human identity. The conception of this sector could be analyzed through the implications on it which could be further studied through the brief appraisal of the definitions directly associated with creative and cultural industries. The definitional complexities in the study of cultural and creative industries have significance for scholarship and policy. O’Connor (2010) has determined that such ambiguities associated with the classifications and definitional prospects have particular implications involving the mapping of the distribution and size-related dimensions of the sector through a statistical manner and this has been of conspicuous significance for the various groups of lobbyists and policy formulators as they are always in the requirement to demonstrate the economic significance of these and this outlines the worth of these in terms of becoming eligible to receive government intervention and assistance. Involving the instance of problematic infusion of the software elements in the definition of DCMS, it was necessary to be positioned within the sector as the future industry-based perspective (O'Connor, 2007). The statistical structural framework which is perpetually based on the outdated foundation of agro-industrial services substructures consistently contributes to the emergence of intrinsic difficulties in the identification of new professions and businesses and such complications have been frequently related to intrinsically. The process of distinguishing the sector and articulation of policy management required the application of both the numbers based approach as well as the utilization of actual conceptual work. The UK and European definition and classifications of cultural and creative industries are the potential theoretical spot of bother for the present study. Considering the non-European background of the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, I envisage interesting definitional incompatibilities and potential issues pertaining to what is included and excluded as a cultural activity. The significance of these definitional schemes is their hegemonic potency in delineating different cultural activities according to the standards, aesthetics and taste of dominant groups.
The evolution of the term ‘cultural and creative industries’
The 'industry' element of the notion of culture and creative industries stems from the ancient history of commodity production (O'Connor, 2010). Whereas the conflation of culture and industry is associated with Theodor Adorno, who in 1947 collaborated with Max Horkheimer their piece 'The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception' (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1979). Although the coining of the term' culture industry' was a critique against the mass production of culture commodities, the term was later adopted as an identifier of the cultural sector. According to Kong (2014), Adorno criticised the culture industry for producing standardised cultural commodities to be commercially exploited by the elite. They identified film, music and magazines as some of the perpetrators of this standardisation, where culture impressed the same stamp on everything (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1979). Their main accusation was that culture industry lowers standards of appeal and sacrifice talent, individuality and creativity in the bid to appease public regulation and funders (Witkins, 2003). However, O'Connor (2010) notes that Adorno should not be equated with the conservative cultural opponents of 'mass society', instead, his criticism was aimed at the glittering novelty of popular culture, and 'high art' means of suppresses reflection and thought. Adorno also criticised the culture industry's treatment and transformation of the modern worker into an industrial machine (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1979). Notwithstanding the influence of Adorno and Horkheimer's criticism, they have also generated countercriticism. Hesmondhalgh (2007) contends that the negative conceptions harbored by Adorno and Horkheimer involving the culture industry did emanate from the human activity based artistic associations to which they had been privy to. Such an observation has been indicative of the attempt to reflect the conditions of life for the existing society to aspire towards the formulation of a utopian measure of living. Furthermore, the world has undergone a considerable transformation from the counterculture based sentiments of the 1960s and 1970s which had shaped the opinions of Adorno and Horkheimer. Despite the early criticism, the culture industry started to gain recognition upon the realisation that it is also made up of not-for-profit and governmental organisations whose preoccupation was the production of social meaning (O'Connor, 2010). Thusly, from the 1960s onwards, culture industry was viewed less pessimistically. Notably, the perceived benefits are from technological and financial resources which capitalism is associated with (Hesmondhalgh, 2013, p.25). The mass production of culture was viewed as opportunity for democratisation of consumption and production (ibid). Hesmondhalgh also states that the culture industry discourse found its way into policy parlance in the form of the plural – cultural industries (Mommaas 2009, 51; O'Connor 2011, 38). He has also outlined that the interconnectivity and complications of multifarious cultural production sectors have been acknowledged through the plurality form to determine the uniqueness of each of the particular fields. The policy-based transformations involving shifts from the cultural to creative industries were responsible for the impetus of similar transformation from cultural industries to cultural industries (Kong, 2014). The UK government during 1997 had coined the term creative industries to classify the primary policy sector of it and to replace the previously utilized concept of cultural industries even though Australians had laid their claim to the term of creative industries (Howkins, 2002) The cultural industries and creative industries are often perfunctorily passed as one concept and used interchangeably. However, there are a number of identifiers which suggest that creative industries as a clear policy and ideological break from the antecedent. According to Galloway & Dunlop (2007), the creative zeitgeist led to the jettisoning of the elitist and exclusive 'culture' in favour of 'creativity' which is viewed as inclusive and democratic. The distinction of the creative industries is the association with technology. Cunningham (2001) has argued that the previously accepted concepts of cultural industries have been superseded by the development of the latest technologies such as extensive digitization and the Internet. He has also added that whereas the cultural industries considered as a classic had emerged from the technological progression undertaken during the early phases of the 20th Century, the creative industries had emerged through the technological changes which had occurred during the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. The argument has centered on the observation that the new measures of creative technological applications have ensured that the public has been liberated from their dependence on the outdated cultural industries such as the mass entertainment production processes undertaken by large corporate groups involving real-time based public consumption of the artistic creations (p. 25). Cunningham has outlined that the application of technology has been undertaken by small yet creative businesses in a measure that has been threatening the established models of businesses involving the large and dominant commercial organizations. This notion has been subscribed to by Uricchio as well (Cunningham 2001, p. 25; Uricchio 2004, p. 86–87). The creative industries era ushered a raft of key policy developments, which began with the inclusion of new categories of such as entertainment and leisure business not considered in the under the cultural industries dispensation (Kong, 2014). The developments were underlined by pragmatic political rearrangements such as the change from Department of National Heritage to Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (O'Connor, 2010).
The statuses of cultural policies and associated industries have been renewed by this from a particular point of view. The events such as providing new names to these as creative industries and formulation of the 'Creative Industries Task Force' involved several significant players in the industries such as films, fashion, music and gaming disciplines who became participants to the euphoric enthusiasm as well as the political hubris which surrounded the concepts of Cool Britania and this was integral to the new labor government as well (O'Connor, 2010). Also, the new terminology- creative industries – was a pragmatic move to enable the passing of key spending plans past the Treasury, which other would be difficult with "culture" and its association with non-economic arts (Cunningham, 2002; Redhead, 2004; Hesmondhalgh and Pratt, 2005; Selwood, 2006). O'Connor (2010) observes that the turn to creative industries was partly inspired by ideas of technological 'information' and 'knowledge' economy. The creative dispensation came with the intention to exploit intellectual property (IP) as revealed in DCMS (1998:3) the definition related to the creative industries has outlined that creative industries have their origin in skills, innovation, talent, and creativity on the individual basis and these industries have also demonstrated their capacity to create employment and wealth through generating and then exploiting intellectual property effectively. Thus, creative industries have been earmarked for imperatives of commercial and economic nature. Some scholars have steered clear from the notion of creative industries because of its ideological baggage and agenda, e.g. gentrification (O'Connor and Gu, 2012). The recent policy era saw the increased instrumental deployment of creative industries, among many other schemes – in the urban regeneration agenda. Gray (2007) states that, the instrumentalisation was part of a new political approach where the governments focused on the role of cultural and artistic resources as contributors to economic growth. These included other public initiatives such as remedying of social exclusion and community empowerment. Some have raised an issue about the indefiniteness of the term by arguing that all industries are creative. However, for the present study, the pursuit of definitional and conceptual finality has limited purchase to the study of what is, after all a non-Western oriented practice. The study has adopted an inclusive approach through inculcating the terminologies associated with creative and cultural industries, even though the meaning of this term consequently varies extensively on a contextual basis. This has been the outcome of consistent variations in the evolutionary process of the meanings of these terms such as related to the classification of fashion shows, video games, and carnivals in the models of creative and cultural industries (UNESCO, 2013). This juncture is crucial to highlight the various other debates such concepts as to be reflective of the Western thought processes. The primary and fundamental argument regarding such a study has been that the existent knowledge concerning the creative and cultural industries have been mostly formulated on an insular basis as these neglected the contemporary events related to patterns of migration. This lacuna would be addressed through considerations regarding the scholarships which have been formed on African creative and cultural industries associated topics in the subsequent discussions.
The culture and creative industries in Africa
Several authors have lamented the absence of African voices in the area culture and creative studies, which makes the review of African culture and creative industries a challenging exercise. The paucity of African perspectives is partly attributed to the preponderance of occident scholarship, which is marked by the exclusion of knowledge of industries beyond the 'Global North' (De Beukelaer, 2016). The same omission is observed in some seminal literal works which ostentatiously claim to focus on the 'global creative industries' (Flew, 2013; Hesmondhalgh and Saha, 2013). In contrast to the studies of Western culture and creative studies, it is not possible to conduct an in-depth appraisal of the literature on African cultural and creative industries because studies are extremely rare (UNESCO, 2013). The lack of data is complicated by the extensive heterogeneity perspectives and cultural practices across the continent. The heterogeneity is also attributable to the diversity of country-specific definitions and a vast cover range of cultural phenomena (UNESCO, 2013). Hence, it is not possible to render a full-fledged assessment of the present state of knowledge. Instead, this section offers an overview of key trends across the continent. However, it could also be a possibility that the confusion has been about the activities which constitute the African creative economy. Hence, the necessity remains that African cultural practices have to be accepted on meritorious grounds outside the existing nomenclatures (De Beukelaer, 2015). The fuzz in the conception of culture and creative industries is further complicated by the lack of systematicity in the study of the sector in the African context. The scholarships of African cultural and creative industries are not well-coordinated culture and not yet established as a subject. The lack of sustained scholarship is further impacted by the resistance to Western terminologies. According to De Beukelaer (2015), the African cultural practitioners are reluctant to fully embrace the established terms and a general lack of adherence to the idea that, creative industries could be identified with the production, dissemination and consumption procedures. Mostly, the notion of 'cultural industries' is resisted on the basis that the continental sector not yet fully organised and does not conform to established models (De Beukelaer, 2015). The resistance to Western terminology is not surprising to the present study, as the discontent with the dominant perspectives is a cardinal idea in this study. The awareness of the discontentment contributes to the prominent argument of this study for an inclusive culture and creative scholarship beyond the confines of Western knowledge. I argue that Western concepts of cultural and creative industries are not universally applicable and advocate contextual sensitivity, particularly when approaching the African context with its vastness and variations in the cultural context. Pratt alludes to the rampant uncritical implementation of terminology and policies in international advocacy with insufficient consideration of cultural context (Pratt 2009). However, it is essential to acknowledge that some of the continuities exist between cultural contexts. The acknowledgement of the vastness and diversity of cultural expressions across the African continent is essential for appreciating the complexity of achieving a collective commentary on its culture and creative economy. The understanding of different vernaculars across the continent has significance about what is considered as cultural and not. For example, considerable cultural activity in Africa is located in the church, marriage ceremonies and funerals. Kovács (2008) notes that the notion of creative industries by African institutions incorporates most of the fields and definitions used elsewhere, although they tend to include various format of expressions which have considerable significance involving the African cultural diversification, verbal traditions, performance-based arts, indigenous wisdom based particularities and the associated potentials of the tourism industry.Kovács has further highlighted that the creative industries related roles have been accorded with specific emphasis in the process of preservation and promotion of African identity as well as authenticity for the purpose of development of the entire continent. The subsequent sections will review works for an in-depth conception of African cultural economy. The conception of the African culture and creative industries is founded on the general description of CCIs in the 'developing' countries. The scholarship on the African culture and creative industries is paradoxically predicated on two opposite views. Firstly, the acknowledgement that cultural and creative activity thrive abundantly in 'developing' countries (Throsby 2010,191). Second, that the existing practice is merely 'embryonic' or 'emerging' and best characterised as craft than industry (d'Almeida and Alleman 2010, 7). According to De Beukelaer (2016), Africa's contribution to the world's cultural and creative economy remains minuscule. However, African Business (2014) reports that the region is home to immense talent, although it lacks the capacity to exploit its creative talent and in order to benefit from its vast cultural fortunes. The same report states that Africa's portion of the global creative economy is a mere 1% and North African countries and South Africa as the main contributors. However, the stats represent a partial story as scholars have cited the pervasive informal nature of the cultural activities across the continent (Mbaye and Dinardi, 2018; Jedlowski, 2012; Lobato, 2010). According to Lobato (2010), informality defines the culture and creative industries in most developing countries, partly due to week regulation and lack of government subsidy. A plethora of studies explored the informality of African can culture and creative industries by citing the case of the Nigerian Nollywood film industry (Haynes, 2007; Jedlowski, 2012; Miller, 2016). The Nollywood has attracted the attention of scholarship for its decentralised distribution model and is now generating considerable revenues in spite of its mostly low budget productions. According to Lobato (2010), Nollywood succeeded in producing content that is relatable to African audiences and emerged as a powerful industry despite the absence of copyright regimes. However, most of the scholarships in the study of African cultural and creative industries fall under the themes of development and intellectual property.
Culture and creative economy as a development strategy
The development of the African creative and cultural industries has witnessed some of the most vociferous debates and these have mostly pertained to the holistic development prospects of the creative industries. Both the culture and creativity are perspectives that have the potential to enable certain disciplines since these are most human-centric development approaches (Flew, 2014). This approach has consistently emphasized on the particularity of the opportunities available to the developing countries to consider cultural policies as much greater than proper support for the performing arts and creative industries as well as for the cultural heritage protection and preservation purposes (ibid). According to Flew (2014), the potential for the creation of employment, positive social contribution, self-reliance as opposed to dependency on a large measure of capital infusion and the ability to draw from the stocks of intangible cultural capitals related to values and identities of people have formulated the bedrock of appeal of the creative and cultural industries. Apart from these, the swift decline in the production and distribution costs associated with the global expansion of digital media networks related technologies have consistently further enhanced the possibilities through enhancement of the accessibility of new market horizons involving various practices and products related to culture(Kulesz, 2016). This particular instrumentalization of culture has been in continuum for a prolonged historic duration within Africa. In this context, Van Graan (2011) has suggested that acknowledgment of the cultural dimensions regarding development on the international as well as in the African scenario has been performed for at least 40 years. Culture used to be considered as a political instrument during the colonial periods and this had fostered the utilitarian view regarding culture which had been utilized to combat colonialism and the European Cultural hegemonistic perpetuation over the societies of Africa (Kovacs, 2009). During this era of pre-independence movements, the African intellectuals and artists, liberation movement activists and political groups had utilized culture as a method of progression of Pan Africanism (Diouf, 2002). The African context is not unique in terms of the harboring of the views related to the utilization of the potential of culture and creative industries as catalysts for economic progression and development. In the instances of Europe, the driving force of this debate has been necessary to preserve such allocations which could result in the realization of economic, social and innovation-related saturation within the cultural sector (Gray, 2007). According to De Beukelaer (2015) has stated that cultural policies formulated by the cultural ministries increasingly concentrate the focus on the realization of the economic potential ingrained within the cultural sector. This could be identified to have a similar connotation in terms of the acquired evolutionary path throughout Europe since the ministries of culture have focussed incessantly on the financial prospects which could be realized and the commercial value which could be utilized pertaining to culture so that a case for proper budgetary allocation could be justified(ibid). Pieterse (2010) has also noted that the conventionally accepted distinction in between the developing and developed societies has been relegated to progressive irrelevance with the decline of welfare economies as this has brought it incremental polarisation in between the countries on the basis of constricting public services and knowledge of development has gained increasing significance in this respect. However, it is surprising that this developmental value has been attached to that of the African culture as the prejudices and misconceptions regarding Africa and African culture have been persistently accepted for a prolonged period. The developmental potential of African culture has been only recently acknowledged. Njoh (2016) has noted that in the late 1950s and early 1960s, developmental economists did consider the traditional practices and customs of Africa as well as various other non-Western social disciplines to be impediments for the realization of modern aspirations of development. Sorenson (2003) has been one of the most significant proponents of the ambiguity related perception concerning tradition since he has posited that the often acknowledged underdevelopment of the traditional societies has been spawned due to the dearth of powerful catalysts of economic development such as morals, ethical working concepts, capacity for entrepreneurial innovation, capitalistic profit-based market mechanisms, propensities of risk-taking and organizational proficiency management capabilities. Such thinking is certainly is not prominent in scholarship and international policy, yet its remnants linger in the form of hierarchies of cultural values and taste. Sorenson's view of customs and traditions as an obstacle to development constitutes the many misconceptions out of hegemony of Western knowledge, which prevents the appreciation of other social-cultural orders outside the Western purview. One of these orders relates to the African approach to intellectual property.
Intellectual property and piracy debates
The debates about the intricacies of African approaches to copyright and piracy rights are a demonstration of the distinction of African cultural practice to Western knowledge models of intellectual property. De Beukelaer, (2017 or6) has observed that the reflection of the dearth of proper scholarly attention to the research of African intellectual property has occurred in the definite incidences of piracy through debates and literature reviews. Despite such complications, the knowledge about the African intellectual property has been slowly improving with the greater measure of literature reviews emerging on the same subject (Larkin, 2008; Lobato, 2010). As direct instances, Eckstein and Schwarz (2014) have argued that the cultures associated with the Western modernity are inextricably associated with that of piracy and the local histories of such associations have spawned the emergence of the specific notions of capitalism based business operations, property and individualhood which have further contributed to the global practices related to the formulation of copyright regimes (Eckstein and Schwarz, 2014a: 7). The idea of entanglement is a helpful critique for developing a more nuanced view of different models of intellectual property and piracy. De Beukelaer (2017) has questioned the dichotomous approach of upholding copyright as a universal 'good', and piracy as always 'bad' which regards its eradication as a good. Some scholars are beginning to question the Western doxa of intellectual property and piracy. Lobato, (2010: 246) work has been seminal in arguing that the role of personnel in the process of piracy is equally significant to be comprehended along with the aspect of technology. Lobato has specified that the success of Nigerian film industry, the Nollywood, has demonstrated that stringent application of copyright-related regulations could not be considered to be the preconditions on which cultural industries could be developed and made successful (2010: 246). However, the point is not to valorise piracy, but to argue against a simplistic conception as bad practice. This is further supported by the latest disruptions in the distribution of digital content which necessitates new approaches to accommodate the new platforms and patterns of consumption. For Sundaram (2014: 59), formulation of an enforced distinction between the illegality and legality which could divide pirates from other personnel could never be considered to be an effective solution to resolve such a conundrum since this could render all of the efforts to seriously understand and engage with the incidence of piracy completely ineffective. Such is the intricacy of African intellectual property whose understanding is contingent on the appreciation of the system of knowledge proprietary on the continent, which encompasses folklore, traditional knowledge and immaterial heritage (Torsen and Anderson, 2010). In Africa as in most traditional societies, the public domain is associated with the indigenous knowledge possession field and this denotes that anyone could utilize such information and the intellectual property is collectively owned by any community (Wipo.int, 2020). This specific logic also outlines the African perception of piracy to be equable to grass root level entrepreneurship within the structure of the informal economy (De Beukelaer, 2017). The preceding review of the notion of culture and creative industries is germane to this study for an enhanced conception as the host sector of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans. The thesis has considered studies of the European and African contexts of culture and creative industries. The literature on African the culture and creative is mainly occupied by the discussions on culture for development and intellectual property. The overall appreciation is the differences in both logics, especially the conception views of knowledge proprietary. The extant scholarship has not considered the experience of transitioning between the two logics, which is important because of the increased migration flows out of Africa. The review of literature on the subject of the cultural and creative industries is incomplete without the consideration of the policy context. Among the vast themes of cultural policy, I particularly consider the aspects that relate to the conditions of the cultural and creative labourforce and the promise of openness for subaltern groups such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs.
Cultural policy in the UK and the egalitarian promise
In this section I conduct a brief review of literature on the development of cultural policy in the UK and the debates surrounding its egalitarian promise. The evaluation of the rhetoric in the governmental cultural policies has the potential to extend the understanding of the political milieu in which new immigrant cultural workers operate. The study of cultural policy remains salient opportunity for asking what lies behind such policies (Hesmondhalgh and Pratt, 2006). Vestheim (2012) states that, it is important to note that the rhetorical statements in cultural policy represent intentions. He goes on to suggest that there may be a gap between intentions and practical results. However, of particular interest to the present study is how the merits of work in the culture and creative industries are presented in policy. I juxtapose the rhetoric in the culture and creative policy with a growing body critique against the conditions of labour in the sector. I specifically consider the scrutiny of the egalitarian promise. First, there is a brief overview of the evolution of the cultural policy in the UK.
The evolution of cultural policy in the UK
The initial social schemes had been formulated to support the financially backward areas during the state-directed inner city-related policies of the 1960s in the embryonic forms which constituted the backgrounds of the cultural policies formulated by the UK (Warren and Jones, 2017). According to Gray, (2000), post-WW2 witnessed the development of a combination of regulations, promotion, protection, and funding to comprise the cultural policies which could be recognized today.The first Minister for Arts of the UK, Jennie Lee, had produced the 1965 White Paper known as the A Policy for the Arts, The First Steps which had been one of the most significant junctures in the cultural policy development history of UK. The white paper had outlined the intention of the Labour Government to broaden the access of to culture for the majority of the populace and this formulated, partially the Democratisation of Culture and this approach was the dominant one in terms of the cultural policies of the UK till the early 1980s (Vestheim, 1994 and Hollis, 1997).Such developments within the UK found proper resonance within the cultural policies of other European countries as well and such effects brought forth the greater democratization of such policies facilitating inclusion as well as an expansion of access involving the projects which had been intended to universalize the appeal and availability of art to the common populace (see McGuigan 2004, pp. 38–39). The problems regarding valuation and funding have persisted since the years immediately following the completion of the WW2 till this date. The most intransigent dispute in this context has been the contentions regarding whether culture could be utilized to obtain financial and social objectives and the role of public finances in this context. The most critical moment of significance in the history of the cultural policies within the UK had been the victory of the New Labour Government during 1997. This era had coincided with the inculcation of the Creative Industries by this new government (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2015). The cultural policies instituted by the New Labour Government have been of specific interest for two particular reasons and these have been the concentration of renewed emphasis on the arts and culture discipline by the New Labour in terms of political self-representation through determined policy parameters, which, were greater in influence than those of the other modern European Governments and, the reconfiguration of the cultural policy based conventional understanding which was performed through concentration of greater stress on the commercial value of creative industries. Such efforts did not jeopardize the subsidies meant for the arts policies in any manner (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2015).The initial social schemes had been formulated to support the financially backward areas during the state-directed inner city-related policies of the 1960s in the embryonic forms which constituted the backgrounds of the cultural policies formulated by the UK (Warren and Jones, 2017). According to Gray (2000), post-WW2 witnessed the development of a combination of regulations, promotion, protection, and funding to comprise the cultural policies which could be recognized today.The first Minister for Arts of the UK, Jennie Lee, had produced the 1965 White Paper known as the A Policy for the Arts, The First Steps which had been one of the most significant junctures in the cultural policy development history of UK. The white paper had outlined the intention of the Labour Government to broaden the access of to culture for the majority of the populace and this formulated, partially the Democratisation of Culture and this approach was the dominant one in terms of the cultural policies of the UK till the early 1980s (Vestheim, 1994 and Hollis, 1997).Such developments within the UK found proper resonance within the cultural policies of other European countries as well and such effects brought forth the greater democratization of such policies facilitating inclusion as well as the expansion of access involving the projects which had been intended to universalize the appeal and availability of art to the common populace (see McGuigan 2004, pp. 38–39). The problems regarding valuation and funding have persisted since the years immediately following the completion of the WW2 till this date. The most intransigent dispute in this context has been the contentions regarding whether culture could be utilized to obtain financial and social objectives and the role of public finances in this context. The most critical moment of significance in the history of the cultural policies within the UK had been the victory of the New Labour Government during 1997. This era had coincided with the inculcation of the Creative Industries by this new government (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2015). The cultural policies instituted by the New Labour Government have been of specific interest for two particular reasons and these have been the concentration of renewed emphasis on the arts and culture discipline by the New Labour in terms of political self-representation through determined policy parameters, which, were greater in influence than those of the other modern European Governments and, the reconfiguration of the cultural policy based conventional understanding which was performed through concentration of greater stress on the commercial value of creative industries. Such efforts did not jeopardize the subsidies meant for the arts policies in any manner (Hesmondhalgh et al., 2015) (ibid). In the years following the Labour watershed movement, different governments and thinktanks have touted the merits of work in the culture and creative industries, particularly its alleged openness to people from all walks of life. The claims have attracted equal scholarly attention to the conditions of labour in the culture and creative workforce. I proceed by considering how some of the UK’s seminal cultural and creative policies considered the conditions of the labourforce in same sector.
Cultural policy and labour conditions
The study of cultural policy has grown to encompass a wide range of themes. However, the entry here is how issues of cultural labour are addressed in the UK’s culture and creative policy. I review the major reports in the recent history the UK cultural and creative policy to assess how they related to issues of labour conditions in cultural and creative industries. I consider the Staying Ahead Report (The Work Foundation, 2007) and the Creative Britain Report (DCMS, 2008) as some of the most important milestones of the recent history the UK cultural policy. According to Banks and Hesmondhalgh (2009) during the mid-noughties, the UK government through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) were seeking to revive the creative industries policy. The Work Foundation was then assigned by the DCMS in late 2006 to analyse the nature of the creative industries to examine the scale of the sector, the challenges and opportunities. The Staying Ahead Report spelt the ambition to make the Britain the world’s creative hub. However, Banks and Hesmondhalgh (2009) observe that the Staying Ahead reports elided the concrete processes and conditions of creative labour. Instead the report proposed measures for a more sustained focus to stimulate the notion of a business-led, creative economy in a way that characterises some of the policy, the discourse, the aspect of diversity was deployed ambiguously. While the report acknowledged the lack of diversity among the cultural and creative workforce, it did not elaborate the grounds of the absence of certain social groups. In a similar way the issues of workforce were neglected in the Creative Britain (DCMS, 2008). In the report the government spelt its intentions for the development of the cultural and creative industries from its grassroots forms to the global stage. Here the DCMS committed to ‘work with its non-departmental public bodies to promote a more diverse workforce’ (p. 23). The report attended to the matter of social and cultural diversity by raising concerns of inequitable distribution of internships across ‘socio-economic groups’ (p.23). However, Banks and Hesmondhalgh (2009) contend that the essence of the diversity rhetoric in the report was about diversity in skills. I have deployed the two instances of policy to illustrate a pattern of elision of serious discussion of cultural and labourforce conditions. Both documents issues of culture and creative work are not considered in significant depth.On the contrary, the reports were dominated by hyperbolic promotion of the virtues of creative work.
The promotion of ‘good work’
A growing number of scholars have considered the utopian promotion of work in the discourse in much of the UK’s creative industries policies. Successive governments of different ideological persuasions have promoted the merits of work in the cultural and creative industries. The validation of cultural and creative work is ubiquitous in government and grey literature. The fundamental promise is that the cultural and creative industries embody meritocratic labour market, which is accessible to men andwomen from all ethnic backgrounds and classes (Oakley, 2014). The promise to open opportunities for ethnic groups is particularly relevant to this study. The openness of the cultural and creative labour markets is investigated through the experience of first-generation Africans. The basic premise behind the ‘good work’ image of the cultural and creative industries is that creativity is an innate resource which is bequeathed in spite of ethnic or socioeconomic background. Hense the narrative that creative jobs are supposedly open to everyone (McRobbie, 2015). Citizens are frequently ignored regarding their innate creativity in the discourses of policies and practices of the UK Governments (O’Brien 2014), the suggestive indication that creative personnel capitalizing on their abilities to obtain the benefits off their skills and talents could be considered to be certain but small steps towards such transformative policies. Therefore, creativity could be further considered to be effectively intertwined with the concepts of meritocracy which could prevail upon the modern social and economic organizations (O’Brien 2014, Littler 2013). However, a growing number of sociological and cultural studies scholars have scrutinised the image of cultural work by developing an alternative narrative around the dominant experience of precariousness.They have raised questions about the working conditionsand the claim of meritocracy associated with the recruitment of the cultural and creative workforce. For instance Koppman (2015) has shown how shared cultural tastes correlated with middle class backgrounds are highly influential in hiring practices within the sector. Aslo, Gill (2002) argues that the meritocratic narratives serve to obscure structural inequalities associated with gender and class. In this study the claims are assessed through the category of new immigrant. The question is whether the claims go far enough to benefit even the marginal constituencies such as new immigrant cultural workers. I examine the the efficacy of the cultural and creative industries to meliorate the conditions of new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs. Through the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the study contributes knowledge to the bourgeoning debate on the nature of cultural and creative work.
The nature of work in the culture and creative sector
A growing body of scholarship has explored the conditions of cultural work and constituted a critique of the earlier celebratory narrative of the cultural work. Richard Florida often touted the creative as an absolute need for modern cities in a way that was unrealistically fixated on the merits of the creative industries. As a departure from the overly celebratory approach by earlier proponents, a growing body of literature has provided a critical assessment of the nature of cultural work.One of the critical studies by Michael Scott (2012) represents cultural entrepreneurship as prone to high failure rates and holding multiple jobs to maintain cultural production. He adds that a common characteristic is engaging in cultural production while undertaking other paid work away from the cultural sector. While Scott's portrayal of cultural entrepreneurship may not be accurate in every instance, it, however, provides a dramatic contradiction to ideas of balance between economic goals and retention of cultural integrity of the previous arguments.A major category of research in this debate has discussed the pervasive features of creative labour: precarious employment, non-paid work, gendered disadvantages, dense social networks, and multiple-job holding to sustain both livelihoods and cultural production (Gill and Pratt, 2008; Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011; Leadbeater and Oakley, 1999; McRobbie, 2008; Menger, 1999).A prominent characterisation of cultural work is individuated working patterns. The figure of a flamboyant auteur, which is mostly associated with being an artist, film-maker or writer, is a pervasive model of an individuated working pattern (McRobbie, 2018). Some studies have alluded to autonomy as a pull factor of the sector for classes who experience barriers in the formal job market. Gill, (2002) argues that informality of work practices and relationships within project-based new media was regarded as a major attraction of the work by the vast majority of the respondents. According to McRobbie (2002) the media has often celebrated creative artist as uniquely gifted ‘stars' which contributes to a process of individualization, a social category of people who are increasingly disembedded from ties of kinship, community and social class (McRobbie, 2002). For Giddens (1991) this class works in in a deregulated milieu, ‘set free' from both workplace coalitions and from social institutions (Giddens 1991). The preceding critique of cultural entrepreneurship raises a counternarrative the image of good work which dominates cultural policy literature. Specifically, the individualised working patterns have been linked with the reproduction of disadvantages especially along gender. Informality has spawned some problems for various women involving a range of different experiences such as gender-discriminatory assumptions, inappropriate working conditions, and interactive environment, male-dominated working teams, etc(Gill, 2002). I note that most of the preceeding arguments are based on the experiences of the indigenous labourforce. The studies of the nature of cultural work are marked by the absence of experience of ethnic, cultural entrepreneurs such as new African immigrants. Besides, part of the promise of culture and creative industries is often cited as their openness to ethnic minorities. Therefore, it is germane to evaluate these claims through the experience of African cultural entrepreneurs.This thesis contributes an ethnic dimension to the debate of the condition of work in the cultural and creative industries. The ethnic cultural entrepreneurs experience the directimplication of the in their localneighbourhoods.Therefore, in the coming section I consider discussions on local cultural policy through view that it is at the local government and community level that questions of policy implementation and actual effects manifest (Ponzini, 2009).
Local cultural policy
Cities are increasingly looking to boost their value by embarking on culture-led development programs. Richard Florida is regarded the most influential proponent of culture-oriented city planning approaches which he articulated in his thesis: ‘The Rise of the Creative Class’ (2002). Florida contended that the economic competitiveness of cities in the age of creativity was increasingly contingent on their capacity to lure a class of youthful, creative and educated workers. The intensity of the competition among British cities for recognition as European Capital of Culture for 2008 demonstrated the significance of cultural policy to regional development. Grodach and Silver (2013) contend that since the pervasive adoption of ‘creative city’ policies in the last few decades, the cities have become sites for cultural policy development. A significant component of the local cultural policy pertains to the spatial aspect of cultural activity. According to Throsby (2010) the spatial dimension of local cultural policy considers the role of cultural architecture such as museums, galleries and preforming arts establishments. A relevant strand of city cultural policy for this study relates to how culture is valued for urban regeneration.
Culture and urban regeneration
The search for the solution of deindustrialisation in cities such as Birmingham has cast a spotlight on culture as vehicle of regeneration. In recent decades, the drive towards transforming formerly industrial cities into tertiary economies has engendered growing attention culture as a tool for urban regeneration (García, 2004). The 'arts-led' regeneration programs were pioneered in 1970s and early 1980s in USA cities and later saw their deployment in European cities such as Glasgow, Barcelona and Bilbao (García, 2004). Cultural policy is now well established in the urban regeneration agenda of the UK (Wilks-Heeg and North, 2004). The arts and culture are now valued for their contribution to economic prosperity and urban life of regions and cities. This is demonstrated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS 2011) idea that culture could positively support regeneration in communities by lowering crime, improving health, creating work opportunities and education indicators in deprived communities.The rise of the culture-led regeneration thinking is often associated with Richard Florida’s idea of the ‘creative class’. Through his famous publication, ‘The Rise of the Creative Class’ (2002), Florida postulates that cities can attract a creative class, which could translate into economic gains. Florida identified technology, talent and tolerance (‘the three Ts’) as the essential ingredients economic and creative ignition. The thinking has seen growing application around the world, with growing emphasis on local cultural policies that celebrate social difference and diversity. Since the turn of the millennium, culture-led urban policies have typically focused on attracting elite labour through prestigious city centre regeneration projects on the belief that the economic benefits will eventually flow out to the rest of the region (Evans, 2005). However, in recent years the belief has attracted increasing scrutiny and criticism which have cited the dilemma between the economic and social priorities of cultural policy.
Dilemmas, criticism and questions culture-led regeneration
At the heart of the local cultural policy debates is the challenge in most European countries, including the UK, to balance the social, economic and cultural dimensions of urban regeneration (Garcia, 2004). The dominant approach of recent urban regeneration program has been around creating prestigious city centre infrastructure. While these developments have succeeded in lifting the image of the cities and attracting tourism, they have neglected the cultural and social imperatives of the local residents (Garcia, 2004). These Florida inspired approaches have been slated for being elitist by focusing on the needs of the highly-educated class rather than addressing socio-economic inequalities (Wilks-Heeg &Peter North, 2007). However, Richard Florida has recently come close to recanting his thesis by at least raising concerns about some of the outcomes of the creative-class-oriented regeneration approaches (Oakley, 2015). Throsby (2010) has criticised these initiatives as no more than superficial efforts to implement the creative class approach in the misplaced rational that attracting the in-migration of creative worker will somehow translate to an economic miracle. Oakley, (2015) highlights the lack of balance between the local cultural development and the aspirations to serve international tourists. The same imbalance is investigated here in the case of Birmingham’s cultural districts and the local ethnic population. In the chapter 4, I evaluate the relevance of the city’s flagship cultural infrastructure to the local African community. Some of the perils of the culture-led regeneration programs concern the exclusion of nascent creativity. These could be excluded from ‘creative city’ policies for being suburban vernacular, experimental and less mainstream (Oakley, 2015). The risk is the development of locales that are deficient of the histories and heritage of local communities. Therefore, policymakers must also face the uncomfortable dilemma that regeneration can spell the end of cultural quarters that are more spontaneous that often emerge in the spaces of urban decline (Hall, 1998; Haslam, 1999). Alternatively, Throsby (2010) recommends cultural oriented infrastructure development programs, which encompass local participation of the arts sector and community-based heritage conservation. Massey (1994) clamours for a sense of place, which retains awareness of its own character while embracing the global forces shaping it. In summary, a pertinent question to the present has been whose culture has this been. This question is raised to assess the relevance of local cultural policy the different stakeholders of the city. A major issue of local cultural policy pertains to articulating new priorities for increasingly multicultural cities. The question is how to refocus the cultural policy away from elitist conception to deal more objectively with interstices of gender, faith, ethnicity and race (Warren and Jones, 2017). These are questions about the right to the city and how to approach the spatial inequalities as well as how cultural policy can accommodate the tastes and artistic expressions of all social groups within increasingly multicultural European cities. The review will transition to explore literature about the notion of entrepreneurship and the allied concepts such as ethnic entrepreneurship and cultural entrepreneurs.
Part Two: Entrepreneurship
Introduction
The exercise of explicating the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans requires an in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship and related concepts. In line with this objective, the intention of the present exercise is to explore debates the broad field of entrepreneurship with the intention of arriving at the conceptual summit of the study, which is cultural entrepreneurship. The intention is to follow a conceptual road map which should lead to an enhanced examination of the debates in the field of cultural entrepreneurship and the allied subjects. The sequence of the review in this section will commence with defining the concepts of entrepreneurship, which will be complemented with a review debates on the character of the entrepreneur. The survey of literature will reveal the fluidity and contextuality of the perspectives and concepts of entrepreneurship, which complicates the established views on the character of the entrepreneur and the notions of entrepreneurial motivation and risk. The process will also consider different perspectives on what motivates entrepreneurship. The ethnic profile of the first-generation African entrepreneurs engenders a survey of literature on the debates of ethnic entrepreneurship. The section will culminate with a broader exploration of scholarship on the subject of cultural entrepreneurship.
Defining Entrepreneurship
The concept of entrepreneurship and its origin is associated with the history of mankind. “In recognition of the ‘ancient’ origins of entrepreneurship, the act of enterprising has been described as “at least as old as humankind” (Bridge and O’Neill, 2012, p.12). The process of exploring scholarly works on entrepreneurship reveals significant definitional challenges. The challenges of conceptualising entrepreneurship are widely documented throughout scholarship. Firstly, the non-existence of a standard and universally accepted definition of entrepreneurship (Chell et al.,1991; Filion,1998; Alvarez, 2005). The notion originates from the field of economics, where it has been associated with profit-making activities in traditional commercial settings (Stayaert & Katz, 2004). It has been deployed to numerous settings and divergent research interests, which encompass among many: business management, networks and business creation (Suddaby et al., 2013). These disparate groups of research foci and numerous paradigms research have convoluted the definitional process (Bruyat & Julien, 2004). Hence the observation that entrepreneurship is too fragmented in a way that hinders the progression of knowledge by creating parts without wholes and disciplines without cores (Johnson, 1991). The contextuality of the concept of entrepreneurship adds to the challenge of defining it, i.e. what is entrepreneurial in one cultural, the socio-economic context may not be the same in another (Welter, 2011). This according to the growing recognition that the entrepreneurial process can best be understood by an acknowledgement of social, spatial, institutional and societal contexts (Low & MacMillan, 1998; Granovetter, 1985; Gartner, 1995). The aspect of contextuality will be further appreciated latterly by considering the African conception of entrepreneurship, which contributes to the pervasive motion to extend the discussions of entrepreneurship beyond the Euro-American scholarship. Joseph Alois Schumpeter is considered as one the earliest and preeminent entrepreneurship theorists. Schumpeter (1921;1934) defines entrepreneurship as the exploitation of the market disequilibrium through new approaches or disruption of established processes. To Schumpeter et al. (2006), an entrepreneur is willing or able to turn a novel idea or invention into an effective innovation. Schumpeter's definition is significant for highlighting aspects of originality and novelty. However, the aspects of innovation and originality are problematic, especially in the culture and creative industries where workflows are often characterised by collaboration, which complicates the claim of originality and innovation. Consequently, it motivates the development of alternative definitions capable of accommodating other models of entrepreneurship which may not have qualities of originality and innovation, albeit effective in re-organizing pre-existing opportunities/ commercial activities. The definition by Casson (1982; 2003) is recognised for its perspective on the subjectivity and individualistic aspects of entrepreneurship. Casson posits that entrepreneurs make judgmental decisions. Also, Casson describes an entrepreneur as someone who conceives and implements original business plans for the purpose of creating wealth. Casson's definition expresses the arbitrariness of entrepreneurship. The idea of 'originality' or 'new' is a recurring theme in many entrepreneurship definitions as in Casson's definition. However, the idea of ‘new’ is problematic and a subject of debate. I question the necessity of new for entrepreneurial action while suggesting that some instances enterprise could be merely improving or adding value, repurposing an existent product or practice. For instance, an entrepreneur may simply apply an already existing idea to a different geographical location. The challenges of defining the concept entrepreneurship extend to the debates on the character of the entrepreneur.
Characterising the entrepreneur
Following the definitional exercise of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, the review proceeds by exploring how scholarship characterises the entrepreneur. The understanding of the nature of the entrepreneurial person is one of the central enquiries of entrepreneurship (McClelland, 2016). The idea of being an entrepreneur is more than merely owning a business, but a set of qualities, actions and behaviour (Kirby 2007). It is, therefore, pertinent to explore discussions pertaining to the personality traits and actions of the entrepreneur.The earlier entrepreneurship research had a preoccupation with trait theory and the personality of the entrepreneur (Chell, 1985). Approaches such as the 'entrepreneurial man school' dominated scholarship in this area (Stewart, 1991). The assumption was that the entrepreneurial person has particular inherent traits or attributes that endows them characteristics which makes it possible to build the profile of an average entrepreneur (Smith, 2006). However, Chell (2008) alludes to the folly/futility/complexity/ difficulty/problems of determining the average entrepreneur. The idea of an average entrepreneur has been encountered significant opposition and eventual empirical absolution (Gartner, 1988; Gartner et al., 1992). Notwithstanding the apparent problems with earlier theories, such as, the traits approach), several classifiable and non-classifiable approaches have been developed/ surfaced, in an attempt to describe the character of the entrepreneur. Gunderson (1990) references three of the most influential classifications. Firstly, the personality traits approaches, which have proved difficult to observe given these traits, are also subject to change due to the actions of entrepreneurs as they strive to succeed (Gunderson, 1990). Secondly, the events category which has been premised on the perception that environmental factors, such as, the loss of a job, could shape the actions of the entrepreneurs. Thirdly, the venture school recognised that the actions of the entrepreneur are not static but constantly evolving (Gunderson, 1990). Of these, the personality traits theory continues to receive significant attention. The hero and risk-taker The entrepreneur is often represented through grand and heroic themes. According to Scase and Goffee (1982), the classical entrepreneurial hero is a product of capitalist value system. Scase and Goffee have argued that the classical entrepreneur related concepts had strongly impacted the popular imagination and this culminated in the personification of the embodiment of capitalist values which are coveted most.Deresiewicz (2011, p.60) has effectively captured the narrative regarding the supposedly heroic entrepreneur as the idealization of the small business within the contemporary age. As opposed to the reformer and artist or the scientist and the saint, the contemporary capital-driven culture elevates the entrepreneur to the pedestal of heroism. The signs are on factors such as adventure, autonomy, imagination, and entrepreneurial abilities. The image of the heroic entrepreneur is often associated with themes such as risk-bearing, the quest for achievement, dominance and independence (Mitchell, 1996; Ogbor, 2000). Some sections of research have alluded to the pervasiveness of masculine and heroic images (Marlow, 2002; Ahl and Marlow, 2012). The Entrepreneur, as Mitchell (1996) ironically points out, acts “as the stork-like deliverer of new business, the entrepreneur acts as a mythic character. The heroic entrepreneur through the use of extraordinary power s/he somehow single-handedly 'creates new enterprise' (Low and MacMillan 1988). According to Mitchell (1996), The qualities of this extraordinary being are presented as beyond the reach of ordinary people. Yet, a plethora of studies have intimated that entrepreneurial qualities can be cultivated and acquired through formal education. The characterization process which has pervaded the depiction of the entrepreneurial individuals has consistently highlighted the measure of supposed exceptionality in the risk-taking initiatives associated with entrepreneurship (Shane, 2007). This perspective has subscribed to the notion that risk-bearing could be interpreted as the entrepreneurial necessity (Shane, 2007, p.7). (Kanbur, 1979) and (Kihlstrom and Laffont, 1979) have persistently subscribed to the notion that individuals could select judiciously in between the wage-based safety and the uncertainty based hazards associated with entrepreneurship as per their inclinations towards risk management. In a contrasting approach, the contemporary scholarship has outlined that entrepreneurship can not be distinguished based on risk management propensities since entrepreneurs are mostly moderate in their risk-taking propensities(Meridith et al., 1982; Brockhaus, 1980 and Gasse, 1982). Brockhaus (1980) has stated that similarity exists between the propensity of risk-taking by a nascent entrepreneur and that in the general populace. Some of the performed studies have attempted to highlight the fact that entrepreneurship could be effectively discouraged through variations in the individual measures of aversion to risk. However, serious reservations have been also expressed by these studies. The research outcomes of Cramer et al., (2002) have consistently outlined that embryonic entrepreneurs have greater risk aversion in comparison to non-entrepreneurs (Xu, 2004). This observation specifically contradicts the characterization of the embryonic entrepreneur as the heroic person who utilizes extraordinary capabilities to formulate new and successful enterprises single-handedly and without any form of support (Low and MacMillan 1988) and this has been encapsulated by the individual/opportunity (I/O) nexus view. The view characterises the entrepreneur as a unique individual who takes arbitrary actions to seize on opportunities (Shane, 2007). The individual/opportunity based view assumes that the unique individual is endowed with innate receptivenessof available opportunities in the market (Alvarez, 2005) This assumes that the entrepreneur has the required understanding of the structure and attributes of an industry and is able to anticipate the kinds of opportunities which exist in that industry (Alvarez, 2005). This thinking is incumbent on the agency of the unique individual endowed with opportunity alertness. The dominant self-serving/individualistic characterisation of the entrepreneur are relieved by the emergence of counter approaches, which have challenged the validity of dominant normative portrayal of the capitalist entrepreneur who pursues for-profit formal enterprise (Nicholls and Cho 2006; Williams and Nadin, 2013). There is has been a growing body of research which points to the social-oriented entrepreneurship. This body literature also highlights how much of the entrepreneurial activity is of an informal nature (Williams and Nadin, 2013). Notwithstanding the bourgeoning literature pointing against the heroic depiction of the entrepreneur, it remains widely believed that entrepreneurship is inextricably tied to capitalism and enterprise culture a by-word for contemporary capitalist culture (Armstrong 2005). However, it is important to acknowledge scholarship, which has proffered alternative perspectives on the character of the entrepreneur. For instance, McCloskey (2006) associated entrepreneurship with virtues such as prudence, temperance, courage, justice, and the three cardinal virtues faith, hope, and love. This alternative perspective about the character of the entrepreneurs underlines the important moving beyond the parochial depictions of the entrepreneur, which are mostly confined to Western capitalistic trends. Webb et al., (2009) noted growing acknowledgement of alternative forms of entrepreneurship which reveal the entrepreneurial action of marginalised groups in literature such as women and irregular forms of entrepreneurial activities. This awareness is well aligned with the goals of this thesis, which is to contribute knowledge of theentrepreneurial experiences of other groups such as the African cultural entrepreneurs, whose practice is currently absent in entrepreneurship theory. Gikandi (2010) has made a call for a new “language” to account for the real lived experiences of Africans, acknowledge their aptitude for innovation and invention. In sum, the perpetual themes from the above definitional process are risk, innovation, opportunity alertness. The various insights gained from the exploration of different definitions and characterisations show that it depends on the focus of the research undertaken (Verheul et al., 2001). Filion (1997) substantiates this by arguing that people are inclined to identify entrepreneurs and define entrepreneurs based on their own background or disciplines. I, therefore, submit that there is a need to develop a distinct and relevant definition of entrepreneur in order to accommodate the research activities in other contexts such as Africa. The field of ethnic entrepreneurship provides a dedicated platform for exploring the entrepreneurial action of minority groups in among the host societies in the countries of residence. The study entrepreneurship will gain more relevance in attempting to understand the experiences of first-generation Africans as an ethnic group, which will be approached by annexing the ethnic element to the concept in the subsequent discussion.
Ethnic entrepreneurship
The area of ethnic entrepreneurship has received paltry attention compared to the rest of entrepreneurship scholarship. The term itself is questionable as it clumps a disparate field of research, simply connected by the idea of being non-White (Naudin, 2015). The lack of ethnic entrepreneurship studies is although the report of the Office National Statistics (2014) data reports the prominence of self-employment among the ethnic minorities in the UK. The data reveal higher rates of self-employment among ethnic minorities such as the Pakistani and Chinese than the White British. The (ONS) data demonstrates the significance of entrepreneurship among the UK's immigrant communities. Different immigration events have contributed to the arrival of new immigrants to the UK with their unique entrepreneurial activities. Each of these migratory flows features a first-generation group who must contend with an unfamiliar economic and cultural terrain. This is the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship in the UK's cultural industries whose lived experiences are the subject of this inquiry. These new immigrant groups have introduced new entrepreneurial ways and activities that are distinctive from that of the host culture, whose interest has contributed to the burgeoning of the study of ethnic entrepreneurship. The study of ethnic entrepreneurship has developed mainly from sociology and featured prominently in ethnic, race, and migration-related journals, with a cluster of social, urban, research (Lee et al., 2013). Despite its associations with economics, ethnic entrepreneurship research is still largely in the domain of sociology and ethnic studies. Although the study area has received increasing scholarly attention, the focus is often on entrepreneurship within the South Asian groups while overlooking the Black African ethnic entrepreneurship (Aldrich & Waldinger, 1990; Nwankwo, 2005). This review also responds to the need to progress further than the usual large-quantitative studies that have dominated the study of ethnic minority entrepreneurship (Jones et al. 1992). Jones et al. caution that this tends to overlook certain nuances of entrepreneurship, such as motivation and behaviour. The review of ethnic entrepreneurship literature closely relates to the aim of the present study to explain the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. It is envisaged that the study of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs will go some distance towards filling this lacuna. In the following sections will explore definition ethnic entrepreneurship and proceed by exploring the theories that have dominated discussion on ethnic entrepreneurship.
Defining ethnic, immigrant and minority entrepreneurship
The term ‘ethnic entrepreneurship’ is by definition, located at the intersection of sociocultural, ethnicity, socioeconomics and self-employment studies (Kloosterman, 2009). According to Basu (2006), the 'definition of ethnic entrepreneurship remains open to interpretation by scholars since there is no universal agreement on the concepts of 'ethnic' or 'entrepreneurship'. The process of defining ethnic entrepreneurship will firstly consider the 'ethnic' component of the term. From sociological perspectives, the ethnicity factor could be defined as the sum total of various sensibilities such as kinship, solidarity based on group identities, commonality of culture and self-identification based sensibilities involving ethnic lineages (Hutchinson & Smith, 1996). In this context, the ethnic entrepreneurship based conceptions are suggestive of the various regularised patterns and connections of interactions amongst the common populace who could also share the commonality of backgrounds and experiences of nationality and migration (Waldinger et al., 1990a: p.33). This observation specified by Waldinger has been instrumental in outlining the interactions which could occur between particular ethnic groups. However, such observations have also specified that there could not be any certainty concerning such interactions which are variables in terms of becoming integral to the networks of interactions between migrants and their common/shared origins. This suggests that immigrant entrepreneurship is not confined within the networks of country origin. Ethnic entrepreneurship is often variously deployed in different instances of academia. Changanti and Green (2002) observed ethnic entrepreneurship is often referred to interchangeably with terms such as "immigrant entrepreneurs", "minority entrepreneurship". Immigrant entrepreneurs resonate with the identity of the study group in the present study as it refers to people who start their own business just after their arrival using their network of people of common origin (Butler and Green, 1997). These are people who start their own business just after their arrival using the network of people of common origin (Butler and Green, 1997). Chaganti and Greene (2002) state that immigrant entrepreneurs are recent arrivals in a country and may enter the business as a means of economic survival. The term, however, does not include ethnic minority groups who have a significantly long history, such as Afro-Americans in the USA, Jews in Europe or aborigines in general (Dana, 2007). This conflation is particularly relevant to the research first-generation African group in this study as they have recently immigrated to the UK. Casson (2006) has further clarified that the considerations of ethnic minority entrepreneurship are not inclusive of the Caucasian immigrant entrepreneurs in the existing western sensibilities. In a similar manner, the factor of immigration could not be integral for the ethnic entrepreneur, however, the likelihood is there that the ethnic entrepreneur could have the ethnic lineage of a minority community. The preceding definitional exercise is complemented by a review of theoretical debates of the notion of ethnic entrepreneurship.
Theories of ethnic entrepreneurship
The study of ethnic entrepreneurship has elicited a plethora of theories which attempt to explicate the phenomenon. According to Azmat (2010), the most common ones are the cultural theory, disadvantage theory and mixed embeddedness. However (Ma et al., 2013) adds that the enclave economies theory is arguably the oldest and most influential. Despite the multiplicity of ethnic entrepreneurship theories, they mainly fall under the culturalist and structuralist categories (Ojo, 2013).
Culturalist theories
The impact of factors of culture has been investigated by various research scholars regarding the emergence of ethnic entrepreneurship based performance (Ward and Jenkins, 2010, Portes, 1995). The existing theoretical constructs of cultural perspectives involving ethnic entrepreneurship have suggested that specific ethnic groups have been culturally enabled with the particular abilities such as hard-working capabilities, the strength of cohesion in the ethnic community-based dimensions, spurious living condition management skills, risk management acumen, strong compliance with the existing social norms, loyalty, solidarity and predisposition towards self-employment (Masurel, Nijkamp and Vindigni, 2004). A prominent theoretical framework of the cultural category is the ‘Middleman minority theory’. It explains the emergence of ethnic entrepreneurship by due to expansion and growth of a significant number of potential consumers of ethnic products or services in a given geographical area (Waldinger et al., 1990). Some members of a community assume an intermediate role of linking ethnic products to consumers (Bonacich, 1973). According to Bonacich, these entrepreneurs position themselves as a link between employer and employee, landlord and tenant, and elite and the masses. The middleman minority theory also explains the lines of trade that such as money lending, broking and rent collection. Bonacich (1973) characterises the working conditions long hours and low wages and loyalty to the employer and the hope that they also become entrepreneurs. According to Bonacich, the bedrock of ethnic entrepreneurship is the combination of socio-economic exclusion and entrepreneurial spirit.
Structuralist theories
On the contrary, the structuralist category considers external factors, such as discrimination or entry barriers in the labour market due to education and language insufficiency, forces immigrants into self-employment (Ojo, 2013). Masurel, Nijkamp and Vindigni, (2004, p79) suggest that the presence of socio-political boycott or the need to maintain an intrinsic social identity initiates ethnic entrepreneurship. The enclave economies theory is arguably the most exploited in the structuralist category in the explication of ethnic entrepreneurship (Ma et al., 2013). The theory, when interacted with the middleman theory illustrates how ethnic businesses are conceived out of the need to supply members of the ethnic community and their specific ethnic needs (Green and Owen, 2004. A longitudinal analysis by Nee at al (1994) on the employment transitions of Asian immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area, showed that although most new immigrants preferred to seek better paying out of the enclave economy, they resort to the ethnic economy in their gradual establishment. Scholars have debated the implication of the enclave economy, mostly with a positive perspective (Ma et al., 2013b). The studies suggest that self-employment in an enclave economy is regarded as rewarding by considering flexible working hours in view of child-minding and better earning advantage (Wilson and Portes,1980). According to Volery (2007), this phenomenon manifests when significant numbers of a particular ethnic group are concentrated in one area. However, Volley cautions that despite of the popularity of the enclave theory, it is not capable of explaining the entire phenomenon. The work of Ram and Deakins (1996) focused on the disadvantages or constraints as the instigator of ethnic enterprises, a subsidiary of the structuralist approach. The disadvantage theory suggests that most immigrants encounter significant challenges upon arrival, which at the same time motivates entrepreneurial behaviour (Fregetto, 2004). They intimated that the high concentration of self-employment among ethnic groups could be linked to racial prejudice they experience in the job market rather cultural predisposition towards self-employment (Barrett, Jones and McEvoy, 2001). Volery lists language skills, education and experience, which prevent them from obtaining salary jobs, which prompts them to resort to self-employment (Volery, 2007).
Contemporary theories of ethnic entrepreneurship
As a way of mitigating the weakness of earlier ethnic entrepreneurship theories, the researchers have developed contemporary approaches which reveal that much differentiated analysis is needed to grasp the complexity of ethnic entrepreneurship. This has spawn out of the idea that the earlier theories are not capable to explicate ethnic entrepreneurship as their activities cannot be put in categories. Therefore, the most of the tenets in the earlier theories have been harmonized as an attempt to explain the phenomenon as a whole (Volery, 2007). The development of the interactive model in partly an acknowledgement the entrepreneurial behaviour of an ethnic group cannot be attributed to a single factor (Waldinger et al., 1990) Waldinger et al observe that ethnic enterprise depends on an intricate interaction between opportunity and group resources. For instance, Schaper and Volery (2004) posited that people can be differentiated on the basis of specific psychological characteristics such as ambition, the belief in control over one’s life and high tolerance of risks. Recent studies in ethnic entrepreneurship have begun to acknowledge the combination of cultural, economic, sectoral and spatial factors that shape entrepreneurial activity (Kloosterman et al., 1999; Kloosterman and Rath 2001).This approach is an attempt to combine the earlier understanding of the ethnic disadvantage, ethnic resources and opportunities, class resources and ethnic enclaves. The Netherlands scholars recognise that ethnic entrepreneurship is depended on the interaction of socio-economic and ethno-social characteristics of the immigrant group in the opportunity structure (Kloosten-nan et al., 1999; Kloosterman and Rath, 2001). I therefore, extend this review by considering the ethnic entrepreneurship of Black African entrepreneurs in the UK.
Black African entrepreneurs in the UK
More than being a subsidiary study area of ethnic entrepreneurship, the emerging field Black African entrepreneurship studies marks a departure from a collective treatment of entrepreneurship of minority groups in the UK. The UK has the largest population of people of African descent in Europe (CEEDR, 2000). However, the Black African studies is characterised by a paucity of sustained studies mainly due to homogenisation of BAME group.The challenge has been a lack of clarity in data due to over-generalisation and treatment of the UK's ethnic minority population as a monolithic group (Nwanko, 2005). This is mostly seen the way African and Black-Caribbean groups are assumed to refer to either. The paucity of effective research on the practices and patterns of efficacious marketing within the African and Caribbean businesses have been outlined by various analysts (Sills and Desai, 1996). Specifically, next to no information is available concerning the small businesses which are owned by the Africans. Such dearth of information involves the measure of their evolution, the trajectories of their growth, the extent of ethnic and non-ethnic networks which these have created or could have been associated with and ultimately, the survival strategies employed by these small businesses enterprises (Ram, 1994). Paradoxically, such entrepreneurs have been rapidly altering the dynamics of such ethnic entrepreneurialism. The ethnic minority women could be found in such groups as well. Particularly, the African entrepreneurs who have remained out of considerations even after the rapid growth in the numbers of them along with the public domain based recognition which they have gained (Nwanko, 2003). The 1991 census introduced the rubric of Black African and this has since been identified as a significant group within the existing ethnic minorities (Nwankwo, 2005). However, the presence of Black Africans in the UK could be traced back to the Roman era (Scobie, 1972). According to Daley (1998), Africans have a long history of immigrating to UK for educational reasons and that remains a prominent factor. In recent times, most Black African have immigrated to the British Isle have immigrated due asylum, family reunions and a number of work schemes. This following section explores the manner in which the Black African entrepreneurship has been characterised and the push or pull factors which provide the rise to Black African entrepreneurship.
Characterising Black African entrepreneurship
The small business enterprises owned by the Africans have been identified by recent studies to be the most swiftly mutating within London (Nwankwo, 2003). The research performed by Sonny Nwankwo on the Black African entrepreneurship within the UK has provided significant and accurate insights within the working structures of the African entrepreneurship business. The prodigious measures of majority respondents to the research inquests of Nwanko have stated that their financial endeavors target fellow Africans to the greatest extent. The emphasis remains concentrated on the services and products which could satiate the necessities of co-ethnic clientele and this highlights the aspect of competitive realism (Nwanko, 2005). Cook, Ekwulugo, and Fallon, (2004), have subscribed to this opinion in the form of hypothesis of protected markets which has highlighted that the ethnic entrepreneurs tend to focus on the exploitation of the immediate markets within the communities to which they belong to.Ram et al. (1999) have stated that most of the African business endeavors tend to be micro-businesses in size and are influenced by the persisting problems. The characteristics of these are mostly high fluidity and extensive mortality rates since these suffer from planning before the start-up phases involving the entrepreneurs (Nwankwo, 2005). Nwanko has observed that mostly first-generation operators own the businesses and this extends to over 90% of the proprietors of such businesses. In excess to 60% could be identified to be single proprietors (with some exceptions where family members are employed as partners also) and more than 50% of the businesses have been operating for a duration which has been less than 10 years(Nwanko, 2005). The gender dimension based distinction could be as well associated with that of the UK based colored African entrepreneurship in the manner that despite the men dominating certain sectors of businesses such as the general and professional services, women traditionally dominate the businesses such as cosmetics, hair treatment saloons, fashion, etc. Nwankwo has further acknowledged that this polarisation involving the feminine and masculine entrepreneurial operating orientations could be directly associated with the cultural inclinations and such an aspect is required to be investigated further as well (Nwanko, 2005). A particularly persistent social perception exists within the UK that Asian small and micro businesses are traditionally superior in terms of achievement of success in comparison to that of the African and Caribbean small and micro-businesses. Fadahunsi et al. (2000) have argued that apart from the observed fact that the majority of the African small business owners such as the Nigerians belong to the first generation settler communities from Africa and could be affected by the dearth of proper access to the local role models, their creativity has not been affected in any manner from such complications and this has culminated in the similar measure of success of such businesses in comparison to that of the South Asian competitors(Ekwulugu). The Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR, 2000) has outlined that businesses owned by Caribbean and African entrepreneurs generally do not exhibit any previous, traditional entrepreneurship practices within their familial lineages and these entrepreneurs generally are deficient in terms of the primary skills of trade and management whenever they are required to develop any business discipline without any effective support or when no takeover of existing business discipline could be the case.
Cultural entrepreneurship
Having explored the idea of entrepreneurship and the associated elements of ethnicity, we now add the cultural to its being, which brings us to the concept of cultural entrepreneurship. Although the study of cultural entrepreneurship is dominated by occidental perspectives, the existent works bear foundational significance to develop the understanding of the lived experiences of first-generation African cultural workers. In the vast research of entrepreneurship, cultural entrepreneurship is regarded as an emerging field (Hausmann and Heinze, 2016). The growing interest of entrepreneurship in the arts and culture sector relates to the emergence of the creative industries starting in the 1990s in the UK (British Council, 2010). The viewpoints of cultural entrepreneurship still lack coordination as their strewn across the fields of cultural studies, cultural policy and business management. This also contributes to the lack of a unitary definition, however, in simple terms, it is ‘creating or identifying an opportunity to provide a cultural product, service or experience and bringing together the resources to exploit this’ (Rae, 2007, p. 55). Aageson (2008) refers to cultural entrepreneurship as the missing link between creative talents and the markets. Aegeson describes cultural entrepreneurship as change agents who exploit cultural innovation to create successful economic systems. While Klamer, (2011) Cultural entrepreneurs are focused on achieving cultural value and cultural content. Klamer adds that cultural entrepreneurs leverage economics as a vehicle for realising cultural values. The common theme between Aegeson and Klamer’s definitions is the tension between culture value and economics and how the two elements coexist in the exploits of the cultural entrepreneur. Yet, Cultural entrepreneurship can be both extremely problematic as‘commercial tendencies are often considered anathema to authentic culture’ (Dacin et al., 2010 p. 47). The perpetual balancing act between economic and artistic goals is a critical skill set for the cultural entrepreneur.Cultural entrepreneurs must attain legitimacy through a balance of economic viability, artistic credebility and in many cases social benefit (Dacin et al., 2010; Beverland, 2005; Peterson, 1997). According to Naudin (2018), utilization of the terminology of cultural entrepreneur could be oriented towards the identification of the person who could advocate entrepreneurship and innovation management within developmental work and simultaneously maintain focus on issues of society as well as those associated with the local communities. However, the relation between the ‘social' and ‘cultural' is often the very source of confusion as it widens the definition of culture to encompass multiple dimensions such as ‘way of life’ (Naudin, 2013). Further definitional complexities lie ahead when considering its application other social contexts, in this case, African cultural entrepreneurship. The existing perspectives often overlook the context in which the cultural entrepreneurship has developed, and the policy environment (Naudin, 2018). For this study, the practice and experiences of African cultural entrepreneurs are oriented outside the realm of dominant cultural entrepreneurship discourse, which has implications for development of definitions that consider ex-centric phenomenon.
Defining and caracterising thecultural entrepreneur
Although the goal of this study is to develop knowledge of non-Western cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans, the Western notion of the cultural entrepreneur is a useful starting point on which to build. Cultural entrepreneurs are different the rest of entrepreneurs. The most apparent of these differences is the presence of value created through some form of artistic innovation (Bilton, 2017). Another key difference is the long-established tradition of reliance on publicfunding, requiring ‘both public and private patronage’ (Ratten and Ferriera, 2017, p. 165; Acheson et al., 1996). Works in the field of economics dominate the descriptions of character of the cultural entrepreneurs. One such work is by Klamer (2011) which has outlined the perception that cultural entrepreneurs are personnel who could combine 2 definite characteristics such as knowledge and sensitivity regarding artistic discourses and effective comprehension about the marketing techniques as well as public perception management. Klamer (2011) adds that the cultural entrepreneur's moral attribute is expected to be oriented on the cultural content and the arts itself while using economics to realise cultural values. Therefore the cultural entrepreneur needs to exercise the balance of achieving economic gains without compromising artistic mission and artistic integrity. Towse (2011) profiles cultural entrepreneurs as those that are mission-driven but focused on creating both financial and cultural wealth. They are sensitive to the processes which produce cultural value. This category of cultural entrepreneurs has the alertness to revenue arbitrage and tends to integrate economic, social, environmental and cultural values through their cultural enterprise. They combine artistic qualities with business sense: extensive knowledge and sensitivity involving the artistic discourses, processes of culture and creativity which could be combined with the acumen of efficaciously spotting creative talents as well as the comprehensive knowledge of the techniques of marketing and public perception management (Klamer, 2011; Van Der Ploeg, 2002). One of the most influential works for the characterization of the cultural entrepreneur is by Oakely and Leadbeater (1999) entitled “The Independents: Britain’s new cultural entrepreneurs.” Oakely and Leadbeater described the independent nature of new models working and creative production. They note that the contemporary cultural entrepreneurs first appeared in the 1990s and emanated from diverse creative categories. The cultural entrepreneurs are described as adept with digital technologies and have a non-territorial attitude (Oakely and Leadbeater 1999). Their working patterns are described as flexible and a modicum of autonomy, together with a set of aesthetic values. They are mostly self-employed and operate small businesses, and some work freelance (ibid). Some commentators have alluded to the youthfulness of the cultural entrepreneurship class. Scott, (2012) observes that they comprise mostly young people the primary objective of whom is to achieve success in building a career based on artistic professions. The latitude of experimentation with new products and methods of culture is accorded to such young people through their youthfulness while they could be undertaking various other forms of work for a living and these could be included or excluded from the cultural sector completely (Scott, 2012). In some instance, they are a step removed from the actual creative process but still offer services that are essential for the production of cultural goods (Naudin, 2018). The attitude of the cultural entrepreneur shares some common attributes as those of the other disciplines. Aageson, (2008) describes cultural entrepreneurs as risk-takers, change agents, and resourceful visionaries who generate revenue from innovative and sustainable cultural enterprises that enhance livelihoods and create cultural value for both producers and consumers of cultural products and services. The cultural entrepreneurs often practice with no economic capital Ellmeier (2003). McGuigan, (2010) observes that young cultural worker take the costs of producing work upon themselves and continue to project themselves through strenuous private work. They value of creating from nothing and are averse to public subsidies as they hope to prove themselves in the commercial market (Oakely and Leadbeater 1999). The value system of the cultural entrepreneur centres on the art per se and the creative process is a moral attribute of the cultural entrepreneur (Klamer, 2011). Oakely and Leadbeather (1999) observe that the new generation of cultural entrepreneurs values higher education, partly because it affords them the space to experiment. The university is viewed as a site for meeting future collaborators. Some have argued that these characterisations are almost entirely based on the experiences of Western cultural entrepreneurs. Alacovska and Gill (2019) contend that creative labour studies are virtually focused on Euro-American urban 'creative hubs'; hence the creative worker they theorise is usually white, middle-class, urban and mostly male. Alacovska and Gill have called for the questioning of the claims about creative work that have been received as universal truths in spite of them being gleaned from research sites situated almost exclusively in the creative hubs of Euro-America (Alacovska and Gill, 2019). Most studies are exclusively based on settled indigenous communities and neglect the experiences of immigrant cultural entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is the central goal of this study to develop knowledge of the character of a new immigrant cultural entrepreneur in the host culture context.
Defining the Africancultural entrepreneur
For the purpose of this study, I present a working definition of an average African cultural entrepreneur. I define the African cultural entrepreneur as an agent whose primary commitment is to conserve and disseminate their cultural expression while actively seeking economic solutions for the sustenance and exploitation of the practice. The definition is particularly applicable to African cultural entrepreneurs in the countries of residence. The definition separates the primary motivation and the pursuit of economic value. The earlier part of the definition explains the burden to preserve the culture. This custodial sensation is more profoundly felt because of the distance from the continent. They are saddled with the concern of losing their cultural heritage and the responsibility to pass it to posterity. The African cultural entrepreneurs are also defined by the intense passion to share their cultural expression within and beyond their ethnic networks. On a secondary level the African cultural entrepreneurs recognise the economic potential of the cultural activity while contending with the mundane challenges of supporting their livelihoods. Although their work is not entirely market oriented, they sense the economic value of their culture and actively explore ways to benefit from it. However, in most cases, there is barely any revenue realised. I refer to them as entrepreneurs because they are constantly seeking for economic interventions to sustain their practice. Although they hardly describe themselves as such, their language is pervaded with enterprise discourse, which includes bids and funding applications. They express the ambitions of moving into business premises. They engage in promotion strategies such as distributing business cards and setting up websites and enthusiastically seek collaborations with more established actors with the hope of developing new markets and audiences. Some of the Disciplines include: traditional music, gospel music, percussion, playwrighting, filming, hair braiding, barbering, shisha parlours, fashion designing, MCing, faith healing, photography among many.The preceding debates on the notion of cultural entrepreneurship are complemented in final part this literature review by considering scholarship on the aspects of race, ethnicity and inequality in cultural production.
Part Three: Race, ethnicity and inequality in culture and creative industries
Introduction
The racialisation of the access to cultural production is a critical feature of my theoretical framework and essential explicating the lived experiences minority groups living in Western societies such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The focus on race is a response to a call for the development of the theory that takes race and racism in cultural production seriously (Hesmondhalgh and Saha, 2013; Edwards, 2013; Malik, 2013). Although the subject of race and ethnicity has received significant attention in social sciences and humanities, it remains under-researched in cultural production (Hesmondhalgh and Saha, 2013). Cathcart (2000) submits that since the 1950s race problem has always been variously theorized away as psychological misunderstanding or culture clash. In this study, the notion of race is tied with ethnicity as I hypothesised that their separate treatment would still yield similar theoretical outcomes. The notion of ethnicity “refers to the way in which social and cultural difference, language, and ancestry combine as a dimension of social action and social organisation, and form a socially reproduced system of classification” (Fenton, 1999, 62). Hesmondhalgh and Saha (2013) centralise race and ethnicity by stating that they are essential for understanding cultural production in the modern world and their relation to oppression. Hesmondhalgh and Saha further argue that theories of cultural production acknowledge the entrenched oppressions of race and ethnicity, and to theorise oppressions in relation to power dynamics of class, gender, and other factors. I submit that a better understanding of race and ethnicity in cultural production will enhance the appreciation of the lived experiences of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs in the UK, albeit their experiences may be shaped by a myriad of factors and social elements. The special focus on racialized access and participation does not intimate which is the sole explanation for the under-representation of BAMEs in cultural production the part of the many factors. Cottle (2000) alludes to a combination of factors and processes that contribute to the marginalisation of ethnic-minorities in institutions and spaces of cultural practice. While I concur with acknowledging the role of other forces, I remain committed to the call for serious consideration of racism in cultural production (Hesmondhalgh and Saha, 2013; Edwards, 2013; Malik, 2013). A thorough understanding of the interaction of race and ethnicity in cultural production is foundational for the understanding of the experience of racialised inequalities in the cultural and creative industries. Banks (2017) and Littler (2017) have gone into detail regarding an extensive range of different examples which have unveiled variegated measures of discrimination such as not acknowledging work, barring access to education and inequality in the same and finally, marginalization of certain groups of cultural working personnel regarding the remittance of wages. In this context, Warwick Commission (Neelands et al., 2015) has analyzed the participation related data to properly demonstrate the process through which the divergence in between the majoritarian White personnel and the minority ethnic groups, in terms of participation, has consistently expanded in spite of the fact that the numbers of the overall people belonging to ethnic minorities who have participated in the creative industries during 2005/6 to 2012/3 have increased. According to Leslie and Catungal (2012), this empirical reporting of patterns of racial, class and gender inequalities are detrimental to the triumphalist claims of a new 'creative class'. The earlier part of the ensuing literature review will consider studies of race and creative industries and racialised access to cultural production in the UK. This will be latterly complemented by an exploration of the relationship between cultural production and inequalities.
The significance of the study of race and ethnicity and creative industries
In this section, I further explore the significance of studying race in cultural and creative industries. I first consider why this is more significant in the culture and creative industries more than others. According to Hesmondhalgh and Saha (2013), the investigation of the operation race and ethnicity in cultural production is more distinctive due to the symbolic and expressive quality of its cultural goods. The products of cultural production are distinctive because they convey knowledge, ideas and beliefs and have the potential to influence society more than other forms of production (ibid). This makes a compelling case to examine the political economy of the process of culture-making to understand the socio-political factors that regulate the access to sites of cultural production and appreciate why the products assume the nature that they are. Saha (2018) notes how attending to the combination of cultural production and the political economy of the cultural industries can enhance our understanding of the factors that shape media discourses and how the race itself is made. Fanon (1986: 152) asserts that even the amusement that "black folk seem to experience in watching Hollywood films is regarded as a form of dissimulation". Cottle alludes to the significance of critical engagement in order to understand and possibly intervene to realign the forces currently shaping programme representations (1997). Studies of 'race' and ethnicity in the media are nearly always textual in focus, and they uncover how media representations shape our conception of cultural difference by either reinforcing emphasising or resisting certain ideas around ethnicity and race (Saha, 2018). In sum, the thesis line of reasoning assumes that those who have control of the site of cultural production have control over the programs of representation. Thus, some commentators have highlighted the correlation between the lack of diversity in cultural institutions and how the other is represented. Some studies of cultural production have focused on how the newsroom inequalities impact on the reporting on minorities and how this constrains the ability for reporters to tell the stories that they want to tell (Saha, 2018). Garnham (1990) asserts all media entail the use of scarce material resources, which means our capacity to understand of the world and to change is dependent on how the access to and control over those scarce resources are structured. An important dimension for this study is to consider the function of race and ethnicity in accessing the sites of cultural production.
Racialised access to Cultural Practice
The notion of racialised access refers to an admission criterion that discounts merit by placing emphasis on phenotypical qualities. Racialisation refers to the process through which racial meanings are associated with a relationship or social practice for the purpose of domination (Omi and Winant, 1986; Saha, 2018). Maldonado (2009) describes racialised recruitment practices whereby the employers often use race as a proxy for worker skills and an identifier for the desirability of workers. These imply direct employer’s perception in matching jobs and personnel (Kennelly 1999; Moss and Tilly 2001; Shih 2002; Waldinger and Lichter 2003). The deployment of racialized hiring arrangements is a critical topic to understanding the manifestation of inequalities in access and participation in cultural and creative industries. The topic is also critical in assessing the meritocratic status of the cultural sector, which will be tested through the experiences of first-generation African entrepreneurs. A major theme in discussions on race and cultural production is unequal access to means of cultural production. The question of whether the hiring practices in the cultural sector are meritocratic is at the centre of the present inquiry and deserves investigating in the experiences of the first-generation African cultural practitioners. According to Hesmondhalgh and Saha (2013), there is compelling evidence of the domination of white people in medial organisations. The consequence of domination and marginalisation of ethnic minority media labour force is the truncation of the range of perspectives in the media (ibid). In the same inquiry, Sarita Malik has considered the problematic programs of multiculturalism in the UK's public broadcasting service and how the representation of race are constructed (2002, 2008, 2010). The laisser-faire façade of cultural work can be mistaken to imply inclusion across class, ethnicity, gender and sexuality (Gill, 2002). The employment statistics challenge the foregoing view by revealing a picture of a sector that is far less reflective of the general population. The fact that people from the Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups have been under-represented has been documented extensively (Holgate and McKay, 2007; Randle, Kurian, and Leung 2007; Skillset, 2009) and this process has progressively worsened. This could be acknowledged from the observations that in the concentration of different cultural industries within London, where up to 32% of the populace is comprised of the BAME groups, only 5.4% are represented as belonging to the minority ethnic groups (Skillset, 2012). This observation has been instrumental in outlining the progressive failure to reflect the presence of minority ethnic groups within this industry in terms of their representation percentage within the UK population in general (Labour Force Survey). As non-white groups comprise at least 1/4th of the workforce at London, lesser than 1 in 10 personnel in the media industries belong to the ethnic minority groups and this has been the case with the cultural industries as well. The allegations related to institutionalized racism have emerged (Thanki and Jefferys 2007). The representative extent of the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) personnel had experienced a decline from 7.4% to 6.7% of the entire workforce from 2006 to 2009 and by 2012 it had reached a mere 5.4% (Skillset, 2012). While these statistics are important quantitative information on the nature of participation, I submit that it is equally paramount to consider a qualitative understanding of the BAME experiences. Sarita Malik's investigates the underrepresentation of Black workers in the culture sector, which continues to manifest despite programs and schemes geared towards the inclusion of Blacks (Malik, 2002). Specifically, Malik expresses reservations about the sincerity of some minority training schemes in effecting real industry absorption. She queries if these schemes are simply progressive posturing. Such reservations are a layer of motivation to interrogate the effectiveness of such initiatives through the experiences of minority cultural workers. An important approach to understanding the issues of BAME underrepresentation in the cultural sector is to appreciate the social currents and specific mechanisms that mitigate participation. A major component of the significance of cultural production is to appreciate the role of ideological and discursive mechanisms used in the maintenance of these hegemonic struggles (Hall, 1980b, 1999). Some studies have explored different schemes involved in the operation of racialized access to sites of cultural production. In the following sections, I outline some internships and nepotism as the two of the most topical of mechanisms.
Internships and unpaid work
One of the means of gaining work in the cultural and creative industries is through internships and unpaid work. Pollard et al., (2004) reveal that unpaid work is more prevalent among the ethnic minority workforce. This could be explained as either their willingness to engage in unpaid work or the necessity of unpaid work to gain relevant work experience in orders make it into the industry (Pollard et al., 2004). The prevalence of unpaid work in cultural and creative industries is an obtaining debate. The issue is likely to be salient in the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs if their socio-economic status can afford the latitude/ ability to engage in unpaid work. Undertaking unpaid work is essential for accruing work experience. It is imperative to research the experience of unpaid work and internships in the context of African cultural entrepreneurship. It is essential to consider the consistency of dominant views about unpaid work with the experiences of my study population. Recently, attention has been drawn to the prevalence of unpaid internships and as a way to gain access to the sector. This could also be attributed to a huge oversupply of the workforce in the sector, which may make impossible for some to land even that coveted first job (Blair, 2001) Some commentators have alluded to the self-exploitation culture/ quality of the cultural entrepreneurship. This particular strand also has observed the persisting conflict in between the discourses of formulation of artistic identity which generally obfuscates the distinction, although in a presumably pleasurable manner, between that of serious work and leisure (Neff et al., 2005) and this has culminated in the propensity of self-exploitation and increasing psychological stress (Gill and Pratt, 2008).
Nepotism and dense networks
The importance of personal networks is well publicised in scholarship. Nardi, Whittaker and Schwarz (2000) argue that "It's not what you know, but who you know". The Arts Council study entitled The Creative Survival in Hard Times (2010), reveals entry into work in the arts is often confined to those who have access to those in positionof authority. The debates on the inequalities brought about by the dependence on social networks are well established in the literature. For instance, Friedman and Laurison, et al (2019) dispelled the myth that success in elite profession such as media is depended on challenge the belief that success in elite occupations is simply a matter of 'legitimate fortune, instead they highlighted the forms of sponsorship that act to fast-track careers, often providing a 'back-door' trajectories that are forged through class and cultural affinity. Hesmondhalgh and Baker (2011) acknowledged the social value of gratification that the networks affords its members, but also noted the potential for nepotism and for blurring the professional and personal spheres. The knowledge of the disparities of access to the networks is subsequently complemented by the review of inequality the culture and creative industries.
Understanding inequality in cultural production
The element of inequality has become integral concerning the development of a proper understanding of the Global and British societies (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009; Dorling, 2014). The previously performed research in this direction has been increasing with the passage of time and these studies have been accurately established regarding analysis and assessment of the element of inequality in the development of social structures, however, the relationship in between inequality and culture has not been comparatively extensively researched (O'Brien and Oakley, 2015). Social stratification exists in various countries, including that of the UK, regarding cultural engagement disciplines which include performing arts and various other cultural activities which are differentiated through classic catalysts of inequality such as disability, ethnicity, religion, class, social status and gender (Crossick and Kaszynska 2014:124). The development of any effective understanding concerning the contemporary UK and global society can not be completed without properly comprehending the element of inequality which is integral to such social structures. The inter-relationship between inequality and culture is particularly not researched well although an increasing number of researches have been published on the evaluation of this element of Inequality. Classic drivers differentiate the cultural and artistic activities based involvement and this process makes the cultural engagement process within the UK based social structures to be a stratified engagement framework. The classic drivers of inequality are gender, ethnicity, disability, social status and class-based differences (both actual and perceived). At this point, I consider the notion of inequality in order to facilitate a clearer understanding of its connection with the notion of cultural value. This should be considered along the promises of culture and creative industries. The cultural and creative industries are now an established feature of economic policies of many governments, who expect is to drive their gross domestic product (GDP) and solve the problems of unemployment and boost urban regeneration (Clifton et al., 2009; European Commission, 2012; Ross, 2009; UNCTAD, 2008). The main appeal to policymakers is that creative industries could deliver these promises regardless of sex, race or class and so free of the old social inequalities in work and employment (Florida, 2004). However, despite the growing attention to inequality in the culture and creative industries in literature, the discourse tends to emphasise consumption rather than production (Crossick and Kaszynska 2014:124). Therefore, despite the salience of the cultural consumption discourse, the present review will be limited to inequality as it relates to cultural production. The lack of ethnic diversity and the dominance of middle-class males is receiving increasing attention in the media, policymakers and the wider commentariat (Oakley et al., 2017). Friedman and Laurison (2019) observe that the prestigious jobs such as film are the reserve of not just the privileged but a particular white, heterosexual, able-bodied, privileged man, often embodied in the figure of the 'gentleman'. There is a long-held perception that many high-status occupations in the UK, such as law, medicine and journalism, are exactly that professions that have traditionally been, and remain today, stubbornly elitist (ibid). Friedman and Laurison (2019) note that Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people, for example, are about 40% underrepresentedd in top jobs. Although the quantitative studies are essential for illustrating the levels of cultural participation and consumption, they tell a partial story of the inequalities. The scholarship is increasingly questioning the work experiences of the cultural and creative labour force (Hesmondlagh and Baker, 2010; McRobbie, 2002), and also the narratives of meritocracy associated with the sector. In the USA cultural and creative industry context, Koppman (2015) highlighted how middle-class cultural tastes are highly influential, highly influential in the hiring process. Rivera (2015) concurs that the hiring practices are, from the perspective of effectiveness, a measure of matching of the cultural perspectives rather than any exercise based on meritocracy. The structural inequalities associated with those of the gender (Gill 2002), class (Friedman et al., 2016) and various other discriminatory perspectives are obscured by the meritocratic narrative (Littler 2013).
Intersectionality of inequality in culture and creative industries
The review on particulars associated with Intersectionality involving factors such as gender, ability and age complement the study evaluation of both race and class dimensions concerning cultural inequalities. Constructions of ethnicity, class, race, disability and age intersect with those of the gender based considerations and the cumulative effects of these consistently complicate the existing issues and also extend the dimensions of privileges accorded to certain groups (Grugulis and Stoyanova, 2012). To this effect, this Intersectionality has been applied as a theoretical framework to develop the conception regarding the formulation of a particular category of discrimination based on political and social identities such as race, gender, class and disability. The element of Intersectionality could be observed to bear particular relevance to the theoretical constructs based relationships in between class, gender and race even though Intersectionality is frequently associated with US Black feminist theory (Davis, 2008). In terms of gender-based perspectives, women are not accorded the equal measure of access to work of creative nature and they are not also rewarded in an equal manner. Furthermore, women are also subjected to multiple forms of profession-based segregations and discriminations which could reinforce such institutionalized inequalities involving both rewards and recognition which parallel the reproduction of masculine hegemonies (Sang et al., 2014). The connections between marginalization and exclusion of various social segments within the cultural representation process are frequently pointed to by the diversity scholars working in the fields of media and film-based studies. One instance could be highlighted as that of the silver screen (film industry). Such effects have culminated in the marginalization and exclusion of such social segments within the creative workforces which generally are at the forefront while creating such representations and this incrementally multiply as well as reproduce inequalities (Jones and Pringle, 2015). Friedman and Laurison (2019) have stated that personnel with specific forms of disabilities are nearly half (47%) as likely to be found in top jobs as in our population as whole, and women are 30% under-represented. They add that taking all our fields together, women, many groups of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities are all significantly under-represented in top jobs. This study engages the debates by contributing the knowledge of the experiences of inequalities on the basis of being a visible ethnic minority and a new immigrant.
Summary
The three parts of the literature review are unified by the preponderance of Western perspectives and a lack of studies about the experiences of Africans in the culture and creative industries. Thus far, the studies of cultural work are dominated by the perspectives of indigene Europeans and multi-generational minority groups in the cities of the West. Yet to this end, there are no studies that have considered the nature of culture and creative work through the experience of recently settled communities. This thesis is a response to the the necessity of empirical study undertakings so that actual experiences could be captured regarding cultural work processes as well as those of entrepreneurship (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011; Banks, 2006, 2007).The corresponding thesis would be engaging the debate processes on the actual nature of cultural work disciplines with the application of definite perspectives of actual experiences involving the initial generation of the cultural entrepreneurs from Africa.
Chapter 3: Methodology
Introduction
The aim of the chapter is to detail the methodical considerations for the exploration of the lived experiences of being a first-generation African cultural entrepreneur in Birmingham and the rationales behind the choice of methodology and methods. The first section of the chapter spells out the undergirding conceptual framework for the research. I proceed by discussing the management of the researcher’s proximity to the study population. The middle sections of the chapter will examine the methods chosen for data collection and similar rationales. The rest of the chapter discusses aspects of sampling, data handling and ethical considerations.
Conceptual framework
The study is oriented primarily on a culturalist canon, which according to Hall (1980), privileges experience as the ground of ‘the lived’ and focuses on how people experience their conditions of life. Accordingly, the central component of the methodological approach is the subjective lived experience of the Africa cultural entrepreneur in Birmingham’s cultural sector. According to Plummer (2001), the aim is to grasp a unique experience for what it tells us about rather than generalisation. The narratives are elicited from knowledgeable respondents whose cultural practice ranges from amateurish to professional. Another fundamental component of the methodology is situating the entrepreneurial action of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the policy and cultural geography of the city of Birmingham.The city is approached as a research subject by analysing its policy literature and investigating its geography through a walking ethnography. The study will consider aspects of cultural geography for the conception of socio-spatial politics and how the subaltern groups, such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are capable of expending their agentic capacity by reimagining landscapes. In summary, the methodological approach comprises three components, namely: the accounts of the participant, the policies and cultural geography of the city and participant observation. A cardinal approach of the study is its interdisciplinarity. The thesis integrates a variety of theories to support the analysis, which includes: cultural geography,Bourdieu’s capitals, hopeful working, double-consciousness and liminality.The primary analysis begins by situating the African cultural practice in the policy and geographic context of Birmingham. I explore how aspects of place space and power interact in the experience of racialised spatial inequalities. The analysis of the city’s cultural geography is conducted through an adapted urban ethnography methodology of an urban walkabout. This method extends much further than that of merely conversing with the involved actors, however, the material which could be accumulated further complements the group discussions and interviews based approaches (Gray, 2003). Through such an approach, the descriptive context regarding the development of a proper action setting for the readership could be formulated. Through the theory of Capitals, propounded by Bourdieu, the measure of capital deprivation in the characterization of the experiences of 1st generation based African cultural entrepreneurs, could be contemplated. Bourdieu (1984) has argued that the three forms of capital are responsible to instill the differences between the social positions of people in general and these are the economic, cultural and social capitals. A Bourdieu-based analytical approach is beneficial to obtain a better understanding of resource inequalities among different networks of cultural entrepreneurs and useful as an organising framework in the analysis of the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The theory of hopeful work (Wright, 2018) is deployed in the analysis theocentric entrepreneurial intent and behaviour. Chapter five explores the significance of the religious space to African cultural practice and a major distinguishing aspect from native cultural entrepreneurship. The final chapter explores the notions of transnationality and double consciousness to explain the process of carving new identities as diasporic cultural practitioners. The knowledge gleaned from the idiosyncratic experiences of African cultural entrepreneurship will challenge the image of cultural work, which represents the sector as egalitarian non-hierarchical and as 'cool' work (Gill, 2002). The research interrogates the mythologised view of cultural work while contributing to a burgeoning theory on the precariousness of cultural work (Leadbeater and Oakley, 1999; Scott, 2012; Forkert, 2016; Naudin, 2017). The study engages with debates at the intersection of entrepreneurship and cultural studies.It draws from the umbrella category of entrepreneurship as the basis for conceptualising the notion of cultural entrepreneurship. However, there is a paucity of in-depth studies on the cultural entrepreneurship of Black Africans within European cities, which prejudices scholarship with the knowledge of peculiarities of being a minority cultural worker within a dominant culture.Therefore, the study of Black African cultural entrepreneurship will also contribute to the emerging area of ethnic entrepreneurship. Presently, the two dominant schools in ethnic entrepreneurship are the disadvantage theory and cultural theory, which have been criticised for neglecting the agentic potentials of ethnic entrepreneurs (Brettell & Alstatt, 2007; Essers, Benschop, & Dooreward, 2010). Also, the existent scholarship on cultural and ethnic entrepreneurship and the umbrella entrepreneurship theory is dominated by Euro-American epistemology (Nwankwo, 2013). Hence, the aim of this research is to reconceptualise the notion of cultural entrepreneurship and aspects of the broader entrepreneurship theory from the perspective of first-generation Africans in the UK.
Three primary research questions direct the research:
a) How do first-generation Africans cultural entrepreneurs describe their lived experience of practising in the cultural sector?
b) What are the particular experiences associated with being a first-generation cultural entrepreneur?
d) How is the cultural practice of first-generation Africans situated in the city’s cultural milieu?
In summary, the conceptual framework is centred on the subjective perspectives of the African cultural entrepreneurs, how they describe and make meaning of their lived experiences. Although the aim of the research is not universal generalisability, it will produce patterns from motifs of personal lived experiences, which will address the dearth in the knowledge of the Black African cultural entrepreneurship in the UK. In the following sections, I detail the actual steps and decisions in the process of collecting qualitative data and engage key literature on the subject of methodology.
Managing the insider and outsider status
During the entire process of writing the thesis, I have been continually aware of my position within the research process. More than a mere declaration of interest is the fact that as a first-generation African cultural entrepreneur, I share the same cultural background with the research participants and I have in the past interacted with some of the participants.I emigrated from Zimbabwe to the UK at the turn of the millennium. The political events in Zimbabwe and other African countries created a mass immigration flow to the West. The immigration event climaxed in 2002, which caused the UK government to impose stringent visa rule to formerly non-visa countries such as Zimbabwe. However, the outcome of the millennial migration is a significant cohort of first-generation immigrants of which I am part of. I practice in the culture and creative sector and have developed a portfolio of new media skills. My practice is a combination of passion and commercial work. I am a gospel singer and an instructor in the art of choral singing. Some of my commercial work includes graphic design, web design and photography. Gair (2011) alludes to the notion of insider/outsider status, the extent to which the investigator belongs either within or outside a community being researched, because of a shared lived experience or status as a member of that group.Some commentators have challenged the concept of insider versus outsider status as overly simplistic (Dwyer and Buckle, 2009; Breen, 2007).For instance, in my case, I am an insider and outsider to the community of research participants on different levels and instances. For instance, as Southern African, my insider status shifts when studying a lived experience in a West African context. Also, although I consider myself an insider in the general cultural entrepreneurship sector, I may be rendered an outsider in some activity of the same sector. Also, I am rendered 'outsider' in my role as a researcher. This entanglement is illustrated by Villenas (1996) by referencing the complex scenario of being a "native" ethnographer situated between one's community, the dominant culture, and the academy. I conceive my situation as a duality and dynamic rather than a dichotomy. My insider status presented a threat of bias and partisanship, which raises the key question of how to achieve the distance necessary for analysis. Buckle, Dwyer and Jackson (2010), argue that although the merits of subjective research approach seem to have taken precedence over the idea of "objective" data, there are problems associated with this process. Brannick and Coghlan (2007) have cautioned that researchers may be caught in a conflict between "loyalty tugs" and "behavioural claims". I mitigated the challenges identified through a reflexive research practice by maintaining a research diary, where I recorded my reflections on how personal agendas might influence the research process. Notwithstanding the above discussion on bias and reflexivity, I do not consider my embeddedness as an absolute demerit. Buckle, Dwyer and Jackson (2010), acknowledge that common status can afford ease of access into the researched group. For Bopal (2010), the researcher can be an asset for theoretical and analytical work. Bopal argues that the researcher's own experience of everyday life should be acknowledged and exploited in intellectual work. The implication for my role as a researcher is that I am the instigator of the interest in the phenomenon under investigation and to recognise the importance of my pre-existing knowledge about the phenomenon. Despite the pursuit of impartiality, as an African cultural entrepreneur, who has considerable experience and contacts in the field, it would be inconceivable to claim absolute neutrality during the research process.
The process
The semi-structured interviews are the primary method of collecting data, which are complemented by the participatory observation, an urban walkabout and analysis of secondary data for a fuller grasp of the experiences. I also made observations of how the participants conduct their entrepreneurship online and how they projected their entrepreneurial identity. A key aspect of the methodological approach is to eschew the orthodoxy of approaches associated with researching dominant groups. Alternatively, I considerflexibility and adapting the methods to privilege the voices of the marginalised cultural experience of first-generation Africans. An essential part of the process is the initial evaluation of the research instruments through a pilot study.
Pilot study
There are numerous benefits of a pilot study; I consider three. For Yin (2003), it is an opportunity for the researcher to assess the suitability of the study protocol. Secondly, the pilot exercises on occasion for the researcher to evaluate the researcher’s competence to achieve the research goals (Stake, 1995). Lastly, Janesick (1994), the researcher can focus on particular areas that require further clarification. I deployed the first three interviews as pilot studies to assess the effectiveness of the interview schedule and to assess my research skills. The pilot exercise allowed me to review the interview schedule for more effective coverage of identified areas of inquiry. I noticed that the exchanges were slow-paced and that the interviewees became over-academic with their responses, which resulted in interventions in the main research process to reassure the participants articulate freely without the expectation of academic answers. The pilot interviews provided new lines of inquiry which were implemented in subsequent research encounters. The initial respondents benefited the study by suggesting future participants and questioned some of my preconceived assumptions and biases.
Semi-structured interview
The study deployed the semi-structured interview as the prime data collection method because of its capacity to enable free expression of the participants' lived experience and the practicality associated with the technique (Bryman, 2008). The process comprised of 14 semi-structured interviews, which formed the material for the data analysis. Three supplementary interviews were conducted, which were short and focused in nature and served to augment and clarify the emerging themes. Most of the interview sessions were conducted face-to-face, except for one via Facetime. The efficacy of the interview method could be understood as the acquisition of first-hand information from the participants through their personal words in a verbatim manner with the assistance of language (Lichtmann, 2006: 119). While interviewing the colored African cultural entrepreneurs, open-ended questions had been utilized so as to elicit the personal accounts regarding the experiences which such individuals possess in the context of the performed, respective entrepreneurial practices of theirs. The objective of such an endeavor had been to motivate the personnel to communicate their accounts of experiences as well as to extract their biographies in a verbal mode within the overall context of their entrepreneurship endeavors. The goal with the semi to non-structured interviews is to gather the participant's lived experience of a phenomenon and to approach the general aspects of the phenomenon from those idiosyncratic experiences (Berglund, 2007). I eschewed methodological orthodoxy for methodological appropriateness, as espoused by (Gray, 2003, Nwankwo, 2005), who dispel the notion of the ideal interview. Gray (2003) caveats that; this does not mean that we can dispense with structures and formalities. The process of gathering data is vital that it remains flexible enough to allow the intrinsic richness of the experiences of respondents while remaining focused on the central question and the phenomenon explored Berglund (2007). Face-to-face semi-structured interviews are regarded as a flexible research tool as they enable the interviewer to clarify and adjust their questions (Creswell, 2007). Accordingly, the semi-structured interviews afforded the participants the liberty to express themselves, resulting in new discussions and unanticipated ideas. At the beginning of the research process, I assessed the suitability of alternative methods. I considered conducting focus groups, which would have yielded an invaluable discussion from the synergy of being with fellow creatives. However, it became apparent that with the socio-economic dynamics of the study population, it would not be feasible for them to commit to a time slot. I also opted against questionnaires for their lack of flexibility (Dreyer, 2003). On the other hand, in an interview, the interview participants could effectively share their personal knowledge as well as their learnings so as to add to the multiple dimensions of their comprehension regarding the situations in which they could find themselves into and about the conditions which may not be directly explored by the data derived from the questionnaire-based Quantitative study (Lichtmann, 2006). I had trialled the narrative interview for the richness of its storytelling quality (Muylaert et al., 2018). However, during the pilot, I encountered the prevalence of short responses, which necessitated the adoption of semi-structured interviews instead. Also, their experience is characterised by a series of fragments of experience through long periods and multiple settings. However, an important rationale for the deployment of semi-structured interviews is their value for affording a voice to marginalised groups such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. According to Moree (2018), the early 21st century has seen a shift away from a top-down approach that sees the marginalised as helpless victims, towards more participatory research designs that promote and give space to the marginalised voice. The recruitment process entailed the initial contact which was done by phone, email and as well as personal encounters. Upon receiving an expression of willingness to contribute, the time slot and the choice of the location were left to the participants' discretion. According to Adler and Adler (2003), when considering the location of the interview, it is important to consider the comfort of the participants. The locations varied from the quiet study cubicles in the library to coffee bars. Some of the locations, such as the Mailbox coffee bar and the lobby at the Rep theatre, were too public in my view. In some instances, I suggested some adjustments, such as moving to a quieter position to minimise distractions and overpowering ambient noise. A useful technique for settling the participant was starting with a conversation on a benign topic such as the weather or the appeal of the location. I expressed eagerness to learn about their practice but that I did not intend to pre-empt the interview. I proceeded by explaining how the interview process will be conducted by reading to them a prepared statement (in the Appendices). The statement reiterated the purpose of the research and made reassurances about their comfort and anonymity. I also explained the purpose of audio recording and reassured the participant that the audio file was solely for transcription purposes. I opted for a recorder to enable maximum engagement with the interviewee. I adopted the active interview approach, which acknowledges the equal status of interviewee and interviewer as partners in contributing knowledge. I implemented the approach by preparing the participants ahead of the interview by furnishing them with some of the topics and issues. This is important for the maintenance of power equilibrium during the course of the interview and to provide an environment conducive for the production of a range of meanings that address relevant issues that are not confined to predetermined agendas (Holstein and Gubrium,1995, 123). I was more aware of how the issue of power plays out when interviewing a female respondent, which has been raised by feminist researchers, particularly the strict masculinist codes and modes of interviewing and their belief in objectivity and denial of the emotionality of research (Gray (2003). Wolf (1996) alludes to futile attempts by feminist researchers to equalise research relationships through empathic or friendly methods. Wolf asserts that such methods ‘do not transform the researcher's positionality or locality’ and there will always be unequal hierarchies of control which exist before, during and after the fieldwork. As further adherence to the idea of an active interview, I encouraged the interviewees to reflect on issues and to get in touch when they have more material. The interview commenced with a question on the general description of their practice, and the most salient issues were located in the middle, while the end focused on more reflection and revisiting some of the earlier issues. The questions on the schedule contained a general open question together with followup questions and prompts. The interview protocol appears heavily structured; however, having many questions and prompts enabled the researcher to probe effectively. At the end of the interview, I thanked the interviewee for their contributions. I reiterated some of the reassurances made at the start and required them to complete the consent form. When the participants departed, I recorded my reflections on the research logbook, which included comments about the nature and suitability of the location. I reflected on my conduct of the interview and those of the participants, whether they were settled, and if they were forthcoming with their responses. I took note of the most interesting points which had emanated from the interview. I reflected on the threats to the flow of the interview and I did well involving the potential new areas of inquiry and further development of interview protocol. I took note of situations where I struggled to extract information and recommended further development. Some of the most prominent observations were respondents being too academic and evasion of taboo subjects.
Participant observation
The material from the interview process was complemented by deploying the participant observation method. The study of the multiplicity of research activities could be assisted by the research methodology involving participant observations from the extensive qualitative research paradigms which are thus considered to be invaluable tools regarding such study performances. The applications of casual conversations, unstructured and informal interviews, and in-depth research questionnaires are utilized by participant observers (Jorgensen, 2000, p. 22). Denscombe (2014) has characterized that the participant observation-based research method completely is associated with that of ethnographic methodologies. These methods characterize the depiction of populace groups as well as societies and attempt to develop proper understanding concerning the perspectives of participants so as to have greater clarity in comparison to the views of outsiders. Brewer (2000) has alternatively defined Ethnography as study of personnel within settings that occur naturally, in which the researchers have to participate in a direct manner within both the settings and activities so as to systematically collect data without interpolation of any external meaning. From an academic perspective, the ethnographic research procedures are defined through extensive field research work in which the researcher is required to be engrossed completely as participating observers on occasions and during other occasions, as observers only(Johnstone, 2007). However, the scope of this research project could only permit deployment of a version which would be required to be streamlined in terms of highlighting the participant observational methods. Gray (2003) has argued that the aim of such a method is to expand beyond the means of direct interviews with the actors involved and to focus on the measures of interactions and interpersonal relationship management between such personnel across the provided spaces and sites. This could enrich the interviewee's interaction process by revealing extensive insights about the person being interviewed and such insights could not be gained through conventional interviewing procedures only (Gray, 2003). I employed the method in researching church spaces and other events of African culture. I attended Calvary Apostolic Mission church service and the Redeemed Christian Church of God. I attended as an ordinary churchgoer with all my Christian regalia, such as the bible. During the service, I took notes and pictures, which were compiled later after the service. I also attended the barbershop as an ordinary customer, although I was not able to take notes while my hair was being cut, I made mental notes of the sights and sounds, which I jotted down soon after leaving the shop. I attended the African village, where I mingled as a regular customer, sat at the bar and engaged in conversation with other patrons. I took quick notes on my phone, which I further developed upon returning home. I made the decision to go into these spaces incognito since they were public spaces. However, I was constantly aware of my academic gaze, that despite the effort to remain incognito, my position mediated my behaviour in those spaces.
A walkabout methodology
The development of proper comprehensibility regarding the cultural landscape of Birmingham is a critical element regarding this study research. This requires the utilization of an Urban Ethnography related to the topic and the format entailed is that of a walkabout. Iain Sinclair, in his Lights Out for the Territory (1997), has specified that the most effective manner of urban space exploration is through walking. The rationale is that the experience of the space as a familiar or practiced place could get altered effectively, though gradually through the gradual evolution of the urban surroundings of such selected spaces (Alexandros Daniilidis, 2016). Therefore, a purposeful urban drift is an efficient method for observing the evolving spatial patterns from the pace and street level of a pedestrian. According to Strang (2013), the goal of the walkabout research is to explore people’s historical and contemporary relationships with local environments. A walkabout is a participatory and observational methodology focused on people’s interactions with places(Strang, 2013). It allows elicitation and enables the informants to articulate the cultural landscapes and territorially situated ethnohistories [ibid]. For Holland et al., (2010) urban spaces are a complex social phenomenon that is a constructed and experienced through social relationships; power relationships; history; culture; values; attitudes by those who live in them. The outcome of these socio-spatial dynamics is a version of the city landscapes that is different from the planned version. The methodology is useful in resisting the top-down narratives about cityscapes and affords an opportunity for developing community centred knowledge about geographies out of lived experiences. According to Holland et al., (2010) the resulting notions of community and neighbourhood are dynamic and contested, these senses of community and neighbourhood also affecting the attitudes, opinions and behaviours of those that live and work within them. Although for Strang (2013), this process of walkabout pertains to the participation of various informants within the selected spaces which they could consider to be significant regarding the collection of historical, social and ecological data regarding the original place. Concerning such aspects, the application of the approach from a distance has been initially applied. Schensul and LeCompte (2013) had highlighted that performing observation from a definite distance indicates the measure through which researchers initially have to observe various activities that are related to the topic of study/evaluation. This implies an observational technique that pertains to spectatorship and it does not involve participatory procedures. The objective is to direct the research orientation towards, even superficially to some extent, the places, personnel, apparels, social interaction methods, linguistic affiliations, and lineages as well as various other demographic and social aspects which formulate the community settings on which the familiarity of the research topic for the researcher could depend [ibid]. Although it is referred to as a walkabout, which may suggest going about aimlessly, the process involved critically and observationally drifting through the urbanscape by bicycle or public transport. The process entailed the collection of basic sites and territorially specific data. I interviewed or chatted in situ with individuals who possess significant knowledge about the specific spaces. Some of the interviews were opportunistic and informal. I used various data collection methods, which included photography, notetaking, and audio recording. In the latter stages of the urban drift, I sought to gain an in-depth significance of particular geographies by soliciting the participation of key informants associated with those spaces. The recruitment strategy was a combination of random canvassing and contacting pre-known participants. The walkabout was deemed appropriate for its potential to situate a marginal cultural practice. It was invaluable for situating the cultural practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the cultural landscape of Birmingham. The methodology was especially effective in appreciating the interstitial location of the spaces of African cultural expression. It was through walking that I discovered, for instance, Calvary Apostle Mission the church located above a night-club, which was only observable from a street level. By walking, I appreciated the proximity of the wards, such as Ladywood to the Birmingham city centre cultural district. Thus, the value of a walking methodology is that it affords an in-depth view of people’s interaction with their spaces and to appreciate particular cultural and histories of geographies in ways that would not be possible through other secondary data and or elicitation approached conducted away from the location.
Secondary research materials
Aside from the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs and ethnographic methods, the following sources were used:
Birmingham City council policy
Sources in the government such as the Office of National Statistics which could furnish valuable data concerning ethnic entrepreneurship
Publicity materials
Programming literature
Social Media accounts
Sampling approach or recruitment strategy
The sampling process aimed to identify African cultural entrepreneurs who have immigrated from Africa and are working or a resident in Birmingham and willing to share their lived experience. The research population are first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. For the purposes of scope, the study the particular focuses in on Black sub-Saharan Africans. The contributions of other participants were sought to enrich the emerging knowledge. Although the majority of the interviewees were from Birmingham, a participant from outside with strong links to the city was recruited for particular insights. A central feature of the sample is first-generation African immigrant in the UK. The first-generation section of the African community in the UK is an important constituency of the population because of their recent settlement in the UK. According to (Owen, 2009) significant flows of African immigration started in the 1990s and climaxed at the turn of the millennium. The main participants are first-generation cultural entrepreneurs who are practising in the culture and creative sector. The limits of what is included and excluded the sector are heavily contested in cultural scholarship and cultural policy studies (Cunningham, 2002). In this study, I purposely adopt a loose categorisation to include some of the activities that may not be detected by a Western nomenclature. The participants could be in formal employment or freelancing, which corresponds with Nwankwo's (2005) findings that a significant number of Black African entrepreneurs in the UK is involved in both formal and informal economies. The sampling strategy for the study was a combination of purposive, network and snowballing. Through a purposive sampling approach, the researcher aims to select "information-rich cases for in-depth study" (Patton, 1990, p. 182) or participants that have the potential to generate suitable valuable data (Green and Thorogood, 2014). This way of sampling allows the researcher to match the sample and the research questions that the study intends to answer (Bryman, 2015). The purposive approach enabled me to interview first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs who had a substantial and relevant experience to the subject focus of the study. The purposive approach is useful for selecting participants with appropriate experience and expertise to meet the study objectives. Some of the sources of contacts included the recording studio, resource centres, university, curators and internet. The respondents were also recruited through the networking method. It is another participant-driven sampling strategy which involves accessing participants through acquaintances, friends and families (Adeniji-Neill, 2012). The networking approach is good for Hidden or hard-to-reach populations. Typically, hidden populations have strong privacy concerns due to illicit or stigmatised behaviour (Heckathorn, 1997). My knowledge of the study population is that it is difficult to access. Some still carry legacy experiences with the establishment even though most are now legal residents of the UK. An effective approach is to begin by identifying and winning the trust of gatekeepers. I generated a considerable list of contacts from three gatekeeper and professional cultural intermediaries, curators. Corresponding to the networking approach is the snowballing approach, where new contacts are generated from the initial group (Bryman, 2008). Snowballing is useful in situations where access to the study population is challenging to achieve through centralized means (AI-Nawafleh, 2008; Spring et al., 2003). I implemented the snowballing approach by asking the interviewee at the end to recommend anyone for the research. The approach benefited the research by reaching participants who are refugees, whom some researchers regard as a 'hidden' population due to the difficulty of gaining access to them (Spring et al., 2003). Jacobsen and Landau (2003) caution that unless special attention is exercised, material acquired through snowball sampling might only include participants from the same social circle, such as religious, ethnic and political affiliations. The threat of exclusivity was minimised by limiting the use of the snowballing approach. In total, the sampling process involved 14 interviewees. Although I had a sample target initially was set but mainly depended on the point of diminishing returns, where I started to sense that no new themes were emerging and had substantial collaboration and redundancies in the themes. DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree (2006) refer to the process of diminishing returns as data saturation, a signal that the data collection process is nearing completion or complete. Creswell (2011) states that the qualitative research sample typically comprises of a few participants and case studieswhile Ritchie et al. (2003) suggest that within qualitative research, the sample size is usually small primarily because phenomena only need to appear once to be part of the analytical map. For Guest et al. (2006), saturation can occur in the first twelve interviews and that few new phenomena are likely to emerge after that. The selection process diligently considered a variety of cultural activities engaged in by the population, country of origin and gender.
Who are the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs?
The table above presents the demographic details of the participants, their disciplines of practice, educational backgrounds and country of origin. The average age of the participants is 42 and predominantly male.The educational attainment of the participant’s ranges from level 4 to post-graduate.Level 4 is the basic stage of higher education, while Level 5 represents the acquisition of post-secondary knowledge and skills before university (GOV.UK, 2020). Most of their enterprises are independent and freelance, although the pursuit of collaborations and participation in mainstream markets is highly prioritised in their business agenda. They are mainly headquartered in their homes and ply their cultural expression at weddings, church, and community events. The nature of their practice is predominantly amateur and sessional, although their self-reporting and passion suggest otherwise. They are well regarded in the African community, which affords them assurance of business longevity. A significant amount of their activities are based in the church.They are also transnational as the continental audience market is targeted and regarded highly. Their earnings from cultural practices are mainly subsistence earnings by nature, which requires them to supplement such earnings by taking odd jobs. There are exceptions, though, as a minority of the participants are well established in the mainstream culture and in the creative sectors.For instance, one of the participants has landed prestigious stage and film roles, and another has created a highly viable media business. Generally, the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the study could be characterised as nascent and aspirational. As a working definition, the African cultural entrepreneur is an agent whose primary commitment is to conserve and disseminate their cultural expression while actively seeking economic solutions for the sustenance and exploitation of the practices.
Analysing and managing data
The four main elements of data are the audio recordings, the interview transcripts, the field diary and the completed consent forms. The interviews were recorded with Olympus DM-770 Digital Notetaker and the iPhone as a backup. The audio files on the phone were secured in a passcode-protected phone and judicious in making sure that the audio from the Olympus was uploaded onto a folder in Dropbox. To minimise paper loss, I designed a spiral-bound field diary. The book comprised of forms where I filled in descriptive and reflective information during or after the interview and the back part of the book had the consent forms. Binding the research paperwork proved a more secure and convenient way of preserving data. The interview audio was transcribed by using the F5 transcription software, and Dragon Naturally Speak dictation software. I transcribed all the interviews in verbatim. The advantage of transcribing own field data is that immerses the researcher in the data (Gray, 2003). The transcripts were imported into NVivo a preferred Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS). The essential functions of NVivo are the nodes which are labels for units of meaning, and the queries are invaluable for data retrieval. The data collection and analysis stages of the research were sometimes conducted in tandem.
The analysis process
All recordings of the semi-structured interviews were transcribed literally and thematically analysed on NVivo. The thematic approach to analysis is critical to this study because of the qualitative, flexibility and the nuanced nature of its discourse (Holloway and Todres, 2003). NVivo provided the organisational system for identifying and curating the growing list of broad themes and subthemes (see Table 2). The process was mainly inductive, which meant that the themes emerged from the data; however, that did not preclude the researcher intuition and hypothesis, which was a natural outcome of the time spent in the interviews and transcription.
Methodological limitations
The size of the sample presents issues of representativeness. The study is based on a limited number of participants, albeit characteristic of qualitative studies. The participants were limited to the geographical area of Birmingham and excluded voices from other cities in the UK. This limits the ability of the research to make cross-national and international generalisability. However, considering insights from nationwide studies of African entrepreneurship in the UK (Nwankwo, 2005; Ojo, 2013), significant variations in experiences of first-generation Africans are unlikely. The sample complement is dominated by male participants and this has led to the detriment of in-depth gender perspectives. The lack of female participants is a subject of discussion per se, about the underrepresentation of active African female cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham. This is partly reflected by the challenge of recruiting women participants. According to Gill (2002), gender inequalities persist in the cultural sector. Gill reports women get significantly fewer placements which disproportionately go to men. The lack of gender representation corresponds with the problem of limited continental coverage. There is a conspicuous absence of participants from certain countries. The near-total absence of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs from Moslem countries such as Somalia is a potential line of inquiry. The lack of a comprehensive continental representation impacts the representativeness of all African immigrants. Analogously, I acknowledge the imprudence of aggregating all African groups with little regard to the immense ethnic variety across the continent. The study approach assumes homogeneity among African cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham. Invariably, the African diaspora in the UK has various dimensions of identification. For instance, amongst Nigerians alone, is a multiplicity of nations which include inter alia, the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba (IOM, 2010). The absence of studies which specifically look at the cultural entrepreneurship of Africans in the UK, explains the broad focus of the research aims and questions because of the exploratory nature of the study.This is illustrated by the eclectic catalogue of themes, which were only explored broadly with limited depth. However, the wide range of issues and themes raised contribute considerable value to the debates of cultural entrepreneurship and are appropriate for what I consider as a new area of study.
Ethical considerations
The research process will be conducted in compliance with the ethics policy of the Birmingham City University and British Educational Research Association (BERA) guidelines 2011). This was formalised by satisfying the demands and recommendations of the university's ethics committee. In the present research, the identities of the participants are anonymised. To maintain participant confidentiality, I have identified them by pseudonyms. Names are excluded from transcripts and in the final research write-up. With the exception of my supervisors, I have the sole access to the personal details of the participants and are saved in encrypted and password-protected storage. The participants were expressly reassured about the anonymity of the identity at all stages of the research process. Typically, researching immigrant groups raises the need to carefully consider how they are predominantly represented or stigmatised in society, which requires responsive, ethical choices. Some individuals in the study population are refugees, which engenders issues of perennial mistrust with the establishment as Zetter and Pearl state 'refugees and asylum-seekers are understandably sensitive to perceptions, images and misinformation about them' (1999, p.2). It is therefore common that they, like other disadvantaged groups, may treat researchers sceptically, believing that the research may result in further exploitation (Renzetti &Lee, 1993, p.101). The debate persists regarding whether some of the African refugees are political or economic refugees. I am aware of the offence it caused to immigrant communities and endeavoured to avoid any references to such offensive narratives. As an African, I am aware of the casual essentialist language that is used to refer to other African groups. Essentialism occurs when a group is ascribed a fixed and parochial identity which assumes that certain values are shared by all its members (Dick, 2011). Such representations of groups fail to appreciate that identities are socially constructed and that individuals belong to more than one identity group, "making identities complex, multiple, and contradictory, and ensuring that the experiences of group members are varied rather than uniform" (Dick, 2011). To mitigate this ethical risk, Dick (2011) suggests assuming an anti-essentialist approach to collective identities, such that identities are conditional, contextual, and in perpetual construction. When I interviewed a respondent from an African group who are famed for their taste of expensive clothing, I avoided making assumptions that all the men from that African region are inclined that way. Inquiries into the details of cultural entrepreneurship in the sending countries carry the risk of reliving the trauma. A significant number of immigrants have endured traumatic events associated with their decision to immigrate. To gain a comprehensive understanding of their pre-immigration cultural entrepreneurship required exploring the entrepreneurial history starting from their country of origin. I acknowledge that when discussing aspects of forced immigration, the recollection of upsetting memories is inevitable. I mitigated causing offence by not requiring graphic details of these accounts but focused on the entrepreneurial experience. Consent is an important ethical consideration when implementing face-to-face interviews and in ethnographic research such as participant observation. In the case of a face-to-face interview, I gained consent through oral means prior to the interview and by completing a form at the end of the interview. By contrast, Murphy & Dingwall (2007) allude to the complexity of ethnographic research consent as a relational and sequential process, rather than a contractual agreement lasting throughout the period of research. Murphy & Dingwall observe that in most cases, at the start of the ethnography research approval could be tentative, and the researcher may have to contend with restricted access to sensitive aspects of the subject initially. The informality of the arrangements in ethnographic research makes it even more imperative that consent is appropriately expressed in one form or another. Correspondingly, I employed an incremental consent approach to observing the entrepreneurial activities of the couple in the study. Although I instantly knew that our encounter was a research opportunity, I was only able to gain overt consent subsequently, firstly in the form of verbal expression and later formalised by completing a consent form. Graham et al. (2005) have suggested that most participants are not entirely informed of what they are consenting to when they agree to participate in research. The participants were informed about the purpose of the research before contributing. This information was communicated orally and contained in a project information sheet, which explained how the study was disseminated. I reassured the participants about the commitment to confidentiality and anonymity. The information sheet educated the participants on their rights, especially the right to terminate or retract from certain details of their contribution. The research generated a significant amount of data in the form of interview scripts and voice recordings, which warrants careful consideration of data security and privacy implications. I intend to retain a representative amount of data, while the rest will be destroyed at the end of the study. The data is stored in encrypted cloud storage. I also will use professional procedures to make sure some of the files are permanently erased from the hard-drive.
Validity and robustness
The demonstration of the efficacy of the research designs and the implementation process of the same could be only performed through qualitative management of research reliability and validity. Golden-Biddle & Locke's (1993) have identified that aspects such as authenticity, in-depth understanding regarding the subjects, cognizance of the existing trends of debates pertaining to such subjects and intense scrutiny of the presumptions involving the development of insights into the research problems could be considered as the core elements of any research quality management process. However, the validity related perspectives are incrementally complicated regarding the culturalist paradigms. Gray (2003) has attempted to design a framework through which the claims and outcomes of the performed social researches could be utilised involving diversified and multifarious research methods such as quantifiable statistical surveys or participant interview methods. Saukko (2003) has observed that the objective of capturing the actual reality from a neutral perspective is not compatible at all with those of the positivist assumptions regarding the universal validity or truthfulness measures. Saukko has further outlined various problems concerning the reliability based expectations which had been performed by another scholar concerning similar research themes and the outcomes have been comparatively the same. In this context, the corresponding research process would be subscribing to the culturalist definition of the element of validity which could indicate the measure of achieved accuracy in terms of the research conclusions involving the researchsubject and the context on which the study has been formulated (Gray, 2003). From the perspectives of Gray, the implication could be ascertained that any qualitative research performer could obtain first hand accounts provided by the research participants. Saukko (2003) has advocated that this perception of multiplicity of validities could imply to the efficacy of development of differential rules of research in opposition to that of the ubiquitous measure through which, supposedly, every task could be performed regarding the research study. However, concerning the multiplicity of rules, it is necessary to be aware of the accuracy of the relationship established in between the research objectives and the conclusions which could differentially relate to the existing reality. An important principle here is rather than a futile pursuit of neutrality; bias is subjective to a continuous reflexive process, which raises awareness of its own historical, political and social investments. In the present study, validity was sought by affording the respondent the latitude to express their experiences freely. I endeavoured to preserve fidelity to the content and emotion of the contribution during transcription. The study was supported by the first-hand accounts of the participants. In some instances, the validity was demonstrated by the presentation of multiple quotations as collaboration on a single subject.
Summary
This chapter has detailed an in-depth discussion of the stance and rationale adopted by the researcher. The chapter highlights justifications for the methods deployed and approaches for recruiting participants. A vital component of the methodological process is the researcher proximity to the research population, which raised the importance of reflexivity and the relative methods for managing bias. The study used a combination of qualitative data collection methods and the semi-structured interview as the principal method. This was complemented by the participant observation and urban walkabout methods, which were deployed for studying the cultural geography of the city. A guiding principle in the methodology design was affording a voice to the marginal lived experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, which was best served by the semi-structured interviews. The provisioning of the context of an in-depth storytelling endeavour could be only developed through deliberately calibrating the collaborative and reflexive methodological techniques which are employed to this purpose. This approach enables the research respondents to effectively express their personal experiences regarding entrepreneurship which could accurately communicate their position within their narratives from an interpretative perspective. The complications related to gaining proper access since the African diaspora communities are mostly closed and penetration of these community structures is always a matter of much effort investment (Nwankwo, 2005). The issue of access shaped the recruitment strategy as the snowball and network strategies were deemed appropriate. The chapter described the steps involved in the analysis and safe management of data. The key ethical considerations relate to participant anonymity, maintaining confidentiality, cultural sensitivity and consent. Chapter four serves as a precursor and sets the scene for the subsequent findings chapters. It provides an understanding of Birmingham as the host city for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs.
Chapter 4: Birmingham as a place and space for African cultural entrepreneurship
Introduction
This chapter serves as a precursor to the rest of the findings chapter and as an establishing shot of the geographic context of the entrepreneurial experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Ahead of the main discussions on the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans in the rest of the thesis, this chapter aims to situate their cultural expression in the policy and geographical context of the city of Birmingham (UK). I explore the significance of Birmingham as a space and place for African cultural expression by approaching the city as a research subject with its history, present life, and how it is imagined by the diverse groups who live in it. The first half of the chapter is purposely designed to interrogate the city as silent participant, hence the muted voices of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The analysis will consider the significance of city’s policies, the geography and the cultural institutions in relation to cultural expressions of first-generation Africans. The voices of the study participants will be introduced in the latter part of the chapter in the discussions about the significances of specific geographies and spaces. Accordingly, the central goal of the chapter is to gain an understanding of how the cultural practice of first-generation Africans is situated in the the city. Birmingham is an appropriate case study because of its diversity and as a destination for a significant population of African immigrants after London, and for its ethnic diversity which is higher than the national average (Ons.gov.uk, 2018). According to the 2011 census, only 57.9% of people in Birmingham are White, while Asian and Asian British people make up the next largest group, with 26.6% of the population and followed by Black or Black British (9.0%) (Ons.gov.uk, 2019). The presence of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in European multicultural cities such as Birminghamengenders a consideration of how the conservative white versions of the city are challenged by the diversity of its Black residents (Dudrah, 2002).The understanding of the spatial experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs has implications for how new categories of cultural expression and practice are accommodated in Europe's urban material and conceptual spaces. I examine how the city’s geography and political structures are shaping the experiences of African cultural entrepreneurs and reciprocally, how they are carving out alternative spaces for their cultural practice. It engenders an appreciation of the notion of space as an active element in social relations and how people construct spaces, places, boundaries and relationships. According toPrince-Chalita (1994), the process involves creating new spaces, occupying existing spaces, or revalorising negative-labelled spaces. For Jackson (2003), space is no longer adequately theorised in a static or bounded sense but is increasingly understood in relational terms. The starting point is to conceive thatspace is not an existential fact, but a social product that is continuously under construction (Lefebvre, 1991). Blunt and Rose argue that space is not a neutral given, but that ‘space itself could be interpreted in multiple ways but only after its construction in the minds of those perceiving it’ (1994: 12). The appreciation of space as a politically charged resource will be complemented by an exploration of the role of power in spatial relations. In this case, I examine the role of the city in the reproduction of spatial and cultural inequalities, how its diverse cultural expressions share in its cultural geography and creative labour markets. Although the focus on Birmingham as a place and space for African cultural practice has no precedent in literature, other studies have considered the city plays host to a minority culture. For instance, Ram and Jones (2007) highlighted how the city’s self-reinvention process leveraged its significant population of ethnic minorities to present the city as a vibrant hub of multicultural diversity while Dudrah (2002) studied the city spaces through Black popular culture. Dudrah encourages further exploration into different ways in which Birmingham's Black public sphere is utilised and experienced by the city’s Black communities. Accordingly, the subsequent discussions will undertake to situate the African cultural practice in cultural geography of Birmingham. This will be achieved by exploring: how are the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are situated in the geography and policy milieu of the city? How do its diverse ethnic cultures share the city's cultural geography? How are the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs reimagining parts of the city's landscape? Through a combination of methodologies which include an urban walkabout and participant observation, I represent Birmingham as a city of two halves: the one dominated by white cultural expression and the other half where the culture of the subalterns is hosted. The white cultural expression dominates the city’s cultural districts which is located in the city core, while the culture of minorities is ordinarily hosted in other cultural establishments about the city. Importantly, I argue that the culture of first-generation Africans is neither located in white cultural spaces nor minority spaces but situated in the interstitial spaces of the city and in the fissures of the broad BAME category. The study reveals that the organisation of the city's cultural geography reproduces inequalities and hierarchies of cultural participation. It also engenders the agentic actions of the marginalised groups such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, who are carving their version of the city. The chapter comprises two main divisions. The earlier division explores the planned version of the city where the flagship infrastructure is located. The second division is dedicated to spaces of minority culture. The chapter commences by considering the status of Birmingham as a super diverse city. It proceeds by examining how Birmingham’s urban policy instruments are deployed and how they relate to the cultural participation of minority groups such as African cultural entrepreneurs.I interrogate the rhetoric of cultural democracy in the Birmingham Cultural Strategy (2016) by contrasting its promises with the lived experiences of African Cultural Entrepreneurs. The middle section of the chapter will attempt to situate the African cultural entrepreneurs by developing an understanding of Birmingham cultural geography. Through a historical review of Birmingham’s regeneration initiatives, I investigate their relevance to the culture of minority groups. The penultimate section will investigate how the culture of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is hosted in the city’s minority cultural spaces. In the same section, I discuss the problems of collective minority cultural provision, particularly its negligence of the variances in black experience and sensibility. The balance of the chapter explores how despite the apparent absence of the African cultural expression from the city's planned cultural spaces, the first-generation Africans evince agentic capacity in carving out alternative spaces from the common parts of the city.
A ‘superdiverse’ city
Before embarking on the main analysis of the significance of Birmingham as the cultural context of the cultural practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, I briefly expound on the status of the city as one of the most culturally diverse cities in Europe. Apart from its former prominence as an industrial city, Birmingham is now recognised for the diversity which defines its population of 1,073,045 (2011 census). The census of 2011 had revealed that increasing measures of diversity have been emerging in at Birmingham concerning the existing demographic structure of the region and the cultural fabric of the communities living there and such developments have been made possible through the concurrent global immigration patterns. The Community Cohesion Strategy for Birmingham Green Paper (Birmingham City Council, 2018) has outlined that such new migration patterns are influencing the demographic composition and landscape of the city to transform the same into super-diverse compositions from the perspectives of both ethnical and social trends. The Green paper has highlighted that the city of Birmingham has gained pride regarding the cultural diversification which it has gained and the city currently hosts personnel from over 200 different nations. The paper has also outlined that the city is comparatively diverse enough with the ethnic minorities comprising of at least 42% of the varied and rich cultural heritage of the city. Birmingham had been declared to be a City of Sanctuary for demonstration of the commitment of the city towards the cultural principles of hospitality and towards the process of extending support to the refugees and asylum-seeking groups. The previously mentioned Census had outlined that 42.1% of the populace had classified themselves to have ethnic minority lineages other than that of the Euro-Caucasoid origins and this measure was only 30% during the census of 2001 and the current rise has been that of 12% which has projected the city to become a majority-minority city.
The evolution process of Birmingham as a city with extensive diversity could be traced back to the initiation of the inflows of migration during the 1950s and 1980s which had originated predominantly from the Caribbean islands and that of Southern India. Such trends have now been supplanted by the new inflows of personnel arriving from regions such as Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East (Birmingham City Council, 2018). The reduction in the proportion of Britons of Euro-Caucasoid origin in Birmingham had been 13% during the duration from 2001 to 2011(Department for Communities and Local Government Strategic Analysis Team December, 2014). During the same time period, the increment in the numbers of Britons from African origin had been that of 2.9% in comparison to the 3.4% increment of the Britons of Asiatic origin and residents from Pakistani origin had increased 2.8% (Department for Communities and Local Government Strategic Analysis Team December, 2014). The Euro-Caucasoid population of the city of Birmingham is currently 53% of the entire populace which is considerably lower than that of the national average (80%) of the UK including most of the various core cities (ibid). Birmingham’s diversity is also reflected by the multiplicity of languages and religious persuasions. In the 2011 census, 47,000 people (2.4% of the population) reported that they were not fluent in English or did not speak it entirely (Birmingham City Council, 2018). The Southern Asian languages are the second most spoken in Birmingham. The extent of 40% (approximate) of the residential populaces of the wards of Bordesley Green (38.3%), Sparkbrook (38.1%) and Washwood Heath (36%) have reported that they speak a primary language which is not English in comparison to the average of 15% of the residential populaces of the Birmingham city(Birmingham City Council, 2018). The data collected on the adherence to religion has outlined a reduction of 13% in the populace who are adherents of Christianity and a 7.5% increment in the numbers of adherents of Islam has been recorded as well which has made Islam to be the second-largest religious orientation within the city of Birmingham (Birmingham City Council, 2018). The Community Cohesion Strategy for Birmingham Green Paper (Birmingham City Council, 2018) deploys the term ‘Super diversity’, which is ubiquitous in Birmingham’s policy literature as part of an overt branding strategy. The term ‘superdiversity’ is attributed to sociologist Steven Vertovec (2007), to highlight a level and kind of complex diversity surpassing anything the country has previously experienced. The term denotes increased diversity between and within ethnic minority groups. Notwithstanding its ubiquity in urban policy, it has attracted a significant amount of the critique. Makoni (2012) argues that the term contains a strong sense of social romanticism, an illusion of equality in a highly asymmetrical society. Deumert (214) argues that superdiversity is a conceptual impasse because the intricacies of diversity ultimately defy numerical measurement. The quantitative celebration of superdiversity warrants a qualitative investigation of the extent to which the claims are accompanied by the corresponding cultural provision. Birmingham’s cultural plurality with the population being under 25 and 40 per cent of non-European ethnicity have a significant implication on the distribution of the cultural resources in a way that reflects the diversity of identities cultural expressions. It engenders questions about the responsiveness of the local public policy to the increasing cultural diversity, particularly imperative with the projection of Birmingham's to become a majority-minority city by the 2021 census. Hence, in the following section, I consider how this cultural diversity is managed in policy tools and how these relate to the cultural rights of ethnic groups such as African cultural entrepreneurs.
Situating African cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham’s policy
In this section, I analyse how Birmingham’s policy instruments are deployed and how they relate to the cultural participation of minority groups such as African cultural entrepreneurs.I specifically consider the policies that relate to enabling the cultural entrepreneurship of minority actors. The coexistence of local and immigrant populations, cultures and subcultures present for Birmingham a challenge of delivering services that inclusive and reflective of the city plurality of cultural expressions and identities. As Ponzini (2009) notes, it is at the local government and community level that questions of policy implementation and actual effects manifest. Urban life is the context where cultural identities and diversities converge and where challenges and opportunities of cultural diversity politics are located” (2009, p.6). In other words, in multicultural countries, the interventions for cultural provision are often devolved down to the urban stratum of governance. Regarding the significance of the local geographical context to cultural practice, Naudin (2018), notes that being a cultural entrepreneur is a dialectical process which is partly subject to formal structures within the city but also by the cultural entrepreneurs' actions and alternative framework. Though often an imperceptible component of the urban environment, the policy instruments are a significant constituent of the urban cultural infrastructure. In the present study, I explore how the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is situated in relation to the urban political context of Birmingham's urban policies. Most relevant for this exercise is the 'Culture on Our Doorsteps' strategy green paper, which addresses matters of diversity, particularly the issue of cultural participation. ‘Culture on Our Doorsteps’ and its Myth of Cultural Democracy The policy under consideration is part of Birmingham Cultural Strategy (2016) entitled 'Imagination, Creativity and Enterprise', an active instrument for the period 2016 to 2019. The strategy comprises five themes, namely: culture on our doorstep, next-generation, a creative city, our cultural capital and our cultural future. For the ensuing discussion, I focus on the theme: “Culture on our doorsteps”(Birminghambeheard.org.uk, 2018). I particularly question its premise of cultural democracy and its emphasis on proximity to culture while neglecting more consequential barriers. The theme 'culture at our Doorstep' is premised on the aspiration of Birmingham becoming “a leader in cultural democracy where people come together to co-create, commission, lead and participates in a wide range of locally relevant, pluralistic and community-driven cultural ventures” (Birmingham City Council, p.2). The statement spells cultural democracy as the undergirding principle and goal of ‘Culture at our Doorstep’ strategy. The pursuit of cultural democracy is demonstrated by the acknowledgement of a wide gamut of cultural expressions. Under the subheading ‘Homegrown culture' the policy acknowledges the agency of grassroots and amateur arts formations such as faith groups and local arts forums. The cultural democracy approach and its recognition of nascent art activities and home-based culture resonate positively with the majority of categories of first-generation African cultural practice, which are mostly situated in spaces such as churches and community resource centres. However, the suggested merits of cultural democracy have engendered reservations and caution from sections of scholarship. The cultural democracy approach evolved as an alternative to the antecedent ‘democratisation of culture’ approach, which had traditionally pervaded Europe’s cultural policy (Evrard, 1997). According to François Matarasso and Charles Landry (1999), the traditional democratisation of culture approach prioritised access to culture out of the belief that culture has a civilising value and that there are benefits in exposing people to the refining properties of culture. According to Matarasso and Landry (1999), these values came under severe criticism of giving people access to a pre-determined set of cultural values, expressions and products. The demise of the democratising approach was succeeded by the principle of cultural democracy, which is concerned with increasing access to the means of cultural production and distribution (Matarasso and Landry, 1999). Cultural democracy means a turn from the supply side approach domination of culture support to increasing levels of participation from a broader cross-section of society (Jancovich, 2017). Although the merits of cultural democracy are touted in policy, it is imperative to critically analyse the central tenets of the approach, particularly: increasing access and participation. The democratisation of culture and cultural democracy dichotomy is undergirded by what Jancovich (2017) regards as the myth of participation. For Jancovich, central to the cultural democracy approach are nominal and tokenistic consultative processes in policy formulation. For instance, Birmingham City Council states that the policy was an outcome of the consultative process, which included many cultural sector organisations, businesses, educational institutions and individuals. The statement suggests a veneer of democracy in its formulation by suggesting a comprehensive consultative process. I argue that the claims of comprehensive consultation disregard the limited cultural capital of new population groups such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs to participate in such processes. These limitations are addressed in the next chapter, where I discuss how the meagre capital resources at the disposal of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs diminish their capacity to participate in host-culture networks. For Jancovich (2107) the participation-oriented strategies are often influenced by vested interests of those in receipt of funding and that a narrow range of voices, from the powerful cultural elite, are dominant in the decision-making in the arts. Thusly, cultural democracy approach has been accused of ignoring the power relationships within the decision-making unit, which always advantages the expert (Lukes, 2005). Lukes concentrates the spotlight on the influence of powerful voices of the cultural elite in the policy formulation processes, which dominate over newer voices, in a way that maintains the status quo and reduces the potential of new policy initiatives. Lukes argues that elites will always dominate policy decisions and override weaker voices due to the uneven distribution of power in decision-making groups. Jancovich, (2017) alludes to a sense of resignation by the Arts Council England staff that social inequalities will continue to be replicated in arts funding where 80% of funding goes to 20% of the clients while the people who participate and attend the most make up about 9% of the population’. The realisation of the preponderance of elite voices has implications on prospects of the new voices such those of new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs in influencing cultural policy in an effectual way. The implications for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are often their liminal or interstitial situatedness. Throughout the study, I highlight the multiple instances of their liminal experience, which renders the cultural practice of first-generation African, virtually invisible. In the later sections, I explore how their cultural practice is located in the interstitial spaces of the city, which begs the question about their visibility to consultative policy processes. UNDP's Creative Economy Report (2013) also noted that in most creative economies, many creative workers find themselves beyond the reach of official regulation and measurement.
Apart from the problem of cultural democracy, I question the “Culture on Our Doorsteps” for gratuitously proffering a solution for proximity to culture with lesser regard to more salient barriers such as deprivation and inequalities. The issue of distance as a relevant factor for cultural participation has received considerable attention in scholarship. For instance, in a Netherlands context, Langeveld and Van Stiphout (2013) demonstrated that the preparedness of cultural patrons to travel is limited. That distance is an important factor in deciding whether or not to see a play or to go to a concert. However, I argue that in the case of Birmingham, distance is of lesser significance. A walkabout of the main cultural districts and topographical analysis of Birmingham indicates that wards with the highest concentration of Africans are a walking distance to the cultural district, which diminishes the importance of physical propinquity as a factor of participation (see figure 3 below). While the Birmingham Culture Strategy acknowledges “barriers to participation including disposable income, available child-care, transport, ready access to information…”, It does not prioritise the inequalities of ‘doorsteps’ or neighbourhoods across the city. However, an exploration of the residential and cultural geography of the city raises the issues of non-physical barriers. A superimposition of the city’s socio-economic statistical data on Birmingham’s urban geography reveals significant gradations of deprivation. Birmingham is the ninth most deprived local authority in England according to the 2010 English Indices of Deprivation, falling from 10th in 2007. Amongst comparable areas, only Liverpool (1st) and Manchester (4th) are more deprived, whilst Leeds was the least deprived (Department for Communities and Local Government Strategic Analysis Team December 2014). In some neighbourhoods – mainly Sparkbrook, Aston, Ladywood and Handsworth – most ethnic groups experience a higher disadvantage in comparison to the members of the same communities residing in other wards (Cangiano, 2004). Traditionally, Sparkbrook, Ladywood, Aston and Handsworth are gateway suburbs for newly settled immigrant groups such as
Africans, which are within a three-mile radius of Birmingham’s cultural district. I advance the present argument of inequality rather than proximity by focusing on Ladywood ward as a vignette. To illustrate the insignificance of the issue of proximity, I focus on the Ladywood ward, which is situated next to the city's cultural district and has a high concentration of the African population. Most of the Ladywood area is a walkable distance to cultural venues such as the Symphony Hall and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The 2011 Census (Population and Migration Topic Report, 2013) shows that Ladywood has the highest concentration of new migrants were found in Ladywood (ONS), which qualifies it as a gateway suburb and one of the places where new African immigrants are likely to settle. Ladywood has one of the largest concentrations of Black-Carribeans, and as it is the trend that the Black-African group tends to have similar spatial patterns (Patricia O. Daley, 1998). People from Black African (98.2%) backgrounds were most likely to live in an urban location (ONS, 2019). Ladywood has been labelled as the poorest place in the UK, despite its nearness to the city's cultural district; it has been ironically identified as one of the city’s ‘cultural deserts’ (Connecting Communities Through Culture Report (2016). The low participation of Ladywood’s residents in culture, given its favourable adjacency to the cultural district, is a telling rejoinder to the of “Culture on Our Doorsteps” initiative, hence the imperative to probe the real barriers to cultural participation among the city's ethnic communities. I, therefore, argue that while policy instrument proffers adjacency to culture, barriers of deprivation and inequalities are greater in pertinence comperatively. According to (ACE, 2015) policies addressing inequalities tend to be identified as approaches to encouraging ‘diversity' in the arts, such as The Creative Case for the Arts. While O'Brien and Oakley (2015), note that failing to acknowledge inequalities in the sector suggests that ‘diversity' can be taken care of without addressing issues of social justice as an aspect of contemporary British society. When considering the spatial patterns of the first-generation Africans, it is plausible to suggest that their cultural practice is affected by issues of deprivation and multiple inequalities than adjacency to culture. Widdop and Cutts (2012:59) note that: "Those who live in deprived areas are more likely not to visit museums than their counterparts living in less deprived areas. Living in deprived areas has a significant impact on museum participation, not only because of the presence of other non-museum participants but also because living in such undesirable environments results in fewer opportunities to enhance cultural lifestyles." The appreciation of the element of inequality is essential for understanding the socioeconomic orientation of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans throughout the study. The preceding exercise of locating the cultural practice of first-generation African in the city’s policy is complemented by an analysis of how it is located in the cultural geography of the city.
Situating African cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham’s cultural geography
Besides the city's policy instruments, are the cultural institutions and places such as the built environment and spaces where culture is produced and consumed. In the following sections, I continue to situate the African cultural entrepreneurs by developing an understanding of the cultural geography of Birmingham. The implications of the analysis of the city's cultural infrastructure are grounded on the appreciation of how space reproduces inequalities through the nexus of place-space-race-power. Massey (1993) underlines the significance of spatial politics by through outlining notes of caution against the neutralization as well as de-politicization of this space by various scholars. In this context, Massey has contended that space could be considered to be a complicated web of different and multiple relations involving subordination and domination as well as cooperation and solidarity (1993, p. 81). Foucault (1984) situates space as a predisposed resource - an outcome of hegemonic social processes and fundamental the exercise of power. While Neely and Samura (2011) conceive space as an active archive of the social processes and social relationships composing racial orders. I pivot on the appreciation of the political qualities of space in cultural participation for analysis of Birmingham’s cultural infrastructure. The spatial analysis of the city will commence with an appraisal of the mainstream side of the city, which evolved out the city's culture-led regeneration program of the 80s. I commence with an abridged chronicle of the events which precipitated the present arrangement of the city's cultural geography.
Birmingham’s culture led-renaissance
A prequel to an in-depth analysis of the cultural infrastructure of Birmingham is a brief review of the historical events which motivated the regeneration of the 1980s. By this time, Birmingham manufacturing-based economy had seen a decline in successive decades of the 70s and 80s. This prompted the convening of the Highbury Symposium in 1988, which is regarded as a watershed moment on the timeline of the redevelopment of Birmingham's urban geography.
Spencer et al., (1986) have determined that the West Midlands and Birmingham related regions had not been performing effectively in terms of the economic development parameters. This outcome has been highlighted by Sassen (2006) as the attributes of the processes of deindustrialization, globalization, and tertiarisation. According to Barber and Halls (2008), the spatial argument which had posited the CBD as the most significant setting regarding attracting the economic investment as well as for development and projection of a progressive image of Birmingham, was utilized to arrange 1988 Highbury symposium(Barber and S Hall 2008). The most significant recommendation which emerged from the symposium had been the demolition of the ring road which had achieved the sobriquet of the concrete collar. Barber and Hall (2008) have reported that the demolition of this concrete collar had enabled the city to witness a new lease of pedestrianization and growth. This growth and pedestrianization related to that of the CBD. This culmination of a proverbial renaissance involved the development of an expanded city centre which has been friendly to the pedestrians and this space has been interspersed with an entire range of distinctive quarters and traditional commercial centres (Porter and Barber 2007). However, such urban regeneration undertakings often culminate into the urban planning based dilemma which has been so coined by Matarasso and Landry (1999, p. 42). This dilemma pertains to the necessity of communicating a specific image of the urban space which could invariably come in conflict with that of the perceptions of the local inhabitants regarding their personal lives. The points of conflict could be determined as the attempts to suppress economic deprivation, social unrest, dereliction, and various other complications. Accordingly, in the subsequent sections, I examine the social implications of the city centre culture-led sprawl and the allied quarters to generality.
The city core and cultural institutions
In the intervening period after the Highbury Symposium of 1988, Birmingham City council embarked on a regeneration program through a series of cultural quarters. The city responded to the economic decline with a program which started with the city centre development along with a series of flagship projects which included the International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall, the National Indoor Arena and a Hyatt Hotel (Porter and Barber, 2007). The City Core is home to some of the internationally acclaimed cultural establishments which include the Symphony Hall, the home of the City Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Presently, the city has a wide range of theatrical space which includes the Hippodrome Theatre, the home of Birmingham Royal Ballet. The Birmingham Repertory Theatre which hosts some of Britain's leading theatre producers is located in the same cultural district. Next to the Repertory Theatre is the newly built Library of Birmingham which houses a state-of-the-art gallery space. The later phases of the Birmingham regeneration concentrated on the Digbeth area on the Eastside of the city centre. The initial regeneration process of breaking of the concrete ushered in a wider culture-led regeneration. Zukin (1995) alludes the attention of scholarship to the regeneration trend of where culture has become the business of cities. Zukin adds that culture has been made to relate to a range of the urban policy imperatives, e.g. social cohesion, civic pride. For Miles & Paddison (2005) the result is a "new orthodoxy" of urban planning that positions culture and creativity as a defining success-factor in urban regeneration. In Birmingham, the same culture-led regeneration strategy is being implemented on the East side of Birmingham – Digbeth since 1999. According to Porter and Barber (2006), Birmingham City Council and its partners had championed culture—including the arts and creative industries—as key ingredients for the physical, social and economic regeneration of Eastside. The Digbeth has undergone a transformation into what is now known as the 'Digital Quarter' comprising the Custard Factory and Fazeley Studios. The district is home of some of the leading digital tech firms and incubator spaces, which make up almost one-fifth of Birmingham's economy, and 25 per cent of UK's gaming workforce (NESTA 2016: 59). While the redevelopment of the Eastside quarter has been heralded as a significant driver of the city’s renaissance, a glaring criticism has been its negligence of social and community agenda. This is seen in the development of artificial neighbourhoods, with no diversification and no provision of community infrastructure (Barber and Pareja Eastaway, 2010). Notwithstanding the apparent economic benefits and the renewal of the city’s cultural landscape, some sections of scholarship have been melancholic. A wealth of literature documents the ways by which culture can be highly exclusionary, and displace or unsettle existing communities and activities (Porter & Barber, 2006; Booth & Boyle, 1993; Bianchini, 1993; Evans, 2001, 2005; Miles, 2005b; McCarthy, 1998; Seo, 2002; Scott, 2000; Loftman, 1990). Some have criticised these high-profile city centre regeneration projects for benefiting big business at the expense of local communities (Barber and Hall, 2008). The critique against Birmingham’s culture-led regeneration projects are best summarised by the question whose renaissance is it? Accordingly, the subsequent discussion evaluates the significance and relevance of these major culture-led projects to the inner-city ethnic communities, particularly to the cultural practice of first-generation Africans.
But whose renaissance is it?
The discussion proceeds by reflecting on the relevance of the official narratives of Birmingham's flagship cultural projects to the local ethnic population. However, the very process of investigating the matters of diversity in local cultural services is often characterised by the challenges of data particularity. According to Naudin and Patel (2018), a high proportion of cultural organisations prefer not to disclose diversity data, which limits what can be understood about diversity in the sector as a whole. The lack of precise diversity data necessitated alternative investigative approaches, which included a qualitative analysis of the ethnic composition of the audiences, staff, talent and the cultural texts and programming of the city’s major cultural institutions. I also employed the walkabout method, an adapted form of urban ethnographic methodology. Through drifting I analysed the geography of cultural practice along the not so remarked upon landscapes of everyday culture. In the following section, I focus on the Symphony Hall and City Birmingham Symphony Orchestra CBSO, which are some of the major cultural institutions at the heart of the city's cultural district. The analysis of the Birmingham Symphony Hall advertised program for the year beginning from August 2019-July 2020, reveals a range of the productions which are dominated by international talent and productions. The program includes a variety of formats which include classical music, Jazz, comedy, spoken word and film. However, the same period is marked by the apparent absence of works by African artists. The only feature which had some African element was David Fanshawe's African Sanctus. The production is a fusion of Latin Mass and heavily appropriated ‘traditional African music’. However, I question the applicability of such hybridised 'African formats' to a continental sensibility. The same query will be raised in discussing the significance of diasporic cultural spaces and the relevance of hybrid African cultural expressions to first-generation African cultural sensibility. A walkabout of the Symphony Hall and direct observation of the audience reveal a striking lack of diversity in the composition of its patrons. Similarly, an analysis of the City Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) talent complement reveals a total absence of African talent. A survey of the orchestra’s website reveals that it comprises of all white but one black woman musician. The same lack of diversity is evident in the CBSO Chorus. However, they claim to be comprised of "180 people from all walks of life" (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, 2019), an observation of the video and pictures reveal it is virtually white and middle class. The language used in their publicity material CBSO is characterised by themes of excellence and international outlook, which signals a global outlook rather than local relativity. The absence of African culture in Birmingham's major cultural institutions can be understood by a further appreciation of the nexus of space and power, particularly the hegemonic premium placed on the admission of prospective patrons. It is pertinent to understand how spatial hegemony installs conceptual and physical boundaries for the regulation of access into particular spaces. These hegemonic boundaries serve to keep things apart from one from another by enabling certain expressions of identity while blocking others (Paasi, 2003). Nira Yuval-Davis et al. posit that "the border is being opened up very selectively while maintaining a definite demarcation and boundaries between the 'deserving' and the 'undeserving'" (2005: 520). In the study of East London community formation, Wemyss (2016) suggests that it is through the granting or withholding of 'tolerance' that hierarchies of belonging were produced historically. The process explains the latent absence of the social resource deficient groups such as the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. In the next chapter, I illustrate how the lack of legitimate cultural capital disadvantages the African cultural entrepreneur’s capacity in these spatial contests. According to Dudrah (2002), most Black people in the Western territories have been granted limited access to the dominant public sphere, which are explicitly and implicitly conceived as white. The implication of Dudrah’s assertion to the present study is to assess the access potentials of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs when considering their nascence on the Western cultural landscape. The implication for Birmingham is how its diverse cultural expressions are spatially accommodated in policy and cultural infrastructure. Stuart Hall (2000) points to a situation where minority communities are positioned differently within what we can term a new hierarchy of belonging. The theme of hierarchies is useful for the argument henceforth that the city is de facto a two-tier cultural order, which comprises the white middle-class tier and the rest. I will further argue that the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is located in neither class but in the in-betweens of the city's official cultural spaces. This leads to the original question about the relevance of Birmingham's major cultural projects to the local BAME communities. The same inquiry was posed to the residents of Ladywood during a walkabout in the same area and cultural district in the City Core. Tundi, a first-generation Nigerian immigrant, struggled to relate to the Symphony Hall. Personally, bro, there is no significance to the African community in the area. Indeed, the venue has been a venue for graduating students, many of whom are of African origin, but no specific benefit or relevance to African residents of Ladywood. (Tundi, Ladywood Resident, 2019) Tundi’s response contributes to the critique that the cultural venues at the heart of the city’s regeneration lack significance to its adjacent communities. The state of affairs is a counterstatement to the dominant approach in modern urban planning of attracting outside capital through culture-led redevelopment with the belief the that benefits will eventually trickle down to residents. Such regenerative initiatives often instigate the question: Whose city is it? The question provokes a critique of how culture-led regeneration initiatives benefit local citizenry and how the reconfiguration of urban living spaces impacts the spatial rights of minority groups such as the city’s new immigrant Africans. For instance, Evans (2005), the promise that the city-centre culture-led regeneration schemes will yield distributive economic benefits alone is untenable because of lack of sustainable social benefits. Booth and Boyle (1993) have demonstrated that the city leadership and policy formulators are extensively inclined towards actively imagining the identity-based image of the city and the marketing of the same through various flagship developments so that both the footloose capital and international tourism based investment could be attracted. The objective has been to reinforce the choices of residential space acquisition of the knowledge economy based working populace who demonstrate an extensive measure of vertical socio-economic mobility. According to Barclays (2017) the increment in property value at Ladywood, situated at the western periphery of the Birmingham city centre has been that of £171,121 on an average within the previous 12 months due to the fact that the locality benefits from an abundance of artisan coffee outlets and restaurants. This has been a 17% increment which is significantly greater from the growth experienced by the entire city of Birmingham involving a 5% difference. This boom in the property prices attests to the observations of Zukin (1997) as the particular manner in which financially dominant classes could develop a narrative and advance the same concerning the interpretation of the definitions of the urban cityscape. Zukin has stated that socially powerful actors generally impose their preferred visions related to spaces that are often formulated on the basis of cosmopolitan principles, global connectivity and transnational capital based wealth. In addition to this, the large scale projects are oriented towards serving the international as well as the national populaces, however, these infrastructural developments are mostly undertaken at the expense of the regional and local cultural developments in the forms of reallocation of funds from projects which could have been intended to be utilized for the purpose of supporting of the localized cultural production (Oakley, 2015). Rodriguez et al. (2003) have noted that the developments in Ladywood could be considered to be the spatial and social differentiation strategies through which the urban elites have attempted to exclude social groups which have been less successful and thus, have been less marketable concerning the intended urban identity projection(ibid). I argue these exclusory practices explain the segregated cultural provision in Birmingham, which has rendered it a two-tier cultural provision, between elite and minority cultural spaces. In the next section I explore the other half of minority cultural spaces/ where minority culture is mostly hosted.
The spaces of minority culture
Hitherto, I have sought to situate the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans by inspecting the policies that underpin the city’s cultural provision, and by investigating the major cultural institutions of Birmingham. I extend the exercise of situating the cultural practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs by exploring some of the notable organisations and spaces of a minority culture in Birmingham. I study the city's minority cultural spaces for an understanding of how the cultural expression of first-generation Africans is hosted. I undertake a conceptual patrol of minority spaces of culture to develop an understanding of how the African cultural entrepreneurs are situated in relation to subaltern spaces. The discussion encompasses the challenge of a collective minority and diaspora cultural provision. I draw on the demise of the black coalitions to illustrate the unattainability of a cultural provision that is predicated on the uniform black experience. I further discuss the non-accommodation of first-generation African cultural expression in the minority spaces, which I argue it confines the African cultural entrepreneurs to an interstitial belonging. The ensuing section starts with a consideration of Handsworth as a revered place of black culture in Birmingham. I also consider the now-defunct The Drum, its historical significance as space of minority cultural expression and the extent to which it accommodated the cultural of first-generation Africans. The same analysis will be extended to other minority cultural institutions such as the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) and the African Cultural Exchange (ACE).
Handsworth as the home of black culture
Among the many locations of African residence in the city, Handsworth has a particular significance as a sacred place for African diaspora cultural expression and black consciousness. Handsworth is a northwest suburb of Birmingham, which has significant cultural and historical baggage to the UK’s Black community. It is home to many immigrants from Britain's colonies and former colonies. Handsworth is well established in the popular imaginary as one of Britain's race relations capitals (Rex and Tomlinson, 1983). A walkabout along Soho Road, a one-mile-long business hub, reveals visible relics of the Black culture than anywhere in Birmingham. The connection of Handsworth with African culture can be understood by considering the history of dread culture. Connell (2019) alludes to the centrality of the figure of Africa to Handsworth's dread culture and the real effects this had on the lives of a young black generation. According to Connell Rastafarianism had also become a pervasive subculture which expressed an affinity to Africa by wearing Ethiopian national colours red, gold, and green, and perhaps most pervasively, by the cultivation of the dreadlock hairstyle. A central link with the continent is the dread culture's view that redemption of Blacks in the Diaspora is contingent on their repatriation to Africa (Savishinsky, 1994). The continental sensibility of Handsworth's "dread culture" has been the subject of celebrated local photographer Vanley Burke. Hisphotographs (below) captured instances of the culture’s transnational consciousness and performances in the streets, clubs and bars around Handsworth.
For Connell (2019), Reggae music was an important vehicle for conveying the connection between Handsworth, the Caribbean, Ethiopia, and Africa. Handsworth is the home of Steel Pulse a reggae outfit famous for their 1978 debut album - Handsworth Revolution. Steel Pulse was popular in Handsworth not only because of the quality of its music but also because, through its focus on Rastafarianism, the band emphasized an African identity that was specifically for use in Handsworth [ibid]. Most importantly, Connel states that the strong Africa sentiment in Handsworth afforded people a way to come to terms with their experiences in the locale and emphasise it as a distinctively black space. The historical status of Handsworth as an important place for black culture is sustained by the spaces such as the Grosvenor Road Studios and the Handsworth Park. The Grosvenor Road Studios is a base for an internationally a celebrated African percussionist and the all-female Acappella quintet – Black Voices. The Handsworth Park in the suburb is an important space for hosting festivals with an emphasis on black culture, namely: Birmingham's biennial carnival, the Simmer Down reggae festival and the carnival. However, it is important to note that most of these events are predominantly associated with the Afro-Caribbean culture, which prompts an enquiry about the extent the first-generation Africans identify with these spaces. For instance, the Simmer Down Festival 2019 line-up, was an exclusively Afro-Caribbean affair. The observation contributes to an important claim in the proceeding discussion of about the parochialism of these so-called diasporic spaces. In the coming sections, I illustrate the unviability of collective BAME cultural provision whose consequence is the exclusion of African culture.
The Drum
Another important space for black culture is the Drum cultural centre. Although now defunct, the facility has continuing relevance in building the argument about the absence of African cultural practice in minority cultural institutions. The centre was developed from the remnants of the former of Aston Hippodrome. The Drum was founded following a desire in the 1980s by Black artists in West Midlands who presented a strong case for the need for a major building-based resource and throughout its 22-year history it provided a much-needed resource for Britain’s African, Asian and Caribbean artists and communities. The facility was conceived as a national centre for Black British and British Asian arts to represent the cultural diversity in the surrounding neighbourhoods of Newtown and Aston. Since its founding in 1994, the centre was marketed as the 'National Centre for Black British arts and culture'. Although now defunct, the Drum has lingering significance, at least in the cultural memory of Birmingham’s black community. There was, however, a damaging disjunction between the artistic vision of the centre and a community where there was no tradition of accessing Western-style performance venues (Cochrane, 2006). The recent demise of the Drum represents a significant contraction of the black cultural space in Birmingham. However, the building has recently been reopened as Legacy centre under a new remit as a space for Black cultural production.
An analysis of The Drum archival programs from 2015 to 2016 raises reservations about its implementation of cultural diversity. The program reveals that the centre hosted a mix of local and international theatre productions, which included music, theatre, comedy, visual arts, workshops and events. The acts were predominantly Afro-Caribbean and Asian artists which included Benjamin Zephania Legends of Reggae Sound System Culture, the Soul of Bollywood and comedy by Shazia Mirza. Although the period featured some of Africa based acts such as Kokou Ekouagou - Togolese artist-paintings and Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 the absence of UK based first-generation culture first-generation African is evident.
Other spaces of Birmingham’s Minority culture
In situating the cultural expression of African cultural entrepreneurs, a familiar motif of the cameo participation of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs from the spaces of minority culture is observable at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC). After the demise of the Drum, the MAC is emerging as the main venue for diverse amateur arts as more non-white organisations are finding a home there. The Midlands Arts Centre for Young People, currently known as MAC, was established during 1962 and Councillor Sir Frank Price and John English who had worked previously as an industrial chemist with a great passion for theatre and arts had contributed much to the establishment of MAC (MAC, 2018). The claim of the artists is accorded legitimacy by the element of diversity in the following manner” “It is critical to the success of MAC's role that its users reflect the population and character of the surrounding city and region’ Research has shown that, uniquely among arts organisations nationally, the profile of MAC's users actually does reflect the demographic make-up of its catchment area” (MAC, 2018). The approach and the language on the MAC website sharply contrast that of major large arts organisations in the city centre. For instance, the Town Hall and Symphony Hall (THSH) website frames its identity along with themes of ‘global’ and ‘excellence’: "From world-renowned classical, rock and pop artists to award-winning comedians, you'll see performances that entertain and inspire you" (THSH, 2018). Conversely, the MAC states that it “is a national leader in developing work with children, families and young people of all backgrounds”. The contrast suggests the existence of a city’s two-tier cultural infrastructure along the high-brow and low-brow dichotomy. However, despite the remarkable diversity of cultural expressions on offer at the MAC, as observed in other Birmingham’s minority cultural spaces, the culture of first-generation Africans is underrepresented. An analysis of the MAC calendar from the period September 2019 toMay 2020, the only first-generation African feature is a workshop including on playing the mbira and the shakers and Zimbabwean dancing by Anna Mudeka. The tokenistic appearance of the first-generation African culture at the venues of ethnic culture is a critical counterargument to collective cultural provision for the BAME population. The study highlights the non-viability of the collective approaches to minority cultural delivery of the city and argues that the consequence is the exclusion of the practice of recently settled Africans. I associate the premise behind the collective approaches of cultural provision with the idea of a unified black experience (Modood, 1988). I refer to the assumption that all non-white groups have something in common other than how others treat them (Modood, 1994). The most common manifestation of this assumption is the deployment 'black' to describe people of African, Caribbean and South Asian origins in Britain. (Modood, 1994). According to Ali (1995), at the beginning of the 1980s groups originating from former colonies would have unselfconsciously expressed as 'black communities' to convey a common interest predicated on the politics of anti-racism. However, the moment did not last, when within marginalized communities and from without, there was a constant assault upon this fragile hegemony (Ali 1991). Despite the collective experiences, especially of racial disadvantages, the 1980s was the period in which a unified black politics was proving to be increasingly unsustainable. I contend that while the utility of the ‘black’ has since diminished among the UK's black ethnic communities, the monolithic identifiers and approaches of non-white cultural provision persist. For Andrews (2016), the problem of catchall categories for ethnic minorities ignores the genuine tensions and complexities that exist among the different shades of black. The past decades have seen an effective disentanglement of Asians from the black umbrella, credit to Asian scholars such as Tariq Modood, who with a modicum of success, have argued out of the black category. However, the idea of a separate continental African and Afro-Caribbean cultural experience remains a distant reality. There is an anecdotal sense of taboo and denial about the inequalities of cultural participation among the Black Diasporic community. I appropriate the argument by Modood in the Asian context to assert the potential prejudice to first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Modood (1994), argued that whatever strengths and flaws, the concept of 'black', has at least one critically undesirable aspect: it harms British Asians. Correspondingly, I argue that the concatenation of Black cultural provision overlooks the disparities of experiences and statuses among the black diasporic groups in the UK. Hall acknowledges the multiplicity of black expressions as each category speaks from a particular place, out of unique histories, out of that particular experience, a particular culture (Hall, 1996). It is plausible to conclude to that the diverse sections of the black diaspora have over the centuries developed divergent experiences and sensibilities which are as diverse as their locations across the Atlantic. It is a statement about the distinctiveness and heterogeneity of the black experience, which militates against the broad category of BAME culture. It raises questions about the validity of the cohabitation of first-generation African cultural expression in black diasporic spaces. A case in point is the African Cultural Exchange (ACE), a professional dance company which was founded in 1996 as a contemporary African and Caribbean dance organisation. The organisation identifies itself as an African diasporic institution. The organisation conducts artistic works in conjunction with diverse artists to commission works that incorporate the use of technology to assert their contemporary style. The dance company specialises in contemporary African and Caribbean dance. ACE asserts its style as Afro-fusion dance “which is rooted in traditional Afro-fusion forms – yet expressed through a purely contemporary lens” (ACE Dance and Music, 2019).However, despite the references to Africa in the description of their artistic format, I question the extent to which the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs relate to such hybrid cultural expressions in such institutions, which also raises questions about the viability of diasporic spatial arrangements. The value of the generational dimension of this thesis is to highlight the significance of the variances in experience between first-generation Africans and multi-generational black diasporic groups in the UK. In the next chapter, I explore how the deficiencies in multiple capital resources characterise the cultural work of first-generation Africans because of their recent settlement. The impact of the discrepancies in the levels of cultural capital among different generations of the black diaspora is not fully appreciated. I posit that a British born artist, though black, has an advantage over a first-generation continental artist who has to contend with acculturation in the new cultural milieu. In chapter 8, I advance the appreciation of the transition from the continental cultural context to a disorienting experience of Western sensibilities and tastes. In summary, the culture of first-generation Africans is neither located in the mainstream cultural institutions nor in the city's spaces of subaltern culture, but betwixt and between these.
Locating African culture in the interstitial spaces of Birmingham
The balance of the chapter explores how despite the apparent absence of the African cultural expression from the city's mainstream cultural institutions and spaces of minority culture, the first-generation Africans demonstrate the capacity to carve out alternative spaces from the common parts of the city’s landscape. The analysis of the spatial patterns of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs reveals that they are characteristically situated on the margins of the city’s mainstream cultural landscape. I submit that the lack of understanding of African cultural expression is a salient contributor to the spatial exclusion from mainstream cultural spaces. Greed (2015) associated the lack of understanding of the city planners and their reluctance to make provisions for the African culture. As a consequence, the new African immigrants have resorted to novel spatial patterns in response to the experience of spatial marginalisation. Apart from the formal spaces of cultural practice, a significant amount of African cultural activities happens in informal spheres of black urban geographies. These include residential properties, churches, decommissioned warehouses, rented school premises and restaurants among many. Crossick & Kaszynska (2016) observed that cultural value-based research initiatives are often concentrated on the activities which are publicly financed within any formal backdrop or setting. However, proper engagement could occur within differential settings which could involve spaces which could have been adapted to, churches, personal properties, homes, institutions including care facilities, prison facilities and finally, the virtual spaces related to the Internet as well which is the most frequently available setting of such engagements as well as the most cost-effective one. For Dudrah (2002), the cultural formations in these marginal spaces of the city militate against areas of conservative understandings of city spaces. Although the discourse of marginality is typically associated with the narrative of disadvantage, Bhabha (1994) depicts the spaces at the margins as privileged locations from which to make consequential interventions to the hegemonic narratives of race. Although some of the African spatial patterns are subterranean, they are nonetheless salient to their sense of agentic capacity and contribute to the narrative of resisting marginalisation. Dudrah (2002) articulates these alternative spaces through the notion of the Black public sphere. His perspectives portray the coloured public sphere to be the concept which could argue in favor of and could provide spaces for the coloured personnel as dignified Western citizens and this space is not constricted to the colored bourgeoisie only. This could be countenanced as a critical social imaginary which could draw the necessary impetus from the vernacular initiatives as well as practices such as street-level chatter, new musical trends, radio shows, voices announced from the churches/church declarations, media circulations and finally, indigenous entrepreneurship measures (Black Public Sphere Collective, 1995, pp. 2–3). It is a useful concept to understand forms of African cultural expression that are not usually accounted for in cultural policy. In the remaining discussion, I consider how the African cultural entrepreneurs carve out alternative cultural spaces and palimpsestically appropriate traditional spaces in new African ways. In the ensuing discussion, I contend that the culture of first-generation Africans is predominantly situated in the interstitial spaces of the city. About interstitial spaces, Danica Lau (2012) states that they constitute counterparts to the known and formally inhabited parts of cities and exist in contrast and at times in resistance to these. Through the idea of interstitial belonging, I illustrate how African culture is hosted in the marginal spaces of the city's legitimate cultural geography. Danica Lau (2012) notes that interstitial urbanism occurs in nooks and crannies of existing urban environments and takes advantage of the absence of distinct identity of spaces, which are shaped and redefined by the transitory activities and new intercultural experiences. The interstitial belonging of first-generation African culture links to the pervasive theme of liminality, which is a through-line of the study. Throughout the study, I highlight the motif of in-betweenness of sorts. For instance, in the following chapter, I discuss how the African cultural entrepreneurs are paradoxically located between the socioeconomic classes of natal country and country of residence. The view of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs as active participants in spatial politics moves their experience beyond the narrative of impotent marginality. It engenders the appreciation of spatial politics as a shared and bilateral process. Neely and Samura (2011) add that racial and spatial processes can be regarded as co-constitutive and dialectical. In this way, the spatial dynamics that shape social relations are also subject to the counter-agency of the racialised actors in the same process. The goal here is to understand how spaces are shared, contested, reshaped or created and how different social groups impute preferred meanings to geographies and sometimes supplanting traditional vernaculars associated with traditional or historical geographies. Jackson highlights the importance of appreciating the powerful, and the contentious relationship between cultural meanings and the landscapes that symbolise, reflect and shape those meanings (Anderson et al., 2003). It entails thinking culturally about conceptual spaces and concrete geographies and understanding the social and cultural processes involved in ascribing subjective reading of those spaces. The practice of imposing alternative meanings to geographies prompts an analysis of the spatial of patterns of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs and their subjective reimagination of certain landscapes which may even predate their settlement. These are arbitrary interpretations assigned to places often with absolute disregard for associated stories and traditions, now reincarnated into an African experience. The dialectical nature of spaces means they are not entirely subject to the preponderance of dominant groups but are capable of developing their own meanings of the same spaces. In the following sections, I explore how the first-generation Africans approach the experience of spatial exclusion by appropriating traditional geographies and imputing new uses and meanings on them. I consider how these traditional spaces are reimagined as African joints and spiritual real estate.
African joints
The increasing population of Africans in Birmingham has seen the emergence of popular meetup establishments or African joints, which are among indefinite purposes serve as havens of African culture and cuisine. Some of the joints are in the form of African nightclubs and restaurants. Some of the notable African joints in the city are the Global Joint Smokehouse Grill on Soho Road, and Tropical Delights Bar Grill Restaurant, Savana Eritrean and Ethiopian Bar and Lounge and the Birmingham Blue Nile Restaurant. Via the case of The African Village and Late Bar, I illustrate how these amorphous spaces, typically situated in traditional English real estate, demonstrate the spatial interventions by minorities by reimagining the geographical orthodoxies of the dominant culture. The African Village and Late Bar, formerly called the Crown & Cushion, is conspicuously situated at the centre of Perry Bar, Wellington Road and Birchfield Road in the North of Birmingham. The joint signifies the prominence of the African population in Birmingham and the reconfiguration of the city’s cultural landscape as one of the significant spaces for African cultural expression. According to Zacharanda (2015) the pub has been the heartbeat of Perry Barr for over 150 years. Jennings, (2007) chronicles the evolution of Crown & Cushion from the eighteenth century as a coaching inn and humble alehouse, back-street beer house and 'fine, flaring' gin palace to the drinking establishments of the twenty-first century. The long history of the property from the coach station, to a traditional English pub to the present, as African Village Restaurant and bar is a case study of many spatial palimpsests around Birmingham. One senses the significance of the Crown & Cushion by analysing the nostalgic reflection of its patrons on the Birmingham history forum (Birminghamhistory.co.uk, 2019): I used to go to dances at the Crown and Cushion on the corner of Wellington Road/ Birchfield Road in the late '60s. There were two 'ballroom' areas, one upstairs and one at ground floor level. Saw loads of different bands there (A Sparks, Forum Post, 2009). I went to many dances at the "big" Crown & Cushion in the 1950s early 60s; usually they were organised by the social clubs of big firms, one of our friends worked at Lucas and he would get the tickets for us. I also went to a friend's wedding reception there 8th September 1959 (Sylviasayers, Forum Post, 2009). The memories of Crown & Cushion as a significant venue for English culture are contrasted sharply by its reincarnation as a space for African cultural expression. Native patrons’ recollection of ballroom and social clubs is a world away from the sounds of African beat that now dominates the space. Although there are some notable practices such as drinking and dance, the venue has been reimagined through codes of African vernacular, which: are intricate and amorphous cultural spaces, characterised by an incredibly adaptable program. As the African Village, the establishment hosts African DJs, who demonstrate their skills through the sounds from the ‘motherland’. An analysis of the publicity collateral and social media, the African Village Restaurant cum nightclub morphs into church space, with events entitled ‘Call to Prayer’, to DJ led parties with one of the events curiously billed as ‘Addicted and Madness’. For African DJs and other cultural entrepreneurs, these venues are a lucrative market, which are a viable alternative to the competitive market in the mainstream night districts of the city such as Broad Street. The appropriation of the space from ‘Crown ‘n Cushion’ – a traditional English pub, is a classic instance of a dialectical spatial contest between the vernaculars of the dominant cultures and that of minorities. As Zukin (1993:16) asserts: while “powerful institutions have a preeminent capacity to impose their view on the landscapes by weakening, reshaping, and displacing the view from the vernacular”, a landscape of power is also a “contentious, compromised product of society”. The greater and broader comprehensibilities amongst the geographers regarding the mutually constituting relationships in between the economic discourses, the political and social disciplines as well as the urban spaces are indicated through the concept that spaces could be considered as products of differential societal contexts (Lefebvre, 1991). The notion of Geographical Imagination is utilized by various cultural geographers involving the study of societal mediations through the existing spaces for particular objective attainment (Harvey, 1973, p. 24). In this context, Harvey (1973, p. 24) has argued that any geographical imagination-based approach, could enable the associated actors to recognize the influence of space on their acquired experiences through which the cultural geographers could relate to the immediate surrounding spaces and could contemplate the measures through which the cultural transactions are undertaken in between the individuals and various organizations. Furthermore, the understanding of the influence of the space which separates the individuals from the organizations on the cultural transactions could as well improve through such approaches. For Duncan (1990), the social and cultural actors could converge with each other to formulate the structure of an interpretative community in which the shared sense of reading of the cultural and geographical spaces could as well formulate the basis on which social action could be undertaken. The new geographical imagination of first-generation Africans offers new narratives to antiquated sites. Jackson (2003) suggests that the positive outcome of the different meanings is the opportunity of telling new stories about old places. However, I suggest that the experiences of inequitable cultural provision and spatial marginalisation instigate the agentic actions of African cultural entrepreneurs to carve alternative geographies as resistance to the hegemony of the host culture. Gilroy (1993) articulated a geographical imagination of resistance, which exhumes the past in novel ways and production of alternative identities which can interconnect in new ways. This could be considered to be an expedient explanation of the observed African intricate spatial utilisation of venues as in the case of the African Village Restaurant. The subsequent sections explore how the first-generation cultural entrepreneurs are reimagining the church and barbershop.
The church spaces
The importance of the religious spaces for first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship is one of the most salient contributions of this study. In this section, I explore the significance of the church space to the culture of first-generation Africans. This section is a teaser for a fuller exploration of the significance of the church to the cultural entrepreneurship of Africans in chapter 6. According to Reddie (2016), black theology literature underlines the church as a major institution that has affirmed and bestowed dignity upon the inhibited and assaulted personhood of black people. Reddie further contends that black people in the African Diaspora might not have survived up to this point had it not been for their God-inspired genius for constructing safe ecclesial spaces, which are centres of refuge from the effects of racism and white supremacy. Despite the pervasive narrative of the declining significance of religion in the West, the church retains significance to African cultural practice and identity. Greed (2016) attributes the disregard for the religious dimension and the emphasis that is placed on diversity in policymaking circles to the assumption that UK society is no longer a predominantly Christian society. This thinking fails to realise the demographic developments in cities such as Birmingham. The fact is that in spite of religion having a diminished significance in the host community, it retains significance in the culture of ethnic minorities whose populations are on the increase in the UK. Moreover, sociologists of religion have discounted the claims of secularisation by arguing that the picture is much more intricate than a linear progression from the religious orientation to that of a secular nature (McClymont, 2015). According to McClymont, practice and belief are increasing in diversity and pluralism rather than merely diminishing. It is plausible to extrapolate that the increasing cultural diversity of the UK population contributes to the emergence of new spiritualities, which are dissimilar to the traditional majority ‘ethnic’ religion. The dearth of sympathy on part of the urban planners towards the incremental demand of real estates related to churches has demonstrated the dearth of proper understanding of such developing measures of worship by such planners. Not much attention has been provided by the planners to the activities based on faith groups and religious communities due to the secular values harboured by the planners. To this effect, the planning processes do not provide much consideration towards the fulfillment of such necessities (Greed, 2015). Thus, the religious changes have culminated in the increasing pressure on the planning authorities to manage the applications related to faith associated developments such as the new church edifices and the most significant example could be indicated in the forms of Black Pentecostal mega-churches (ibid). Pentecostal churches have attempted numerous times to obtain permission from the city planner to perform the development of new churches, alterations of new churches and modification of existing structures and such attempts have increasingly challenged the authority of the city planning officials (ibid). The role of the influential predicates the roles of town planners concerning mediation in shaping the urban spaces through the reconstitution of such spaces in terms of the predominant hierarchy of social relations (Massey, 1995). Many of the planners have the opinion, of rather stringent nature, that allocation of real estate and buildings for the purpose of employment generation as well as economic growth could be fundamental to the process of urban regeneration. Thus, providing permission to various development forms such as religion, which are primarily considered to be having less of commercial or financial worth, should be provided secondary attention (Greed, 2015). Thus, the criticality of providing such permission for the development of church spaces to the interested communities proves to be completely elusive in terms of perception by the secularised and ideological perspectives. In spite of this, the accounts provided by the African cultural entrepreneurs corroborate to and substantiate the criticality of the role of churches within their cultural observations. The spiritual practices of black Africans in the UK are not limited to the Christian experience. The African faith patterns are characterized by significant plurality and open devotion to mainly Islam and Christianity. Due to access and research scope, this study is confined to the Christian experience. The African migrant churches had been begun to be established during the early phase of the 1920s and this process had accelerated during the 1960s (Adogame 2004; Handles 2004). During the 1980s, a considerable populace comprised of African Christians had migrated to Europe due to the escalation of crises and conflicts within the entire continent as well as by the increasing influence of globalization (Hanciles 2004). Ter Haar (1998) has determined that the majority of the African Christian congregations within the UK are formulated by people coming from predominantly Western African nations such as Nigeria and Ghana. Such Christians mostly belong to the Pentecostal persuasion sects. Hunt and Lightly (2001) have noted that such proliferation of African churches could be differentiated from those of the coloured Pentecostal congregations which have been operating within the UK for more than the previous five decades. This extensive and marked contrast involving the theological preferences as well as social compositions, gets outlined in such a manner which could provide a challenge to the sociological frameworks which have been long in existence concerning opinions and functionalities of such Churches(Hunt and Lightly, 2001). Both the extended conceptual aspects as well as the elaborated curriculum of the church roles within that of the African cultural framework could contrast sharply with the leaner approaches employed by the British and native coloured churches of UK. As per some of the recent scholars, the primary roles of the churches within the new African communities could be identified as a an avenue to provide a final resort from the various measures of hostile experiences which anyone from such communities would have to endure in the newly acquired society. The rise in the practices related to Pentecostalism amongst the African migrants has been observed by Hunt as a direct outcome of the necessity to formulate a definite identity as well as the necessity to provide a sectarian measure of theocratic compensation for the minority groups which are characterised by their alienation and by their coloured status within the social structure of the UK (2002, 148). The evidence which pointed to the less than welcoming treatment provided to the early African immigrants by the congregations of native and established denominations as well as to the fact that such immigrants had been disaffected by the conventionally reserved forms of worship predominant in UK, has also prompted the enhancement in the attraction of the African Pentecostalism (Gerloff 1992, pp. 11–12). One of the most defining characteristics of coloured Pentecostal churches has been the style in which they conduct their worship which highlights the incumbency of African continental and Diasporan traditions including the ones which outline influence from the African American style (Reddie, 2006). The process of invocating the spirit involves the coloured Pentecostal worship, as an instance, could be outlined to be an attempt to establish a fusion within the expansive and non-textual liturgy based practice and this has been one of the hallmarks which have defined the specificity of African colored religiosity within the UK (ibid).
Numerous examples of spatial interventions of African religious nature could be uncovered within the city during a walkabout. Such religious organisations could be identified to have contributed to a great extent in the regeneration of the city interiors including the renovation of the dilapidated structures. This process has involved the renovation and reactivation, by the new Pentecostal church organisations, of multiple abandoned warehouses, industrial complexes which have been discontinued in terms of functioning and many of the church facilities which have remained in a derelict manner. One of the interesting cases is the Calvary Apostolic Assembly (Figure, 8), which is located on Hockley Hill above a commercial precinct and top of the La Reference Bar & Restaurant. The juxtaposition of divergent moral spaces, i.e. a night club below and church right above, demonstrates the innovations and ambiguities of the spatial patterns of the city’s African community. According to Pastor Moyo (Field Notes, 2019), before the space was leased out in 2010, it had fallen into dereliction when the owners seized operating a clothing wholesale at the height of the passed global recession. According to Pastor Moyo, the recession opened up spatial opportunities when more buildings suddenly became available. The former warehouse was renovated and has now become a premier venue for Southern African gospel shows. However, although the church has become such an essential space to Birmingham's African community, it remains hidden from street level view. The church space is accessed through a small door on from the street, which opens to a narrow flight of stairs. It is hard to imagine the presence of the facility when observing a stream of noisy patrons in La Reference Club below. The incognito location of Calvary Apostolic Assembly church is a metaphor for the obscure cultural value the space affords the African community. Pastor Moyo enumerated how the church serves the cultural needs of its parishioners and the local community, and how it has become a mecca for Southern African cultural entrepreneurs. The space has been utilised very well, obviously first as the church we congregate weekly. We do events for young people. The core membership is from an African background, and here we raise our children in terms of different lessons of life. We run a music academy for our young African children. They come and learn how to play the instruments and just be in an environment where they are being uplifted emotionally.We also rented out primarily to African groups, for instance where they are doing music events, some people hire the venue to host music shows, even weddings and funerals (Pastor Moyo, Interview, 2019). Churches provide critical showcase and incubation space. Rudo (Interview, 2018), a mbira player, explained the significance of the church in her practice: "My religion informs my practice, funny as it may look. One of the first men who introduced the mbira in the Catholic church – Masoko, dating back a few years ago". The role of the church is not unique to African culture, as Holden (2015) views the church as an essential part of the cultural ecology. According to Holden such churches commission new projects, accord training to the choristers as well as the musicians and furnish spaces for performance and community development operations as well as for cultural events including the rehearsals by choirs and amateur dramatics. Holden has outlined that religion and cultural expressions could be considered to be intertwined to a certain measure and this interdependence involves the soul singers, organists, Gospel choirs and many others. Such measure of interdependence could as well make the factors of religion and culture synonymous to each other in many of such communities.
The barbershops as ‘cultural-teleportation’ stations
"You know the barbershop is tantamount to the dinner table. The dinner table is the forum for family members to share their lives with one another, to enjoy fellowship. Well, in the barbershop, you have the same dynamic at work except nobody is trying to hide their vegetables" (Marberry, 2005, p. 55). The Western gaze is unequipped to fully fathom the meaning of the barbershop and its esoteric operation as a cultural space to the African community. The importance of the barbershop as a space for cultural interaction among African men extends beyond its cosmetic function. The barbershop and other alternative spaces such as, shishaparlours and spiritual healer’s surgeries are some of the alternative spaces that are not readily perceptible to an occidental cultural entrepreneurship scholarship. For Alexander (2003), the barbershops and hair salons are integral and specific cultural sites with the Black community. Marberry (2005) describes the barbershop as a ‘black man’s country club’. The significance of the barbershop as a cultural space to the African community has clear continuities throughout the African diaspora. Shabazz (2016), alluded to the barbershop as a site for fostering communal aspects of black male identity and for shaping the collective group consciousness. According to Alexander (2003), discursive space examples could be outlined by barbershops within the coloured community where the cultural exchange contexts are established through confluence of multiple activities such as hair care for coloured population members performed by coloured personnel as well as the small talks which occur within such facilities. Marberry (2005) has determined that barbershops could be compared to classrooms which could effectively operate as modern inauguration spaces for young personnel of the coloured community. Extensive coloured cultural history and social perceptions find transference within these barbarshops in comparison to schools.
New African immigrants have set up barbershop businesses on Lozells Road, Hockley, and Sparkhill’s Warwick Road. I focus my attention on Rayz Barbers located on Lozells Road. The barbershop is owned by a Nigerian national and predominately patronised by members from the same community. On approach one gets the impression that the business is brisk; however, most of the men in the shop have come for repose and banter. Most of the discussions are in Nigerian creole, which presents a challenge for an outsider like myself to decode. However, through the occasional mention of public characters, you can discern that the topics of debate range mainly between sport and current affairs. The discourse is dominated by in-depth sport and political analysis, which qualifies the barbershop as an essential space for knowledge production. According to Keleshi, a barbershop owner: As a barbershop owner, I only provide that space and the conversation take place. We love football, just like the pundits we are part of the game. People say their own view in terms of the analysis going on and everyone has a different view. You hear one television pundit saying something and the crowd here arguing about it. That is what makes the barbershop an interesting place, and different people have different views. We discuss African movies as well, and African politics, which is very, very common. African politics is well discussed in the barbershop(Keleshi, Interview, 2019). The barbershops serve several cultural purposes which include the country of origin news update and rich punditry on a wider range of current affairs. They are virtual sports fandom sites and a gratifying alternative of being there. The Nigerian barbershops double-up as Nollywood movie and music distribution points. They are a critical part of the Nollywood industry for sampling, reviewing, testing and even inspiring new cultural texts. However, the image of younger African boys who only sit and listen gives the sense that they are intentionally exposed to aspects of African male identity. The barbershop serves a critical role as cites of African male identity expression and performance. The performances can be observed mainly in the swagger and the clothes. It is a place of resistance to white hegemony which is partly demonstrated by the absence of some aspects of the dominant culture. For instance, the pictures of hairstyles on the wall are marked by the conspicuous absence of white models. The barbershops are sites of remarkable contradictions, for instance, the 'bromance' and antagonism. The elaborate attention to looks and skincare is a surprising contradiction to the ambience of African male masculinity. The sensation of being simultaneously attached to two cultural contexts is enacted in the African barbershop. In the title above, I have characterised these spaces as cultural-teleportation stations in reference to the experience of coming off an English high street and walking into the instant continental ambience of the African barbershop. The exclusively black bodies, the pictures, the language and the subject, contribute to a momentary sensation of being in Africa. Kelechi illustrated the simultaneity by the way African Man behaves in the barbershop in contrast to their homes. A barbershop is a place where we are able to express ourselves in a way that we are not able to do when we go home to our families, depending on how we leave in our families. For example, when some people come here, they are able to express what they are going through and about what they are doing, but when they go back home, they don't have anyone to talk to. And others are married to people who are not of the same culture as us. There are things that we cannot express at home. (Kelechi, Interview, 2019) The parallel of home and barbershop behaviour is a telling demonstration of the double-consciousness in the experience of first-generation Africans. I cover the discussion on double-consciousness in chapter 7 to explain and describe the feeling of having multiple social identities. Lastly, as a precursor to the discussion on the capitals in the next chapter, I consider the barbershop as a significant source of ethnic, social capital. It serves as one of the many vital nodes in social networks of first-generation Africans. In the next chapter, I discuss the importance of social capital, especially for business information. Kelechi articulated the value of the barbershop as a source of free information. Many talk about their jobs. They talk about their lives without jobs; where to find accommodation. Some talk about education because in the barbershop, there is so much information that goes around. So, in most cases, the barbershop is seen as an information centre, where people can get much information. When you share your issue, you get responses from every angle. (Kelechi, Interview, 2019) The function of the barbershop as a source of social capital and as an information centre is part of the multipurpose nature of the ethnic enterprise. Ethnic firms are known to offer derivative services in addition to their primary purpose. Burrell (2009), observed that ethnic firms are used for a variety of reasons which include sourcing food from the country of origin, finding employment, even to motivate an entrepreneur from a seemingly non-entrepreneurial culture to start their own business. Importantly, the ethnic enterprise can be a space to escape marginality and for social integration in thedestination country (Dana, 1997).However, Dana and Morris, (2011) caution against the ethnic entrepreneur’s over-reliance on the ethnic network, which they suggest can impede business and cultural integration with the wider society. In the next chapter, I further explore the limitations of ethnic networks for mainstream integration. Notwithstanding the utility of the church and the barbershop as important spaces of African cultural expression and social capital, I argue that the insularity of these spaces limits their usefulness for those whose entrepreneurial intentions are beyond the confines of the ethnic networks.
Conclusion
The chapter has provided the scene of first-generation African entrepreneurial practice. The aim was to situate their cultural practice and entrepreneurship in the local political milieu and cultural geography. Birmingham serves as a case of a multicultural European city, a super arena of race relations. According to Gilbert (2009), it is at the level of the city that the challenges of living together first emerge. It is also at the urban level that the socio-spatial tensions manifest as a result of societal and structural conditions (Gilbert, 2009). The events of race relations in the history of Birmingham and its management of superdiversity offers an invaluable case study for other European contexts, whose experience with diversity is still unfolding. The understanding of the spatial experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs has implications for how new categories of cultural expressions and practice are accommodated in Europe's urban material and conceptual spaces. The discussions in this chapter were predicated on the significance of urban spaces as politically charged entities, which contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon of hegemonic access and exclusion from the city's cultural resources. The chapter evaluated the rhetoric in urban policies with the aim of understanding how the cultural practice of first-generation Africans is situated in the city. I particularly examined the 'Culture on our Doorsteps' strategy, which is undergirded by the principle of cultural democracy. I questioned the legitimacy of cultural democracy and the allied participation determinism as an approach for cultural provision. I particularly argued that the emphasis on participation in the consultative stages, neglects the deficiency in cultural capital among minority groups required for them to engage effectually. I also argued that while the policy instrument espouses an inclusive approach recognising nascent cultural formats, it is silent on matters of deprivation in specific urban geographies of Birmingham, which are traditional locales for new African immigrants. I challenged the 'Culture on our Doorsteps' strategy for gratuitously proffering a solution for proximity to culture with lesser regard to more salient barriers such as deprivation and taste hierarchies. The chapter explored how African cultural entrepreneurs are situated in the cultural geography of the city. The process involved an appreciation of the history and goals of Birmingham's culture-led renaissance. However, the biggest critique associated with flagship culture-led projects is that local urban communities feel that they are unable to benefit from an improved city centre (Liu, 2019). An analysis of the programming and publicity materials of Birmingham Symphony Hall revealed an apparent absence of African cultural expression, which raises questions about the extent to which such flagship cultural projects relate to the local people. This is demonstrated by the non-patronisation of cultural venues by the African residents of Ladywood, despite their adjacency to the cultural district. The analysis of the city's cultural infrastructure reveals a case of two halves i.e. spaces for white culture and the rest for minority culture. I explored how the cultural expression of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is located in minority cultural spaces. The evaluation of programming literature revealed the apparent absence of African culture from minority spaces such as the MAC and the Drum. I questioned the viability of diasporic cultural spaces and their formats to the sensibility of first-generation Africans. I also argued that the collective cultural provision for Black groups is prejudicial to first-generation Africans whose experience is divergent from that of multi-generational black communities. The chapter concluded that the culture of first-generation Africans is neither situated in spaces of white culture nor the minority spaces, but interstitially located in the city's alternative geographies. I considered the spatial interventions of African cultural entrepreneurs by reimagining traditional spaces, imputing them with alternative uses and meaning. The chapter developed the understanding of the significant spaces of African culture such as the church and the barbershop. The appreciation of the political and spatial orientation of African cultural practice in the city is a valuable frame for the subsequent discussions throughout the study. The understanding of the marginality of African cultural entrepreneurs is extended in the next chapter through the discussion on the experience of being first-generation and the capital resources their disposal.
Chapter 5: Being a first-generation African cultural entrepreneur
Introduction
The previous chapter served to orient the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the cultural geography and policy milieu of the city. I argued that their practice is situated marginally in the interstitial spaces of Birmingham's cultural geography. The themes of marginality from the preceding chapter have been extended here by looking at the social resources at their disposal. The marginal location of first-generation African culture raises questions about the legitimacy of the merits of cultural work for social amelioration. For example, writing on the Telegraph on November 18, 2016, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock (2017) stated: “Because perhaps most importantly, the arts are potentially one of the greatest forces for openness and social mobility we have”. This idea of culture and creative industries (CCIs) as enablers of social mobility undergirds many policy formulation agendas. It is touted widely that the (CCIs) represent a meritocratic labour market, which opened up opportunities to women, those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds (Oakley, 2014). These assumptions are reconsidered in this chapter through the prism of the experiences of first-generation Africans working in Birmingham’s cultural and creative industries. The ensuing discussion engages a growing collection of works which have problematised the romantic image of social work and cultural identities (Gill, 2002; Scott, 2012; Oakley, 2014; Naudin, 2018). Ironically, the growing list of naysayers includes Florida (2017), an early arch proponent of cultural industries but recently conceded to the failure of culture and creative industries as an inclusive sector. Through his publication, The New Urban Crisis, Richard Florida issued an apology to urban planners who imbibed his ‘creative class’ thesis, which he says has triggered vexing inequalities. Florida’s about-face affords impetus to consider the debates between the alleged merits of cultural work and the antithetical voices. This chapter contributes to a growing repertoire of studies on the precarity and inequalities of cultural work. For instance, via the theme of gender, Gill (2002) considers how the CCIs are characterised by the traditional patterns of gender inequality, such as access to work and pay. Oakley et al. (2017) focus on the degree to which spatial inequalities reinforce other forms of social inequality in cultural labour markets. The Panic! Social Class, Taste and Inequalities in the Creative Industries research project by Brook, O'Brien, and Taylor (2018) explored the entrenchment of the meritocratic beliefs to access and mobility in the cultural sector. The report highlighted the underrepresentation of people from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) and working-class communities in culture and creative sector. However, among the wide gamut of themes, there has not been dedicated scholarly attention to the category of new immigrant cultural workers. Therefore, the goal of this chapter is to explore the new immigrant status of the study population as a distinctive theme of the culture and creative labour force. While most of the studies of cultural entrepreneurship have focused on the Western context, the chapter contributes to the knowledge of non-European cultural labour. Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo, (2012) observed insufficient attention to the dynamics of the entrepreneurialism of African diaspora communities, who are, to varying degrees, physically, psychologically and culturally separated from their “home countries. Therefore, this chapter will discuss the apparent prominence of disadvantage in the entrepreneurial experience of first-generation African cultural workers, which is often matched by the capacity to develop strategies of mitigating the challenges. For the first-generation African cultural entrepreneur, the process of transitioning to a new cultural context is characterised by multiple challenges. The accounts of new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs reveal invaluable insights into the experiences of embarking on a cultural enterprise as a first-generation immigrant. This way, the objective of the chapter is to gain a profound understanding of the distinctive experiences associated with the ‘firstness’ and recency of settlement in a new context of practice. In comparison to other multi-generational ethnic communities in the UK, the African diaspora is predominantly first-generation. Although African migration to the UK spans centuries, the turn of the millennium is statistically most seminal for the African population (Jivra, 2012). The recency of their settlement presents an opportunity to explore the distinctive experiences which are immanent in new immigrant cultural labour. The central question of the chapter is how do first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs describe their experience of being a first-generation cultural entrepreneur. I have investigated the capital resources at their disposal and the strategies that the first-generation African cultural workers developed to navigate the experiences of being a new immigrant cultural worker. The participants are mostly in the nascent stage of their practice, while some are more established. While the African cultural entrepreneurs are predominantly independent, some have practised within organizations, what could be referred to as intrapreneurship or institutional (Czarniawska 2013, Schmelter 2009). An important facet in the profile of the African cultural entrepreneurs is their generational status. The study adopts the definition by Masurel and Nijkamp (2004) who refer to first-generation immigrants as persons who were born abroad. Wait and cook (2011, p.3) add: those "born outside the country to non-host country parents". Being the first generation could also be characterised described as being without an antecedent relative in a particular experience situation.The generational dimension has been explored elsewhere; for instance, Levie (2007) explores migrant entrepreneurship and reports a significant resource disadvantage of recently arrived ethnic minority migrants (Levie, 2007). Ram et al. (2001) allude to the initial linguistic challenges of ethnic generations. Martin and Lumpkin (2003) suggest that the attributes of risk-taking and competitive aggression characterize earlier immigrant generations than later ones. The study of the generational dimension of African cultural entrepreneurs will reveal a category of the cultural practice, which is neglected often because of cultural policy and scholarly preoccupation with demographics and protected characteristics. The discussion will deploy the analytical lens of Bourdieu’s theory of capitals. The Bourdieusian approach is valuable primarily as an organising framework and for its theoretical purchase to elucidate the elements of the lived experience of the African cultural entrepreneurs.Bourdieu (1984) contends that differences in social positions translate to differences in possession of three forms of capital: social, cultural and economic capital. Consequently, the accounts of the African cultural entrepreneurs will be considered under the categories of social, cultural and economic capital. The intention is that placing their experiences in the Bourdieusian framework will aid the conceptualisation of the system of societal exchanges where assets of sorts are exchanged within intricate networks. Bourdieu’s notions of habitus and field are useful for appreciating the value of legitimate social resources for specific social contexts and networks. Bourdieu refers to habitus as“a subjective but not individual system of internalised structures, schemes of perception, conception, and action common to all members of the same group or class” (1977, p.86). Habitus is deployed here only as predisposition and tendencies acquired in the formative stage of the actor’s socialisation while the field refers to a specific social arena in social life (Bourdieu 1984).
The chapter comprises four sections. The first section is a brief discussion on the experience of doing cultural work without the necessary forms of capital. The following section discusses the African cultural workers’ deficiency in economic capital resource and the corresponding compensatory strategies. The chapter will proceed by discussing the experience of practising without social capital and the ambivalence of recourse to ethnic, social capital. The latter section considers how the lack of cultural capital which is essential for effective operation within native networks.
Making culture without capital resources
The present section aims to develop a general appreciation of the salience of capital resources for the practice of cultural entrepreneurship. The subsequent sections will discuss the economic and social resources at the disposal of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. These are essential resources for any entrepreneurial undertaking in Western capitalistic economies such as the United Kingdom. The experience of practising without legitimate capital resources is not unique to first-generation cultural entrepreneurs, as Ellmeier (2003) posits that cultural entrepreneurship is practised largely without capital. Cultural work is often associated with precariousness, opaque social networks, self-exploitation, high failure rates and paltry to no pay (Ellmeier, 2003; Gill and Pratt, 2008; Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2011; Leadbeater and Oakley, 1999; McRobbie, 2008). However, in the case of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, I argue that the distinction from their native counterparts is the severity and materiality of their capital dearth. For instance, the respondents narrated how a lack of social capital can be a literal experience of isolation. Although most of the participants immigrated to the UK through the facilitation of a significant other, upon arrival, they are subjected to a personal experience of embarking on an entrepreneurial vocation without the critical capital resources. The lack of multiple capitals is critical when considering the capacity of cultural entrepreneurs to compensate for their lack in one category of capitals by exploiting alternative capitals (Scott, 2011). Bourdieu (1997a, p. 54) describes the ability to convert one type of capital for another as ‘‘the real logic of the functioning of capital’’. Notwithstanding the criticism to Bourdieu's framework of capitals, particularly the negligence of agentic potential of the actors, the theory retains rudimental merit as an analytical template for analysing the experience of cultural entrepreneurs according to their proprietary of economic, social, and cultural capital. For Goldthorpe, Llewellyn and Payne (1980) the significance of capital resources theory is to appreciate the sustenance of specific power relations in cultural production. Goldthorpe contends that the discrepancy in capital resources is associated with the class structure of modern societies. Goldthorpe, Llewellyn and Payne add that the middle-class endeavour to retain their dominance through an accumulation of resources. In this way, the resources function to create a differentiated society based on the number of capital resources one possesses. The aspects of power and capital resources have an important implication for minority cultural entrepreneurs embedded in dominant societies such as Birmingham, particularly their capacity for effective participation among the networks of established native networks counterparts. For the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the apparent multiple deficiencies in capitals diminish their capacity to engage in the exchange of one form of capital for another. Therefore, it is imperative to gain an understanding of the capital resources at the disposal of new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs and the strategies that they deploy to mitigate their capital paucity. Among all the capital resources, Goldthorpe, Llewellyn and Payne (1980) regard economic capital as most fundamental in capitalist societies.
The Experience of Practicing without economic capital
I came with £50 and one pair of shoes that I came with. (Interview, Patrice, 2018) It wasn’t easy, but looking back at how I started, I am utterly proud of myself, and as I said the journey has been tough. Putting together all the money and dividing little income between here and back home and try to save as much as you can has been quite difficult. (Interview, Rudo, 2018) Patrice and Rudo recounted, starting their cultural enterprise without money. Such reports of lack of financial capital were ubiquitous in the accounts of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The accounts of setting up with paltry or no start-up capital are common in the experiences of the respondents. The accounts are interestingly analogous to the popular stories of bringing up businesses in the biographies of Western cultural entrepreneurs (Gill, 2012). The notion of bootstrapping is one of the many ideological dimensions of entrepreneurialism, which are often deployed in the construction of the self-made entrepreneur. However, I eventually argue that in the case of first-generation African praxis, the experience of starting without economic capital has a more concrete quality when factoring the multiple disadvantages which are tied to being a first-generation immigrant. While for indigenous cultural entrepreneurs bootstrapping may involve improvising with alternative resources in their networks, for the first-generation immigrant, the lack of track record means dearth in legitimacy for accessing lines of credit. The phenomenon of economic deficiency in cultural practice has received significant attention in cultural work literature. For instance, Michael Scott (2011) considered that although music producers work from an economically constrained position, they are able to mobilise and convert alternative capitals to ameliorate their poverty. Also, Friedman, O’Brien and Laurison (2016) attributed the underrepresentation of actors from working-class backgrounds to the lack of economic capital. In the case of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, I posit that the lack of economic capital is associated with the reasons behind the decision to migrate. For Flahaux and De Haas (2016), increasing migration out of Africa appears to be motivated by processes of development and social transformation, which have increased Africans' aspirations to migrate. Among the participants, the dominant determinants for migration are a combination of education and political asylum, which are both connected to a meagre economic subsistence. Hence, the economic capital perspective is useful for exploring how the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, in comparison to local counterparts, are predisposed to an inferior socioeconomic status due to their diminished earning potential (Brockmann, 2017). Among the contributors to their economic situation is the irrelevance of foreign qualifications and work experience, coupled with discriminatory hiring practices (Fang and Goldner, 2011). However, the narrative of an economically disadvantaged immigrant entrepreneur is often attenuated by some perspectives of ethnic entrepreneurship scholarship, which intimate that new immigrants with high socio-economic backgrounds have superior access to financial assistance through their family ties (Evans, 1989; Massey et al. ,1993; Waldinger, 1996; Zhou, 2004; Blanchard et al. , 2008).The argument is oriented on the social embeddedness theory, which contends that relationships are critical for an individual to access the necessary resources for economic action (Granovetter, 1985). However, in the case of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the capacity to recourse to familial resources appears to have limited efficacy as a strategy for mitigating economic disadvantage. The inability to recourse to familial resources is a dominant experience for first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, which will be further expounded in the discussion on ethnic, social capital. In most cases, they are the fundamental economic resource for the extended family because of their identity as a diasporic resident. It is often the case that in the hierarchy of familial economic status, they are regarded as benefactors rather than beneficiary simply on the basis of their Western residence. The experience is in contrast to the middle-class indigenous counterparts, who usually have the occupational advantage to draw upon the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ (Friedman, O’Brien and Laurison, 2016). For instance, in the context of the film sector, Friedman, O'Brien and Laurison (2016) highlighted considerable occupational advantages for actors who could draw upon economic resources beyond their income. However, for most African cultural entrepreneurs, even those from well to do families like Rudo, a Zimbabwean mbira musician recounted an experience of economic challenges despite having a privileged background: “Coming without much money in the pockets has been a challenge and kind of living two lives […] trying to juggle with all my bills and everyday life here in England where I live, and trying to set up a business” (Rudo, Interview, 2018) Despite Rudo’s 'middle-class' background, her experience of 'starting without much money' illustrates the limitations of continental economic capital to her entrepreneurial exploits in the UK. Rudo contrasted her lack of capital in the UK by recounting how she led a life of privilege as a travel consultant in Africa. The reports of economic disadvantage also relate to the complication of economic class designation on being embedded in the adopted country. The process of starting life in a Western economy situates them in a liminal socio-economic class, between the home country and destination country economic strata. The socio-class liminality is one of the much liminality which is a dominant theme throughout the study, which will culminate with in-depth attention in chapter 7. I also suggest that the indeterminate socio-economic status can be attributed to nostalgic reporting of home status and the fuzziness of class divisions in African societies. For instance, Daniel and Stoll, (2017) assert that neither in South Africa nor in other cases is it clear how stratification relates. Moreover, the recent settlement of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs and the experience of economic disadvantages is consistent with working-class living standards.In contrast, their native peers are often characterised as predominantly of middle-class by descent and privileged. However, McRobbie (2016) observes the current influx of young women cultural workers from across the boundaries of class, mainly lower-middle-class and upper working-class backgrounds. However, regardless of the of their varied class origins, the native cultural entrepreneurs have a modicum of recourse to familial resources. In this section, I argue that while the African cultural worker experiences confusion about their socio-economic class, what is most certain, is that their Western embedding assigns them to the precariat class. Guy Standing (2011) describes the precariat as a social class comprising individuals without an anchor of stability and migrants make up a large portion of the world’s precariat. According to McRobbie (2016), precariousness is characteristic of cultural work, and the workers content with it from the inception of their careers. It is often stated that cultural occupations are characterised by low material benefits, insecurity, and uncertain opportunities for progression (Banks, 2010; Oakley, 2009). Nyaradzo, a budding theatre director, reflected on security in former salaried employment and the insecurity of theatre work. […] Economically, it’s a risk and a different ballgame, because as a sales advisor, I had consistent income. But in the arts unless if you are a director or an associate in the theatre, you work as a freelance and there is no consistency. But again, I don’t want to be anything else but a freelancer. It makes things really difficult; it makes things extremely difficult. (Nyaradzo, Interview, 2018) Nyaradzo acknowledged the perils of working as a freelance theatre director. It is bewildering that his acknowledgement of insecurities was expressed along with the profession of adherence to a freelance working pattern. The same ambivalence is pervasive in the experience of African cultural entrepreneurs. The lure of independence and adherence to insecure modes of work continue to puzzle scholarship. In chapter 6, I explore the conundrum through the lens of their religious worldview. In the subsequent sections, I contend that the African cultural entrepreneurs experience additional dimensions of precariousness to their European counterparts. Although the experience of precarity is a pervasive feature of cultural work, Patrice, an established actor in the theatre industry, postulated that there are ‘more issues’ with minority cultural workers. […] The default position of the arts is 80% of the actors at any one time are out of work. That was the official union figures then, now is probably still the same. […] So obviously for the minority performers is even more, there are more issues and I found that. So, I was asking myself, how am I going to do my African theatre? Where am I going to get my training and a place to live, or have the money just to eat? These were ongoing thinks for about nine years or so or 10 years, I was like that. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) While the reports of precarity are ubiquitous in the culture and creative industries literature, they are seldom as basic as apprehension about sustenance and abode. As Patrice alluded, the African cultural entrepreneurs endure additional insecurities which include spatial challenges as discussed in the previous chapter. Due to their recent settlement and lack of economic capital, the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs contended with spatial disadvantages. In contrast to the native cultural entrepreneurs, who have the advantage of familial abode, African cultural workers experience the uncertainty of living and practice space. Patrice narrated how he subsisted on ‘sofa surfing’ during the early part of his acting career (Patrice, Interview, 2018), and Thembi described how she runs her fashion enterprise from a small corner of her rented apartment (Thembie, Interview, 2018). Her SOHO (small office/ home office) setup is characteristic of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship. They are often held is a liminal phase between operating from and affording commercial space. Thembie recounted how she dreaded taking the leap when her business began to outgrow her small the flat. In most cases, African cultural entrepreneurs make the decision to optimise their meagre economic capital by living and practising in the same space.
Another distinguishing element in the experience of first-generation African cultural workers is the extraterritorial dimension of their economic disadvantages. This means that their enterprise is subject to remote elements, which are totally independent of the context of the country of residence. The experience of extraterritorial factors is particularly tied to the status of being first-generation. The same experience is diminished or virtually absent in the experience of multigenerational ethnic entrepreneurs. Unlike the native cultural entrepreneurs whose economic capital is largely expended locally, the African cultural entrepreneurs endure the obligation to dispense their meagre economic capital between the country of residence and country of origin. Rudo recounted how her financial commitments span the two continents. […] I kind of live two lives. Unlike my children now they are probably focused on the life here. […] Whereas I’m the breadwinner, I still have to look after my parents in Zimbabwe. I still have to help out with my siblings’ education and what have you back home. So, I’m trying to juggle with all my bills and everyday life he here in Englandwhere I live, to set up a business and set out this and are back home I still have to take part in any ceremonies where they it be ceremonies and rituals and that has been a challenge is finance wise (Rudo, Interveiw, 2018) For Rudo, as a female cultural worker, her economic situation intersects with race, ethnicity, gender, age and single parenthood. The insecurities of African cultural entrepreneurship assume an acute quality when considering the interaction of race, gender and parenthood. In the case of Rudo, her main business involves peripatetic mbira workshop sessions in schools. She narrated how being a black and a woman cultural worker in a male-dominated space meant that she in competition with males. She explained how males are often preferred for school gigs and the complexities of single parenting, meant she is limited to jobs that are compatible with her home circumstances. Rudo referred to the ritual obligations which require her monitory participation. The implication is that her fundraising efforts are subject to perennial interruptions by ineludible of customary participation albeit happening abroad. The obligations and responsibilities contribute to the seriousness of African cultural entrepreneurship which is a sharp contrast to the frivolity of their younger Western counterparts. Maturity is another distinctive dimension of the precarity of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship, which attracts responsibilities and traditional obligations in the African social order. If you want to do something you might think of business and tell yourself “well when I have money I’ll be able to support the family”. But you cannot go for a business that you don’t know how long is going to take to prosper. You can’t let your extended family back home to starve because you’re saving money for your business. If my mum was in hospital today and I have some money for the material, I would definitely rather send it for my mother’s hospital bills. Those are the main challenges that we have, that you still have to look after our people back home. (Thembi, Interview, 2018) Thembi’s predicament of sustenance or cultural vocation dilemma is not unique to African cultural workers. McRobbie (2016) alluded to the fragile balancing act of between earning some kind of living, while also enjoying the pleasures of bohemian digital work. In the case of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the dilemma is further complicated by considering that most of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are mature adults with multiple responsibilities. Algan et al., (2010) note that the first-generation immigrants are much older than a subsequent generation and native upon entering the destination country labour market. The average age of the respondents is 42. This age range attracts a gamut of responsibilities as most of them are parents which limit the latitude for experimentation. I contend that the maturity and the seriousness of African cultural entrepreneurs are the distinguishing qualities from the native cultural entrepreneurs, who are characterised predominantly as bohemian, young and playful (Leadbeater and Oakley,1999; Lloyd, 2006, Scott, 2012) and often blurring the lines of life and work (Bulut, 2014). McRobbie (2016) describes the creative sector as the night economy of club culture is transmuted directly into the long-hours’ culture of new media and creative work. McRobbie refers to the youthfulness and the new ways of working which bear the hallmark of the rave culture generation. This work culture is obviously discordant with mature African cultural entrepreneurs and being a parent, such as in the case of Rudo above. The responsibilities that accompany being a mature female African cultural worker are incongruent with the youthful indulgent culture which characterises Western cultural entrepreneurship. The African cultural workers represented their practice as a grave undertaking, where the decision to embark is made with a high probability of economic peril and constraining customary obligations. However, their personal investment in the face of apparent economic uncertainties is perplexing. Amongst a host of strategies for ameliorating their economic deficiency, the respondents reported self-exploitative behaviour, often with no certainty of return on investment: As a gospel artist, financially, it has not been easy. So, I have had to fork out of my own hard-earned money, and I put it into the music. Unfortunately, it didn’t earn me any profit. (Esther, Interview, 2018) Like now, I should have started my workshop two months ago, but I still don't have funding. I can't start it until I find funding. So, I’ve got to go to work, and the money that I’m getting from my work I have to pay my rent, I have to live [...] Sometimes to fund my workshops, to hire the room and get something to eat for the kids, cause we rehearse for 3 to 4 hours, every Saturday and also some of the kids need instrument I have to buy their instruments. Someone has to help these kids. It’s hard for now, but I know in the end it will be well (Pichaux, Interview, 2018). The subject of personal investment despite precariousness has received scholarly attention elsewhere. Self-exploitative behaviour is widely reported as an endemic feature of cultural work. For Wong (2017) because of the lure of lifestyle, recognition and fame, the culture and creative industries make jobs desirable and at the very same time creates the conditions for self-exploitation and exploitation by employers. The portrayals of personal commitment by African cultural entrepreneurs suggest an intricate balancing act between self-exploitation and investment. Pichaux described how he injects personal funds into his music projects from his earnings with the hope that 'in the end, it will be well', which indicates a slight separation between self-exploitation and investment in the behaviour of cultural workers. Hesmondhalgh and Baker (2011) are concerned with how their respondents from the cultural and creative sector explained and justified their massive investment of time and energy in fields characterised by short-term contracts, by high rates of casualization and by a proliferation of freelance jobs. According to Morgan, Wood and Nelligan (2013), the prevalence of self-exploitation in cultural work stems from the normalisation of insecure labour conditions, which in turn contributes to the tolerance of vocational restlessness. One way of understanding the bewildering disposition of self-exploitation is by considering the hopeful ideology which pervades contemporary labour practices. Kuehn and Corrigan (2013, p.342) defined ‘hope labour’ as ‘un- or under-compensated work carried out in the present, often for experience or exposure, in the hope that future employment opportunities may follow’. The hopeful outlook depicted in Pichaux’s expression: 'in the end, it will be well' indicates the hopeful nature of African cultural entrepreneurship. Most importantly, the propensity for self-investment is less bewildering when it is considered as an index of cultural value. The preparedness to self-exploit is indicative of the subjective value that is not easily discernible through as economically oriented axiology. In chapter 6, the hopeful aspect of African cultural work is presented as one of the liminalities, which are a through-line in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs.
A lonely experience: Practicing without social capital
The scholars have observed the capacity for cultural workers to compensate for their lack of economic capital with alternative resources, particularly social capital. Bourdieu defines social capital as ‘the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to the possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition’ (Bourdieu 1986: 247). For Bourdieu social capital is a network-based resource that is accessible through relationships and consequently accrues to individuals (ibid). Social capital is regarded as the alternative currency of the culture and creative industries. For Naudin (2018) cultural entrepreneurs have low levels of economic capital, but an abundance of symbolic capital which they convert into 'buzz' and economic capital, in due time. According to Scott (2012), a cultural entrepreneur's identity is partly constructed by the ability to expend the symbolic capital, which is generated through social and cultural capital. For some cultural industries, social capital can be perceived as a rudimentary resource for cultural entrepreneurs (Scott, 2012). For instance, social capital may create opportunities for the music producer to convert cultural capital manifest in recordings into symbolic and economic capital" (Scott, 2012). Besides, entrepreneurs need resources such as ideas, knowledge, and business skills at the starting stage. However, these need to be complemented by useful contacts who could provide productive information and talent (Greve and Salaff, 2003). Power and Scott (2004, p. 6) highlight the significance of social capital in the creative and cultural sector for accessing ‘‘collaborators, customers and employees’’. The prospect of generating value through social capital has particular significance to the predominantly economic deficient cultural practice of first-generation Africans. Social capital is indispensable in what respondents described as a typically “who you know”- nepotistic culture of the sector, which was elucidated by Bekezela and Nyaradzo: The film industry is all about who you know, a lot of industries are like that but even more so in the film industry, less about your portfolio, less about your CV more about who you know than what you can do and this is why networking plays a big part within the whole system. (Bekezela, Interview, 2018) It’s a combination of who you know and who you know. That is one thing I learnt about this industry. It’s not just down to what you know and what you are good at. You could be the most talented guy, but if you don’t know anyone to give the opportunity to this, it is pointless. (Nyaradzo, Interview, 2018) Although Nyaradzo acknowledges the importance of talent in theatre, he cites the preponderance of personal social networks. Bridgstock et al., (2019) intimate that through networking action, people from all kinds of backgrounds can obtain career benefit from social connectedness. However, I caution that such celebration of networks is often based on the limited purview of established nationals, which overlooks what networking means to a new immigrant cultural entrepreneur, particularly the raced individuals. I argue that the elevation of the merits of social networking is based on a parochial appreciation of the density of native social networks. As Hesmondhalgh and Baker (2010) argue that while networks can afford gratifying social connections, there are also demerits which tend to be overlooked by proponents of entrepreneurial modes of working. For Naudin (2018, p.139) the “subjectivity of social relationships is a significant influencing factor in a highly context-specific space, keeping individuals either in or out of networks”. In this way, the social networks are implicated in the reproduction of inequalities of access and participation in fields of differential practices. In the ensuing discussion, I argue that while the challenges of accessing mainstream networks are universal in cultural work, I contend that to a first-generation African cultural worker the experience is also mediated by race as suggested by Bekezela a recent film graduate. When I decided to go into the film industry, I said I wanted to break into a white boys stream, even as a black woman. […] It is a white boy stream. (Bekezela, Interview, 2018) Bekezela’s use of the phrase ‘break into’ denotes a desperate attempt to access the perceptibly impenetrable networks of the film sector. As a woman and a black cultural entrepreneur, she expresses the intersectionality of accessing what she perceives as a white and male-dominated network of the film sector. Bekezela’s deployment of the phrase ‘break into’ bares discursive potency for depicting the daunting prospect of accessing the dense networks. The central proposition here is that admission into native networks is generally received as ideal for effective practice in the UK’s mainstream cultural sector. An important dimension for this study is how the status of being first-generation interconnects with the preponderance of indigenous networks in the reproduction of disadvantage. The nature of the social networks in the cultural industries has received significant scholarly attention. Bourdieu (1993, 1996a) cites cafés, ateliers, salons as some of the milieux in which artists form lasting connections and share resources. Blair (2009) describes these networks as dense, while Naudin (2018) describes how the connections are formed over a long time from higher education and forged in less formal spaces such as coffee bars. Friedman and Laurison (2019) observed that these connections are rarely pended on work, but primarily on a sense of cultural connection, shared tastes, leisure pursuits and humour. When considering the denseness of native networks, it raises a question about the penetrative capacity of new immigrant cultural entrepreneurs. Apart from the issue of access, it also raises the question about the cultural competence of the new immigrant cultural entrepreneur to relate to the social codes that are deployed in these native social networks. In the final section of the chapter, I discuss the importance of embodied cultural capital and habitus for consequential function among networks of the dominant culture. Although the experience of contending with opaque networks is ubiquitous in the cultural industries, I argue that in the context of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs, it assumes a more literal and material quality. The respondents articulated the materiality of their solitary practice. But I have no biological or family or somebody who was going to open a door for me. Or call a director and say can you give him a small role in a film, “he is quite good”, no nothing like that. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) …On my own, I’ve done everything myself. I am on my own. (Esther, Interview, 2018) You don’t have anyone to share with, you are on your own …. no one to bounce off ideas. Rhudo (Interview, 2018) The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs portrayed their cultural practice as a predominantly lonely experience. The accounts of the participants characterised setting up in a new social context with paltry levels of social capital. They expressed feelings of isolation for being the ‘odd one out’ in an immigrant generational cohort who are compelled to jettison their cultural vocation for the security and expedited mobility of salaried occupations. For instance, McGregor (2007) reports that, the healthcare sector is preferred as a useful stepping-stone regarding other occupations and have managed to accumulate funds to support the family in Zimbabwe or to invest in property and education. The respondents reported that cultural work is eschewed in the community of African new immigrants and generally deprecated as a solution for quick mobility. The consequence for the first-generation Africans who remain in culture and creative sector is what they reported as an experience of loneliness. Patrice recounted the severity of isolation to his mental health. He related how he endured an episode of depression in the formative stages of his acting career: So those things made me very isolated. Unless I was with those guys, I could not have a conversation like I’m talking to you now…That created complete isolation and I suffered a lot of depression, O Yes, heavily…Isolation can bring that. Because human beings require connection. That’s how human beings are made. We are social animals. (Patrice, Interview, 2018)
Notwithstanding the density of the native networks, some of the accounts of success at the admission of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs suggest that the networks are not impervious. Patrice narrated how he was afforded access into the theatre circuit by some members of the host community: I didn’t have anybody. But I met diamond souls, who were very experienced and they gave me opportunities and some of them came back into my life one way or the other, even professionally, are still people that I bump into. They are very established, wonderful and recognised top artists in this country. They are directors and performers. So they have been few people who I say became almost like a family. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) The African cultural entrepreneurs reported instances of successful admission into native networks which demonstrates the idea that networks are not merely about networking for work, they are based on relationships which are complex and not fixed (Naudin, 2018). The complexity of human networks entails intersections with other networks e.g. religious, political and familial. These extramural nodes become opportunities for outsiders to connect with insiders of work-related networks. Patrice reported the opportunities that he was afforded by prominent indigenous cultural entrepreneurs. I posit that the appreciation of the density of native networks should not preclude the reality of the messiness of social relations, which are not entirely ethnically bound. The conception of social networks as insular is particularly untenable when considering the multiculturality of Birmingham. However, caution should be exercised in the over a celebration of these tokenistic reports of successful forays into native networks, instead of to be wary of the function of social capital in the reproduction of social inequalities. Bourdieu (1986) explores how various forms of capital reproduce social structures and how cultural networks represent power dynamics that exclude individuals from different social classes.Although Bourdieu has been criticised for his fixation with structure and negligence of agency (Bottero and Crossley, 2011), I argue Bourdieu’s work is important in counterbalancing the unbridled celebrations of agentic potential of individuals. The theory of capitals develops the awareness of the formidable social structures in the form of unequal possession of social resources.While the importance of accessing native networks is indispensable for effectual practice in the mainstream, the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs have the option of the start-up social capital in the form of ethnic social networks.
The enabling and constraining function of Ethnic Social Capital
Although the first-generation Africans reported a lack of social capital to access the mainstream cultural markets, they articulated significant levels of social capital within their ethnic networks. Waldinger (1995) reported that immigrant communities tend to have social networks that are based on ethnic solidarity. As a form of social capital, "ethnic capital" is a key resource which supports the immigrants in establishing their own enterprises and particularly helpful for immigrants whose first language differs from the language of the host country (Wang and Maani, 2014). While Volery (2007) regards an intricate combination of opportunity structures and group resources as essential to the success of an ethnic enterprise.The ethnic network can be a source of start-up financial capital for its new immigrant members (Van Auken and Neeley,1998; Anthony,1999 and Lofstrom, 2002). In general, the ethnic networks function like protem resource centres where business information is a source and disseminated for free. These informal platforms are known for lowering the costs of information, searching, and monitoring for immigrants (Wang and Maani, 2014). The capacity to access free resources in the nascent stages of business development is invaluable, especially to the capital depleted cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. According to Wang and Maani (2014), these ethnic group-based resources generate opportunities for immigrants to perform better economically through broader economic mechanisms. As a result, it is expected that ethnic networks enhance the propensity of immigrant entrepreneurship in the host country. This study understands the core of ethnic entrepreneurship social networks as the family and the community. This manifests in the form of the personal contact network, the connection of the entrepreneur with specific individuals, and cultural aspects (Ram, 1994a). The African networks comprise, among other things, the extended family, church friends, new ethnic enclaves, university, political activism, social networks, African night clubs, African joints, and social media groups. For instance, in chapters 4 and 6, I explore how the church network functions as an invaluable source of social capital. The ethnic networks are a source of seed social capital and a nascent market, particularly in the early phases of settlement and entrepreneurial development. However, in literature, the ethnic networks are oftencriticised for being characteristically homophilic and insular. Portes (1998b) also observed that immigrant networks are mostly insular, which limits economic integration. Turkina and Thi Thanh Thai (2013) view ethnic networks as narrow and suited for operating low-value service. An observation of spaces of where African networks are hosted reveals a conspicuous absence of native patrons. Despite being in a multicultural city, the African Joints and churches I attended manifested as a microcosm of Africa. In some of these spaces, the medium of communication is solely in the African dialect. The Cherubim & Seraphim churchconducts its worship services exclusively in the Yoruba language.However, I caution that the view that ethnic networks have limited efficacy is a form of hierarchisation which represents the host country networks as superior to ethnic networks. The deprecation of ethnic networks neglects their value as relief from the barriers and as primary market for start-up enterprises. Ethnic markets can be material relief from melancholic reception in the mainstream system. It is also germane to consider the agentic prerogative for the ethnic entrepreneurs to operate exclusively within their network, in the same way, that a traditional English cottage enterprise may exist to service a predominantly native market. For instance, Esther intentionally produces gospel music for the Ghanaian audience and only sings in the Tswi dialect: Here I do only Tswi songs, so I cannot spread internationally. We can go international, but it would be still in Africa. I have a vision that sometime we may switch to do some English songs so that we can reach out to other people who don’t speak my language. (Esther, Interview, 2018) However, for the African cultural entrepreneurs who intend to break into the mainstream network, it is essential to accrue host community social capital. Apart from their ethnic, social capital, according to (Lancee and Hartung, 2012), they require the social capital of the bridging type, which is needed for host-country specific capital. An important function of this social capital is the bridging role of the resources situated in the native host community. Bridging social capital is referred to as the construction of links between heterogeneous groups (Schuller, Baron and Fields 2000). Pieterse (2003) posits that cross ethnic networks help the immigrant to access country-specific resources. Some African cultural entrepreneurs acknowledged the value of native social capital for the valorisation of their enterprise. Pichaux described how access to bridging social capital had benefited his enterprise: “Now, it’s quite different. I’m getting contacts and I’m going to festivals, meeting some British people that I am working with […] I have told you that that I worked with Ethan Johns, with Peter Gabrielle […] We worked together on that CD”. (Pichaux, Interview, 2018) Pechaux relished the validation that results from collaboration with native musician, which he regarded as an opening wedge to the markets and audiences beyond confined to that of co-ethnics. However, despite the apparent benefits of tapping into host networks, most of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship is rooted in the ethnic networks. For the contemporary discussion, I specifically focus on how the benefits of ethnic social capital coexist with their constraining function. Aldrich and Zimmer (1986) acknowledge the role of the social context for providing the entrepreneur with opportunities while setting boundaries for their actions. I posit that the first-generation recourse to ethnic social capital has both enabling value and restrictive effect.While a majority of studies have highlighted the value of ethnic networks for entrepreneurial action, a prevailing experience for the African cultural entrepreneurs is that resorting to ethnic resources exposes them to various expectations, perceptions and censure. Although the studies of ethnic entrepreneurship indicate a robust entrepreneurial action among the ethnic communities, the African cultural entrepreneurs reported less enthusiasm for the culture and creative sector particularly. I argue that first-generation African networks have a limited benefit for cultural entrepreneurship because of the community’s perception of the sector. While most studies of African ethnic entrepreneurship have focused mainly on commodities and services, the African community’s exception to cultural entrepreneurship remains unattended. As I alluded earlier, cultural work is particularly eschewed in the first-generation African cohort for its perceived limitation as a social mobility facilitator. The respondents reported a distinct aversion to the culture and creative sector among their ethnic networks. Tochi and Bekezela articulated the experience of community perceptions of cultural work in the cohort of first-generation African immigrants. It’s a blank unknown world. They don’t know, you are not really supported much, because they themselves do not know it, it’s a gamble. But I think it’s been a lonely world, it’s seen as: Are you sure? It’s not the normal norm, because the normal norm is to be a doctor accountant and lawyer white-collar jobs. But this is a brand-new road, not many of our people have travelled this road. (Tochi, Interview, 2018) For the most part, the arts I feel they haven't been embraced as the academic side within the African community. However, because of what was happening in my country at the time it made me realise actually know its fine to be an artist and its fine to express yourself this way and if you really want to express yourself this way it’s great. (Bekezela, Interview, 2018)
Tochi reported African cultural entrepreneurship as a lonely career because of its problematic image among the immigrant cohort of first-generation Africans. Tochi and Bekezela depicted the experience of embarking on a career as a cultural entrepreneur against the expectations and advice of significant others. The experience is predicated on understanding the preponderance of the family and community on the individual in the African economy. An increasingly individualistic Western purview does not readily appreciate the mediation of the African community to the occupational decisions of its members. I draw from the works that have considered the institution of the sanctions in immigrant communities. Levanon (2011) considered how community solidarity is linked with “enforceable trust,” which explains how close social arrangements in immigrant communities allow for controlling and sanction for deviant members. According to Levanon (2011), access to co-ethnic resources such as information exposes the individual to the preponderance of the community. It is in the interest of the member to preserve the links which underline the importance of ethnic networks in constraining or enabling individual action (Levanon, 2011 and Waldinger, 1999). The respondents expressed the vulnerability on occasions of career advice. Bekezela recounted instances of censure for contradicting community career advice and the community castigation for those who opt for a career in culture. I do know a number of people and also one of my classmates. She was also from Zimbabwe and she was my age. We were together on the course and she was in my class and another one attended a different university. She literally had to be dishonoured by her parents to come and do the course, because they were completely against the idea of her coming to do film. I suppose she was passionate about film, so she came on it. I think it took her working really hard at university and producing really amazing work for the parents to say you know what this may not have been our dream for you but it seems you are doing great it and we just have to accept it. And then with my other friend, so it the same thing, it’s the same. It’s rare for them to embrace it. Both my friends are from Zimbabwe (Bekezela, Interview, 2018) Bekezela’s account of parental disapproval of a film career is indicative of attitude towards cultural work which prevails in the community of first-generation Africans. The report of intra-group censure indicates the constraining quality of African ethnic capital, which is grounded on the ascendancy of family and kinship in an African cultural context. The benefits of such ethnic networks are mitigated by the regulating forces of the community. For Oyeshile (2004) in general African cultures emphasise the significance of the communal value; the individual is subordinate to the community. The independence commonly associated with the attitude of the Western cultural entrepreneur is not readily compatible with an African collectivist consciousness. The European concept of individual autonomy and privacy (Shenkar & Luo, 2008) is incongruent with the African values of collective life and conformity to cultural norms and practices (Ojo, Nwankwo, & Gbadamosi, 2013). In African culture, the emphasis is placed on the value of the collective, where individuals look after one another and groups protect their members' interests (Ojo, Nwankwo, & Gbadamosi, 2013). While the collective quality of African networks is noted for their dependability and security, I consider their constraining function to the agentic latitude of its members. The African cultural entrepreneurs identified the source of the disapproval as the perception of cultural work within the African community, which demonstrates the cultural specificity of the construction of work. Fouad and Byars-Winston (2005) have argued that the concept of work holds different meanings with different groups due to their socio-cultural, historical, and political experiences. In simpler terms, work is a cultural construction or what is regarded as work in one culture could be conceived differently in another. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs narrated the ambivalence in the African community about the status of cultural work as gainful work. The respondents reported a perception of some forms of cultural work as a hobby in the African community. It takes a lot of changing mindsets about creative industries as places of work, they can’t just be seen as a pass-time. Cause parents always see it as why are you studying media for, why graphic design or fine art. There has to be that the destigmatisation of these types of professions. (Fortune, Interview, 2018) This way, the conception of work and what roles are acceptable for certain individuals or genders can be culture-specific. The perceptions about social work assume a gendered dimension based on the expectations of the African community of what is beyond being a woman to do. A participant recounted a gendered dimension to community censure, which traditionally disassociates being women with specific cultural roles. A female African folk musician experienced comments that suggested that her cultural expression was inconsistent with ‘being a lady’, to the extent of questioning her morals. She described how her community disapproves women who work in the music industry: You know as a woman sometimes you are faced with being objectified when you’re performing people just see you as an object. It was one of the reasons why I stopped performing in a big band. [...] My own Zimbabweans, Africans, tend to think well the music industry is for mahure (prostitutes), or for women of loose morals and vagabonds and people don’t take you seriously. People don’t value what you do so it’s got its negative connotations being a female. (Rudo, Interview, 2018) While the experience of community disapproval of cultural work is ubiquitous in the accounts of the respondents, Rudo’s experience assumes a gendered character. Rudo’s experience of a gendered censure highlights the significance of intersecting dimensions of the community censure based on being female. The experience illustrates the value of the intersectionality approach for understanding multiple categories of disadvantage. Walby et al. (2012) contend that intersectionality has emerged as an invaluable social research approach for analysing the interaction of multiple identities and experiences of exclusion, particularly in women's studies. According to Staunres (2003), intersectionality could assist in detecting the interconnections between traditional differentiating categories such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, age and sexuality. Although the knowledge of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is limited, the consideration of intersectionality has the potential of yielding more complex dimensions of disadvantages in their experience.
Lastly, I intimate that the disapproval of the cultural work within African networks is largely based on economic pragmatism. I posit that more than mere perception, most of the disaffected career advice could be attributed to the community's experience of barriers. I submit that the expediency of social expedited social mobility informs the new immigrant communities' aversion to precarious occupations. The preference for secure salaried jobs within African networks is developed from a lived experience of barriers into fields that they regard as a preserve for natives. Ram and Holliday (1993) also suggest that many black and minority ethnic groups tend to avoid certain fields which are viewed as exclusionary and opt-out of the formal labour markets by becoming self-employed. Anecdotal racial profiling of jobs is ubiquitous in the first-generation community, which is based on subjective assessment of institutions such as the BBC and the police. The maxims ‘not for us’ or ‘not for Black people’ are common in career conversations of African families.Bekezela recounted the experiences of other young people in the African community: […] It’s not something that they always embrace readily, they want you to do more of the academic side of things. I think it comes back to the fact that they being African parents and a having had African upbringing, they want the best for you and the belief that if you to go out more of the academic side of things and they think you will have more chances of getting work out of the academic side more than the creative industry…Now that I have graduated. I do have a lot of people looking at me and kind of saying: “Now you went and did film production instead of nursing and then what.” (Bekezela, Interview, 2018) I proffer the notion of auto-gatekeeping to explain the self-imposed barriers as a consequence of historical and ongoing experiences of exclusion.It explains how the experience of disadvantage and exclusion creates a narrative in ethnic communities that certain roles are beyond them and therefore deemed detrimental to social mobility. For Friedman and Laurison (2019) disadvantaged people make assessments to self-eliminate based on instinctive anticipation of very real 'demand-side' barriers. I suggest that the resignation of first-generation African in the UK develops out of the internalised experience of exclusion. This highlights the agentic capacity of minority groups in making independent decisions about matters of cultural participation and professional mobility. Importantly, apart from the dominant experience of hegemonic exclusion of minorities from cultural participation, the first-generation Africans demonstrate the capacity to make decisions based on the expediency of social mobility and aversion to precariousness. Also, the community’s eschewal of cultural entrepreneurship demonstrates the ability of individuals to resist the entrepreneurial determinism, which dominates many government policies. It also underlines the significance of the cultural context of where a career decision is made. Fouad and Byars-Winston, 2005) cultural context makes a difference in the way people make decisions and choose their work. For instance, in Kirton’s study (2009), interviewees specified that they would avoid certain industries while job hunting such as the finance sector, and alcohol-related industries as their religion would not allow them to. However, I am cautious of the peril of celebration of agency while minimising the efficacy of structural barriers and the density of the native network. It is also important to acknowledge the role of less visible institutions such as family and religion in regulating the decisions for cultural participation. In the next chapter, I discuss how religion shapes the cultural practice of first-generation Africans. The preceding discussion on social capital highlights the native hegemony networks which relieve the advancement of networking determinism, which is often linked with success in the culture and creative industries. This realisation of the limitation of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs to 'get in' is further enhanced with subsequent discussion on the capital resources required for 'getting on' in the mainstream networks of cultural work.
Practising without cultural capital
Cultural competence is particularly indispensable for African cultural entrepreneurs who are intent on practising in the mainstream cultural sector. Although cultural capital has universal significance to different categories of cultural workers, I contend that it has exceptional implications for first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs when considering their continental background. Although the African cultural entrepreneurs may have significant levels of continental cultural capital, it lacks legitimacy for the cultural context of UK. For the following analysis, it is expedient to review Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital and related ideas.Bourdieu (1986) distinguishes between three forms of cultural capital: the institutionalised or educational attainment; the objectified cultural which is the possession of cultural goods; and the embodied state which refers to people’s values, skills, knowledge and tastes. I primarily focus on the embodied forms of cultural capital, which are valued by the host society. This form of cultural competence is not easy to obtain, instead associated with dispositions inherited by children from more privileged backgrounds (Bourdieu, 1986; Friedman, 2012). However, the embodied cultural capital is highly important in determining how upwardly mobile individuals are evaluated within elite occupations (Rivera, 2012). Cultural resources are integral in structuring social hierarchy and are used ‘both as weapons and as stakes’ in the struggle to gain ascendancy in a given field (Emirbayer and Johnson, 2008). The implication for the present discussion is the understanding of how cultural capital mediates the cultural practice of new immigrant groups. I submit that the development of host country language fluency is a critical form of cultural capital and an essential resource for participating in the networks of the country of residence. Becker and Blumberg (2013) observe that fluency in the host country language puts immigrants in a better position to participate in the business. For Curl, Lareau and Wu, (2018) language and communication are an essential dimension of cultural disposition that function as an index for one's socio-economic class station (Curl, Lareau and Wu, 2018). Although the respondents originate from either Francophone and Anglophone countries, most are satisfactorily fluent in English and articulated fluently during the interviews, albeit the distinct variances in their accents. The issue of accents leads to the appreciation of the politics of language goes further than mere fluency, which also leads to the realisation of the hegemonic quality of the English language. Literature is replete with discussions on the 'hierarchy' and stereotyped reactions to regional British accents. According to Rivera (2015), accents are deployed in the process of evaluating the status, solidarity and social class. For Friedman et al. (2017) ways of speaking have become a powerful somatic basis for affording the middle-class voices a 'natural' right to occupy a higher proportion of prominent roles. Friedman et al. explored how the ‘received pronunciation’ (RP) is subtly institutionalised embodied markers of middle-class identity in British acting. Conversely, the regional accents of working-class actors often act as a cultural barrier to getting work, marking them out as outsiders, as ‘space invaders’ (Puwar, 2004).Apart from being a visible minority, the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are an ‘audible minority’ because of their distinctive continental accents. Unlike the multi-generational black diasporic groups, the first-generation Africans have the distinct experience of prejudice on the basis of elocution. Langa described the experience of discrimination based on his accent and his strategy for navigating the bias when pitching to clients: I found that I have to put out a lot of work for people to see […] I quickly noticed that when I put my white colleague who was my presenter, to actually talk to businesses people about the program, they were very open. But when I spoke to them they were just very distant. (Langa, Interview, 2018) Langa recounted how he realised a differentiated outcome by deploying a Caucasian associate to pitch to clients. Apart from the experience of prejudice on the basis of their somatic features the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are conscious of how their intonation is often used as an index of their social class. The bias can be perpetrated remotely over the phone, where one’s whole profile is constructed purely on aural impressions. The significance of language capital and other cultural resources are better appreciated when considered, along with Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. Edgerton and Roberts (2014) describe the workings of Habitus are linked with one's past and present situation, which includes family and formal education. It is a set of internalised dispositions or interpretive framework, imparted through family upbringing and one’s position in the social structure (Edgerton and Roberts, 2014). The notion of habitus is helpful for explaining the limitation of the institutional, cultural capital of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The respondents speak English as a second language, which implies that they acquired the language mostly in foreign formal educational settings, without the relevant social implements to engage in the extra curriculum of Western networks and knowledge of legitimate field-specific registers. According to Edgerton and Roberts (2014), the key issue is the degree of habitus-field congruence, whether the dispositions of habitus align well with the conditions of a particular field. According to Bourdieu (1984), middle-class parent bequeaths their children with a set of dispositions that organise how they understand and relate to the world around them. Friedman and Laurison (2019) state that some of these dispositions are embodied and manifest through specific modes of bodily comportment such as accent, inflexion, gesture and posture, as well as styles of dress, etiquette and manners. Friedman and Laurison refer to these attributes as an overall sense of ‘polish’. They argue that this sense of polish has multiple dimensions which include a person's accent and style of speech, particularly Received Pronunciation (RP). Polish is also about appearance, dress and 'etiquette [ibid]. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs who participated in the study are modest people according to the African standards of decorum. The challenge, however, is the incongruity of their version of polish with that of Western middle-class. The lack of these cultural competences explains Fortune’s challenge of relating and engaging in the social office chatter, despite his significant language proficiency. […] Being yourself sometimes means that you are on the fringes of what everyone else is doing. So alienation is one of the things that earlier on I struggled with, because everyone else is sitting down and they are talking about things that you can’t relate to. (Fortune, Interview, 2019) Fortune’s inability to relate to some of the extramural conversations in the office space illustrates the limitation of his externally acquired language capital as it lacks some of the meaning that is acquired in native social contexts. Apart from his satisfactory language skills, he lacked skill in traversing the different registers, which may even include proficiency in the situation-appropriate deployment of colloquialisms. Friedman and Laurison (2019) state that mastering behavioural codes is pivotal to 'getting on ' in the elite professions such as media and key way of signalling that you are the 'right type ' of person to get ahead, that you fit, and it is duly rewarded by senior decision-makers. However, I argue that the continental education of the respondents is deficient of the legitimate behavioural codes. This can be explained by considering the logics of cultural capital transmission. According to Bourdieu (1986), the earliest accrual of cultural capital is a hidden form of hereditary transmission of capital, which starts at the outset in the context of the home. This explains the limitation of continental institutional, cultural capital, normally acquired through reading or being instructed in a formal education setting.
Despite the varied language proficiencies among the respondents, most have higher education qualifications. Most of the African cultural entrepreneurs in the study are holders of Batchelor's degree, and a couple have master’s degrees.Educational attainment is critical in the acquisition of cultural resource and a measure of the same (Bagchi, 2001; Lin, 1999).According to Bourdieu (1984), educational institutions have a central role of imparting the codes and rules of conduct in the realm of culture and the symbolic mastery of the practical principles of taste’. For Bourdieu (1985), education affords the immigrants cultural capital which manifest in the form of personal conduct, attitude and cultural artefacts such as books and musical instruments. While the education of African cultural entrepreneurs endows them with language and other soft skills, they reported a lack of cultural competence as a barrier to engaging effectively in the networks of the host culture. Their continental education is limited in equipping them with ways of behaving that are tacitly inculcated in a specific cultural milieu. The respondents lack the behavioural repertoire and cultural capacity for understanding what Nyaradzo (Interview, 2018) referred to as the ‘rules of the game’. Notwithstanding their higher education credentials,the African cultural entrepreneurs lack the embodied habitus identifiers of speech, accent, mannerism and vernaculars, without which they are confined to a marginal practice. Despite the importance of host country cultural capital for effectual practice, the respondents did not regard it indispensable. Patrice expressed resistance to a unilateral cultural capital acquisition by articulating a preference for mutual acculturation. My starting point will always be that it is not for me to become relevant, it is for them also to become relevant to me. I do not see a white stranger as my starting point, yet when I know that without my continent they could not stand. […] I don’t have to make myself relevant to you. We have been relevant to you, I’m looking for reciprocity and if I don’t find reciprocity I consider that particular space potentially injurious to me. If there is no reciprocity or desire for reciprocity, and then that environment is or individual are not somewhere I can flourish. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) The African cultural entrepreneurs demonstrated a considerable level of philosophical rationality and political savvy in articulating their resistance to the hegemony of the dominant culture. Their resistance to unilateral cultural integration invites the conception of the dialectical nature of the adaptation process. This highlights the agentic capacity of African cultural entrepreneurs to negotiate and reject some aspects of the enculturation process. Erel (2010) posits new immigrants experience new modes of cultural capital production and demonstrate the ability to validate their cultural capital through negotiation with the ethnic majority. The cultural entrepreneurs start from a position of ethnic capital retention but are willing to adjust for the sake of relatability to gain admission into the cultural sector. This bargaining process is articulated by Fortune: […] Eventually what happens in those environments is that people tend to start shifting towards you and the then you start to shift towards them. And they start saying things like: “I just want to find out a little bit more about your culture and the things that come with your upbringing or make who you are”. (Fortune, Interview, 2018) Fortune’s experience demonstrates the cultural exchange between the newcomer and dominant culture, which illustrates the agentic capacity of African cultural entrepreneurs to develop strategies of negotiating cultural deficiency. The capacity to negotiate assumes that the country of origin cultural capital retains a modicum of value. The African cultural entrepreneurs portray competence in negotiating the cultural straits and remarkable agency in exploiting their continental cultural capital.One of the strategies is what I refer to as novelty capital, which is an exploitation of the curiosity of their native counterparts by exhibiting elements of their cultural expression. They demonstrated the ability to leverage their cultural idiosyncrasies to their advantage and even gaining social capital. They are willing to exploit some aspects of their culture that appeal to the white gaze and fetish. The African cultural entrepreneurs are aware of the value of the asset, which is their cultural identity. Fortune recounted how he exhibited aspects of his culture for ameliorating his social capital: I think I maintained an element of me in the way I dress, the music that I listen to and some people would want to experience that too. And others would ask: what are you listening to?” I would tell them that I’m listening to some traditional music from South Africa, and they would say why don’t you put it on the PA in the office. Everyone will be listening and they will be asking questions. And those kinds of things led to: “let’s go to Nandos or what did you bring for lunch today?” Those subtle things are kind of the things that you bring to the table and similarly some people bring a bit of themselves and I guess in that way is that authenticity doesn’t have to be something that’s offensive or that you have to be shy about. Even simple things such as taking a phone call and starting to speak in Ndebele,that was something that I would do. The first time it happened people were kind of looking at me, shocked that I could speak another language, but I told them that actually speak four other languages and for them that was kind of a real source of surprise. One guy ended up asking me to teach him to speak the language he had been taking Zulu languages studies after watching the Lion King (Fortune, Interview, 2018). Fortune illustrates a remarkable level of proficiency in exploiting his ‘otherness’. While the white gaze is mostly associated with cultural hegemony in Black literature (Fanon, 1970; Sithole, 2015; Duwa, 2019), periodically the othered individuals display the capacity to elicit the Western fascination with otherness Corado (2014). Postcolonial theorists have explored this paradox, particularly Said (1978) through the notion of “orientalism”. Said regarded orientalism “as a discourse that worked through a representation of space in which the Orient was constructed as a theatrical stage on which the Occident projected its own fantasies and desires” (pp. 54 -5). Notwithstanding the legitimacy of such postcolonial critique, I celebrate the ability to leverage otherness as an important relief from the grand narratives of a helpless black body at the mercy of the white gaze. The ability of the African cultural entrepreneurs to exploit their cultural idiosyncrasies opens up a range of possibilities and benefits, which are a relief to the prevailing picture of a disadvantaged cultural deficient ethnic cultural entrepreneur. Gsir and Mescoli (2015) allude to the benefit of maintaining, mobilizing and displaying a strong cultural identity for helping the migrants to encounter the disruption caused by migration, which is also related to a process of class repositioning.
Gsir and Mescoli also assert that the appreciation of value in cultural diversity could constitute the pretext for some interactions between migrants and non-migrants to take place, thus exchanging deeper meanings than those which may have originally engendered those encounters. This demonstrates the non-linear nature of cultural relations on sites of cultural production. Hesmondhalgh and Saha (2013) advocated a balanced approach which acknowledges the contentedness and ambivalence of cultural production of overdeveloped industrial modernity. Hesmondhalgh and Saha assert that after all the needs of the owners and financiers of cultural industries can be highly fragmented and their biggest interest tends to be profit, and so they will make, fund, and disseminate products that are not necessarily to their taste.The implication for the first-generation cultural entrepreneurship is the importance of developing cultural strategies for participating on the cultural ‘bargaining floor’. Rather than binarity of having and not having cultural capital, the view of a coactive process highlights the importance of cultural versatility. Edgerton and Roberts (2014) underscore the importance of adaptive cultural and social competencies such as familiarity with relevant institutional contexts, processes, and expectations, possession of relevant intellectual and social skills such as ‘cultural knowledge’ and ‘vocabulary’.More than cultural capital, some theorists value the flexible, reflexive habitus as more consequential in modern societies as various work relations increasingly demand greater capacity for ongoing adaptation on the part of the individual (Crossley, 2001; Sweetman, 2003). For the first-generation African cultural entrepreneur, it is imperative to develop adaptability and ambidexterity for managing the tension between their African cultural identity and the demands of the new cultural market. It is a double consciousness that is inherent in the experience of a transnational cultural entrepreneur. The view of double consciousness is further explored in chapter 7 to explain the transnational quality of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
There are multiple continuities in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs and that of their Western counterparts. However, here, I sought to highlight the unique experiences that are associated with the status of being a first-generation immigrant. The dominant characterisation of the lived-experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is their lack of country of residence forms of capitals. Although cultural entrepreneurship is mostly regarded as a practice without capital Ellmeier (2003), in the case of first-generation Africans, the distinction is their deficiency in all forms of capital. The lack in all capitals limits their capacity to exchange one capital for another to mitigate the lack of economic capital, which are critical for their convertibility to compensate for their lack of economic capital (Bourdieu, 1997). Although the experience of precariousness in cultural entrepreneurship is universal, I have argued that the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs experience hyper-precariousness mainly due to their maturity and lack of familial recourse. The first-generation Africans are more mature and serious individuals juggling vocation and obligations here and abroad. An important distinction is that while European cultural entrepreneurship is romanticised as bohemian and blurring the categories of play and labour (McRobbie, 2016; Forket, 2016), African cultural entrepreneurship is a serious enterprise often embarked upon with little latitude for experimentation. However, the experience of difficulties and precariousness is transcended by a profound attitude of vocational adherence, which is accompanied by perplexing self-exploitation despite the elusive return on investment. The devotion of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs to cultural work despite the experience of institutional inequalities underlines the importance of embodied satisfaction and value, which is often neglected in the pervasive critique of the culture and creative industries. The understanding of their vocational devotion will be sought through an exploration of the religious dimension of African cultural entrepreneurship. A major challenge for being a first-generation new immigrant cultural entrepreneur is access to native networks which are known for their density. However, the research noted that native networks are not entirely impervious, as some African cultural entrepreneurs have gained admission. I posited that the view of an impervious network is inconsistent with the complexity of intersecting web of human relations. Although the practice of nepotism is endemic in the culture and creative industries, I submit that in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs it assumes a racial quality and gendered dimension disadvantages for female African cultural entrepreneurs. While some studies of ethnic entrepreneurship suggest the ability of new immigrant entrepreneurs to recourse to familial and ethnic networks, the practice has limited purchase the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs because of the community's disapproval of the sector. The general commentary about African ethnic, social capital is that it has a particular restrictive effect on the African cultural entrepreneurs because of the community's exception to culture and creative work. The study submitted the notion of auto-gatekeeping, which is a community's advice against specific career disciplines that are regarded as a preserve for the natives. The continental cultural capital of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is limited for effective participation in the host community networks. Even though most participants have higher education qualifications and are fluent in English, they lack the legitimate cultural capital and relevant language register for operating in preponderant middle-class networks. The limitation of continental human capital and is a rejoinder to the narrative of meritocracy and openness of the culture and creative industries. This is in correspondence with concerns that the British cultural and creative industriesare increasingly dominated by those from privileged class origins (Hough, 2014; Plunkett, 2014).The African cultural entrepreneurs report competence in negotiating these cultural straits. Although respondents acknowledge the significance of gaining locally relevant cultural capital, they demonstrate the preference for the dialectical and negotiated process of enculturation. Theirs is a balancing act between retention of Africanness, while conveniently willing to gain native cultural capital which benefits their entrepreneurship. They reported competence in mitigating their lack of cultural capital by placing aspects of their culture on exhibition for more social capital. This provides an understanding of the interaction of migrant agency and structural constraints, and integration as a dialectical process of change and adaptation (Smith, Spaaij and McDonald, 2018). Ultimately the study highlights the value of adaptability as an important entrepreneurial quality and rather than what (Smith, Spaaij and McDonald, 2018) refer to as 'rucksack' approaches that view cultural capital as something that migrants either possess or lack. The discussion on the capital resources is complemented by consideration of the role of the church as an invaluable source of social and cultural capital in the following chapter.While the analysis in this chapter has framed the experience of the African cultural entrepreneurs through the frame of a deficit model of practice, the next chapter will explore the church as a fecund source of ethnic social resources. In the following chapter, I argue that any study of an instance of ethnic entrepreneurship that neglects the religious element is incomplete. Whereas in this chapter, the lived experience of first-generation Africans has been considered through the theory of capital resources, the next explores how religiosity mediates their entrepreneurial agency within the context of the African Pentecostal church. So far the discussions have been dominated by the lack of social resources, in the church is presented as a fecund source of social resources.I consider how the church serves as the incubator and facilitator of African cultural entrepreneurship. I also explore how beliefs and doctrines shape their entrepreneurial intent.
Chapter 6: Religiosity and first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship
“I identify myself as a child of God, and I can’t get up here without thanking God. A few years ago, I saw myself in a deep state of depression, and I wanted to quit acting. The only thing that pulled me out of it was God, my belief, my faith and my family, and an email from Bafta asking me to become part of the Bafta breakthrough Brits. I was like: ‘Let me try again’. So this wasn’t an overnight thing, this wasn’t a click of a finger success, and I’m still a work in progress, but I want to thank God, my family, my team. I want to encourage young people. You don’t have to be young, you can be any age, but I want to encourage you – anyone going through a hard time… God made you and you are important, there might be some of you here who might be going through a hard time. I just want to encourage you and God loves you … God bless you, thank you, Jesus thank you, thank you”. (Letitia Wright, BAFTA Awards, 2019)
Introduction
The above excerpt is part of Letitia Wright BAFTA award acceptance speech in which she associated her religious beliefs with her acting success and resilience through mental health challenges. Wright’s speech awakened the awareness of the significance of religion to some black cultural practitioners, an appropriate setup for a discussion on the centrality of religion to the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans. Her religious avowal underscores the importance of understanding the values and belief systems that shape the entrepreneurial behaviour in a particular context. This chapter builds on the modest discussion in chapter four on the significance of the church space to black culture. The present chapter is an in-depth exploration of the multiple dimensions of the centrality of religion to African cultural entrepreneurship. The principal argument here is that the theocentricity of African cultural entrepreneurship is a significant distinguishing aspect from postmodern Western cultural entrepreneurship. The current religious focus contributes to the contention that the Eurocentric theory is insufficient to explain the experiences of African cultural entrepreneurs. Religion plays a central role in the total experience of Africans in a way that is diametrically disparate to the understanding of the capitalist and circular consciousness of the European scholarship. According to Asamoah-Gyadu, (2010) in Africa, religion pervades the total spectrum of life in its physical, spiritual, sacred, profane realms. Although writing from an Afro-Carribean context of a black church, Beckford (2000) alludes to the function of the Black Church as a 'shelter' or 'rescue', a place of radical transformation, driven by the Spirit and a family. While for Namatovu et al. (2018, p.50) “Economic rationality is not usually sufficient to explain the behaviour of an entrepreneur in an African context, where there is deep embeddedness with spiritual, family and personal networks and where many activities are highly informal”. I deploy the same frame to advocate a fuller appreciation of the experiences of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs through the consideration of the significance of religion to first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The chapter will build on the extant works which have explored the link between religion and African entrepreneurship (Nwankwo and Gbadamosi, 2009; Namatovu et al., 2018; Ojo, 2015). Despite a sizable amount of literature on religion – African entrepreneurship nexus, noattention has been devotedto the religious dimension of African cultural entrepreneurship. The present focus is on a careful examination of the meaning of African cultural action in the church sphere. The study will deploy the vignette of African Pentecostalism. Although the first-generation African entrepreneurs in the study subscribe to a range of religious persuasions, African Pentecostalism is the most dominant. According to Gbadamosi (2014), the primary distinguishing characteristic of African Pentecostal movement from the rest of Christianity is the emphasis on the Holy Spirit as the source of empowerment from above. The rationale for exploring the religious dimension is the ubiquity of attributions to God in the accounts of the participants. Nwankwo (2003) also observes how African entrepreneurs used religious terminology in explaining their entrepreneurial action and outcomes.The ascriptions to deity were frequent and spontaneous in the narrative of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The other rationale for the focus on the religious dimension is the encroachment of the cultural activities into the religious sphere, particularly in the Pentecostal church context, which Hunt (2000) characterised as ‘big business’. At the turn of the millennium, the Pentecostal economy was estimated at £1.3bn (Glory Times, 2003). Namatovu et al. (2018) allude to the porosity of the demarcation between religion and all the domains of African life. The interaction of religion and culture is a provocation for non-compartmentalisation of the two domains in different contexts of cultural work beyond the African realm. The link between African cultural entrepreneurship and religion will be investigated by exploring the questions: How do first-generation Africans exploit their religious networks for the pursuit of cultural entrepreneurship? The chapter will seek to understand the nature of cultural activities in the Pentecostal church by asking: How is the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans hosted in the religious space? To understand the significance of doctrinal teachings, I ask: How do the tenets of African Pentecostalism shape the cultural practice of first-generation Africans? The chapter will commence with a brief review of the scholarship on the link between religion and entrepreneurship. I will proceed to discuss the church as a site for cultural production and distribution by exploring the nature of church cultural economy and networks. I consider the significance of the religious space for the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans by examining the nature of cultural activities and cultural ecosystem in the Pentecostal church. The final section will consider how religious teachings and beliefs shape the cultural practice of African cultural practitioners.
Linking religion and cultural entrepreneurship
The aim of this section is a brief review of the scholarship on the link between religion and entrepreneurship. According to Ojo (2015), a fuller appreciation of the socio-economic experience of ethnic minorities requires attention to their religious perspective. A significant part of first-generation cultural practice is situated in the religious space. The UK's African communities belong to a range of religious categories which mainly include the African traditional religion, Christianity and Islam. However, most of the respondents in the study were Christians. Their responses revealed overt adherence to their faith, which pervaded multiple domains of their lived experience, including cultural entrepreneurship. The study of the link between first-generation cultural entrepreneurship and religion is not without precedent. Max Weber's work on the origins of capitalism constitutes one of the earliest and most foundational to the understanding of the entrepreneurship-religion nexus. Weber examined the protestant work ethic and the emergence of capitalism in Europe (Weber, 1930). He considered how religious belief worked within a specific socio-political milieu to effect social transformation (Lambek, 2002). Weber’s seminal work on Protestant enterprise was foundational for subsequent works which have further established the significance of religious values to entrepreneurship. In the ‘Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ (Weber, 1930) associates the Protestant puritan beliefs with the development of capitalism.Although he did not entirely attribute the foundation of capitalism to religion, Weber suggested that Christian asceticism and Calvinism, particularly the teachings of John Calvin and Calvinists, provided the basis for the development of such ideas. Weber noted that the development of the capitalistic spirit was an unintended outcome of their teachings (Weber, 1992). He identified values of self-denial, high morality, hard work and frugality as central to the Calvinist persuasion. Since Weber, the subject of the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship has continued to receive attention in the literature (Dana, 2010; Candland, 2001; Rafiq,1992). For instance, Dana (2010) explains how entrepreneurial action is conducted within various religious contexts. Dana posits that faith is interwoven with cultural values and both impact the social application of entrepreneurship. Dana adds that entrepreneurial propensity varies among various cultural values. More studies have considered how religion functions as a predictor of entrepreneurial action in different communities. Rafiq (1992) argues that some religions represent self-employment favourably. Rafiq refers to how the Muslim and Sikh communities view entrepreneurship in a positive light and how renowned entrepreneurs are esteemed in the same religious community. Although the significance of religion is in decline among the increasingly European communities, it remains an integral part of the first-generation African experience. While the significance of faith in entrepreneurship is receiving growing scholarly attention, Namatovu, Dawa, Adewale and Mulira (2018) observe that not enough is known about how religion relates to the entrepreneurship of the African sub-populations, who now comprise a major section of BAME population in the UK. Accordingly, I argue that a basis for understanding the link between religion and African entrepreneurship is an initial appreciation of the influence of religion in the general African society. According to Paris (1995), religiosity and spirituality are profoundly entrenched in the lives of Africans, and for most, it informs their modus operandi and raison d’etre. For Nwankwo and Gbadamosi (2013), this entrenchment is demonstrated by the blurring of the boundaries between black religious formations and enterprise, which affords the motivation to pursue a broader conception of the transcendental basis of African entrepreneurialism. An essential part of this process is about understanding the increasing influence of African Pentecostalism to African cultural entrepreneurship.
Making culture in the church
In this section, I discuss how cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans benefits from the religious space and church networks. I explore how the church functions as a site of cultural production, dissemination and distribution. In the debates on cultural value, the importance of religious spaces is often neglected, which can be attributed to the dominance of the economic imperative in cultural policy. This omission is seen in Oakley's Report: 'Creating Space: A Re-Evaluation of The Role of Culture in Regeneration' (2015). Oakley argues that regeneration should consider the improvement of poorer communities and increase the health and wellbeing of the citizens, but also contends that very few cases of cultural regeneration can claim such a broad-based success. Oakley lists examples of cultural activities that are everyday or ‘vanacular' cultural experiences that show promise such as book groups, knitting circles to community festivals, dance groups, allotments and blogging, but did not consider church-based cultural activities. Yet, for most of the participants, their cultural practice orbits around the church. The ubiquitous allusions motivate the inquiry into the significance of the church space to African cultural entrepreneurship to church-related experiences and practice in the responses of the participants. The accounts of the participants were supplemented by direct observation of Pentecostal church activities in Calvary Apostolic Assembly and Winner’s Chapel International. I first consider how the church functions as an incubator for nascent cultural practice. I then explore the nature and function of the church cultural economy. Thirdly, I consider how church social networks mediate the cultural practice of African cultural entrepreneurs. ‘Badam efefi’: Incubation of nascent cultural entrepreneurship in the church “There is an adage that goes: “badam efefi”. It means if you want to get mad start from home. (Kofi, Interview, 2018) A Ghanaian respondent cited a Tswi idiom ‘Badam efefi’, which literally means madness begins at home. The participant deployed the saying to emphasise the significance of setting up from the safety of familiar environs of the church. Although some scholars have explored the function of the church and worship centres for networking among African communities in the UK (Ojo, 2015; Gbadamosi, 2015), there is a lack of understanding about the role of the churches as incubators for new cultural enterprises. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs referred to the church as an important site for their fledgeling cultural practice. For new African immigrants, the church is more than a spiritual haven from the disadvantages in the adopted country; it also serves as an information resource centre and a valuable space for product development and sampling. Chinede (Interview, 2018) reported how he occasionally facilitates entrepreneurship workshops across the African Pentecostal church network. According to Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011), some churches inspire the parishioners by organising workshops on entrepreneurship to raise the awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities existing in the community. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs cited the significance of the church as a safe platform for experimentation and launch among the kindred audience: I started my photography through church activities and doing the events and stuff there. I remember some of my brothers called Thembelani and MK were getting married at the same time […], and both events were invitation only. I remember I was still using a Nokia phone […] I had my church people around me and the society that is close to me. Why can't I use them as fundamental to move on? So that is how it all started and lucky enough in the church we were all part of the communication team. (Kofi, Interview, 2018) The church is a bootstrapping haven for amateur cultural entrepreneurs. The fraternal ambience of the church networks tends to be better accommodative to neophytes than the mainstream markets. It is inconceivable for a budding photographer like Kofi to enter the industry with a mobile phone as their main gear. Yet Kofi’s enterprise has grown from his church operation to noticeable brand in the African community. For church-based creatives, working in the church departments such as the communication team affords ready apprenticeship and familiarity with gear, which would otherwise be out of reach to a lone-wolf entrepreneur. Some scholars have explored the incubation function of African churches. Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011) observed that African Pentecostal churches have developed into critical centres for nurturing new business and fostering entrepreneurship among their laity. Offutt (2015) observed that the church serves as an incubator for cultivating African culture and customs. Further, scholars have acknowledged the role of the African Pentecostal church for the promulgation of ethnic culture and as a platform for the articulation of ethnic identity (Gilroy, 2000; Hunt and Lightly, 2001; Ugba, 2008). For first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the church is a vital resort from the melancholic reception by the native audiences and cultural institutions. The respondents reported how their cultural expression was not readily understood by the host community and how the church became a source of ready audiences and some cases free studio space during the initial stages of enterprise development. The respondents reported how they embarked on the early process of making their cultural product more relatable to UK’s audiences and market while exploiting church for feedback and validation. In a later section, I explore the subject of church networks and social capital. Some respondents reported how the church incubation process later culminated with entrepreneurial forays beyond the confines of their congregation. Kofi and Langa recounted how their photography and music enterprises developed from church to the wider society: From the church, I went to another church, and I tried to move from church to church, that's the first principle […] Sorry to say that the people that you meet in the disco are the same people that you meet in the church, and the same people that you meet in the street is the same people that you meet in the church (Kofi, Interview, 2018) […] But it’s only after I grew outside of myself that I thought okay how can I create employment. How can I help somebody else with what I do? […] So now I want to get bigger. I can be of real help, by offering people the platform to actually expose their work or to actually help them in a bigger way. (Langa, Interview, 2018) The ‘church-to-world’ progression is not unique to first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, as the church has been the cradle of some of the world’s best artists, e.g. Whitney Houston and Carrie Underwood. I submit that although the experience of launching from the church constitutes many biographies of many artists, the experience is not fully appreciated in scholarship and cultural policy. The appreciation of the processes of cultural production within the church is subsequently complemented by the discussion on the nature of church cultural economy.
The church cultural economy
When I got here, I realised the importance of singing for the churches here […] They were prepared to pay me to sing. It was when I realised how important it was. I was happy that they were going to give me something. But if I knew, but being a first-generation, I didn’t know these things. I would have charged them more money and I would have been okay that time. (Esther, Interview, 2018) Esther recounted her awakening to the magnitude and workings of the church cultural economy in the UK. Her account is revealing about the mercantile dimension of church relations. The experiences of ethnic entrepreneurs in church and the nature of the pulpit economy lack scholarly attention. A closer analysis of what may appear as pure devotion reveals a combination paid creative practitioners and some who aspire to be paid in the future. In the present section, I adopt a descriptive tone to develop knowledge of the nature of the church cultural economy. The respondents described a range of activities that comprise the cultural economy of the church. The conflation of liturgy and cultural enterprise in the African Pentecostal church is a perplexing phenomenon. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs described an intricate coexistence of worship and enterprise. This is represented by the multiplicity of activities which blur the boundaries between religious and entrepreneurial action. A close examination of the activities reveals a thriving cultural economy, which includes inter alia gospel singers, dancers, gospel comedians, promoters, literature, curation and TV production. According to Nwankwo Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011), the church is increasingly mirroring the market through the incorporation of the trappings of entrepreneurialism. Among the many activities, dance is becoming an essential feature of many African Pentecostal liturgies. Some of the dancing groups are established to the extent of attracting sponsorship, and they also generate income by providing entertainment at weddings and other functions outside the church. We have now become so popular. We don't only dance in the church; we are now being invited to weddings. We recently got someone who is willing to sponsor our dance crew (Rati, Interview, 2019) Dance is part of the ever-expanding repertoire of church cultural expressions that originate from without, which enables artists to ply their practice both in the church and secular market. According to Kitso (Interview, 2018), another feature of the church’s cultural activity is the music corner which is usually manned by young musicians under the direction of an accomplished music director, who may be in receipt of some form of compensation. The style of the music and the dances in African Pentecostal churches appear to facilitate cultural articulation by incorporation of expressions such as the ululation and the use of the distinctive African instruments such as the Ghanaian Agogô and Axatse. Kitso (Interview, 2018) cited stand-up comedy in his long list of activities of his church-based enterprise. Imo (2018) notes that the integration of stand-up comedy into mainstream church worship has expanded the empowerment scope of most Nigerian stand-up comics. Imo asserts that one of the appeals of new Pentecostal churches is the appropriation of secular art forms such as stand-up comedy into their worship sensibilities. The fusion of African traditional expression and worship is a distinct departure and a sharp contrast to the conservative lowkey worship of the earlier evangelical Christian liturgy. It engenders the need for cultural policy to develop an understanding of the importance of the church constituency as a production site for the culture of ethnic communities such as the first-generation Africans. The marketisation of the African Pentecostal church is also signified by some of the furniture, such as the money machines and marketing material. For instance, Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011), noted that the larger Pentecostal churches are increasingly modelling big business with their marketing campaigns, which is often flighted on prime advertisement platforms to generate awareness to their programmes. De Witte (2003) also noted that in the sphere of African Charismatic Pentecostalism religion intertwines with both national politics and commerce and entertainment. An observation of the Winners Chapel International Birmingham church promotion social media platforms reveals adoption of media stylistic approaches that are comparable to circular productions (Fieldnote, 2019). Church events are advertised through movie trailers style videos coupled with the use of glossy posters bearing airbrushed pictures of the pastoring couple. The publishing business is another key component of the Pentecostal cultural economy. It is common practice that the visiting speaker interpolates his sermons with a sales pitch of their latest publication and complementary products such as CDs and DVDs and occasional signposting of where and how to source them.
The ubiquity and affordability of media creation tools have enabled the resourcing of some of the African Pentecostal churches with professional media departments. The growing popularity of Christian televangelism has seen a growing number of African Pentecostal churches invest in substantial broadcast equipment (Obayi and Edogor, 2016). The church media departments are usually staffed by young people who often invest extra time in setting up before and long after the church services to edit the services and upload the events on different web and social media platforms. An assessment of the African Pentecostal TV channels reveals production quality which ranges from amateur to professional standard of established media corporations. The content on these channels comprises musical performances and sermons. A significant part of the programming is often dedicated to deliverance ministries, which involves 'healing' from a range of maladies. However, of significance to the aspect of symbol-making is the growing influence of televangelists or the so-called prophets in providing alternative views to current affairs. The prophets often foretell the outcome of the major political issues. For instance, parishioners may tune in to learn about the prophet's prediction on the imminent mortality of an important public personality. The emergence of African religious television among UK's African communities as a source of alternative social and political narratives deserves scholarly attention. The implication of this phenomenon was recently demonstrated when a famous Prophet Walter Magaya Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries purported to have developed a cure for HIV-AIDS. His announcement raised significant international public health implications.
Sacramental value and the discourse of blessings as the drivers of church economy
A fundamental driver of the church cultural economy is the imputation of sacramental value to cultural products and work relations. In the coming sections, I consider how the belief in the sacramental value on church cultural goods and the discourse of blessing sustain the church content industry and labour compensation. Some scholars have explored how specific texts are patronised for their believed inherent spiritual potency rather than their aesthetic quality.According to Heward- Mills (2000) the practice is primarily predicated on the belief that the words of anointed men of God contain the Spirit and life and therefore ‘soaking’ in books written by anointed men is an invaluable way of accessing the minister’s ‘anointing’. The same value is mediated through texts and tapes and anything containing the ‘spoken word’ of the anointed ones (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2019). Sacramental media are believed to be infused with a spiritual force that can make things happen (ibid). The rationale that the procurement of in these materials literally constitutes an investment in one’s blessing and prosperity is essential for the subsequent discussion on how the theology of ‘blessings’ sustains the cultural economy of the church. At the centre of the church’s cultural economy, entrepreneurship is what could be regarded as the symbolic currency of ‘blessings’. The concept emerges from the frequent deployment of the euphemism of ‘blessing’ for ‘compensation’, which can be conceived as a symbolic disguise of the marketisation of the church. According to Ojo, 2015, acommon denominator in the Pentecostal Church’s preaching is the message of blessings. The African cultural entrepreneurs referred to the importance of the theology of blessings at the centre of the African Pentecostal church economy. As the different creative actors interact on the church platform as they add value to the total religious experience, a close analysis of their transactions reveals the significance of the function of symbolic currency of blessings. The church-based African cultural practitioner expressed a profound awareness of the value of their creative practice to the worship experience and expected to be compensated or rather blessed accordingly. However, the euphemism of blessings introduces interesting dynamics to the church business relations. Esther described her experience on the function of blessing transactions: They have to pay, that’s how it is, because they have made us to charge them, because they are taking the offering. They use all the psychological ways for us to believe and to give offering, which is our belief and we believe that God blesses us out of it. But they will not bless us as the singers, but our ministry is mainly part of worship, it plays a big role in the church service, like almost, I can say 60 to 70% its singing. But they don’t end up blessing us … So now we have to get to the level that before you call me as an artist and before I come in, I will demand for you to make sure I get my transportation money and you will have to bless me. (Esther, Interview, 2018). The discourse of the church-based cultural entrepreneurs deployed the terminology of blessings reflexively in lieu of commercial lingo.I argue that the discursive deployment of ‘blessing’ in the place of ‘money’ could be viewed as a discursive strategy to minimise the function of money in church work relations. This is comprehensible considering the biblical view which regards the love of money as the root of evil (New International Version, 2011). However, I posit that the operationalisation of blessings has implications for church labour and power relations. Ester recounts on the struggles between the church leaders and the artists. She believes the leaders exercise strict gatekeeping in the administration of blessings. The church leaders’ assumption of the role as ‘dispensers of blessings’ automatically bestows them with deistic prerogatives, which destabilises labour relations by subordinating the artist to the receiving end of the blessings.For Lauterbach (2016), this implies that it is not a mere relation of exchange between two parties, but one that also involves God. Lauterbach adds that it means that a return comes not necessarily from the one who receives but can come from God and be perceived as a reward or a blessing. The spiritualisation of remuneration exposes the African cultural entrepreneurs to a range of labour implications. These power relations in the transaction of blessings are demonstrated by how the musicians negotiate their compensation: […] Some negotiate with you […] I tell them I want you to bless us. They say we want you to come to our church, how much would you charge us? And then that is a very difficult one, and I would just say just bless me. You can bless me with anything. (Kitso, Interview, 2018) The work dynamics of the church cultural economy is an added motif to the theme of precarity, which is a growing critique of cultural work. This precarity assumes an interesting dimension when 'it goes to church', where it is facilitated by the theology of blessing, thereby destabilising the working relations. The experiences of the church-based first-generation African cultural workers range from the fulfilment of contributing to the worship freely to feelings of being exploited. The accounts of insecure and unequal work relations in the sacred space mirror the experience of cultural work in the wider society. The conception of the church as a site of cultural production requires exploring of the nature of church networks, how they relate to the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans.
Church networks and Social capital
Blest be the ties that bind
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
The above verse is from an old church hymn by John Fawcett, whose sentiment summarises the ideas of fellowship and Christian ties. The same ideals in the 18th-century hymn are still cherished by the African Pentecostal church in the 21st century. There is a modest body of knowledge which has explored the significance of church ties to African entrepreneurship. Elam and Chinouya (2000) have contended that the African church has the additional function as a space for social gatherings and networking. Dana (2010) observed how ethnic communities exploit their religious networks for entrepreneurial goals. Sonny Nwankwo and Ayantunji Gbadamosi (2013), note that the church also facilitates hobnobbing, bond-building and entrepreneurial interactions. The church networks are particularly exploited for marketing purposes. The respondents reported that the church network constituted their primary publicity and marketing base. The primaeval word of mouth marketing among church associates has been reported to have developed their enterprise beyond the pews. Ojo (2015) observed that entrepreneurial congregants conducted training workshops on how to exploit the benefits of traditional and new marketing approaches. For Ojo (2015), church connections are a vital business strategy and a source of competitive advantage. Nwankwo et al. (2012), submit that the church social capital and networking affiliations are known to be more robust than in many forms of ethnic association. However, although the discussions have noted the apparent importance of church networks, it is similarly important to acknowledge its limitations. The extent to which the African cultural entrepreneurs are able to exploit the church networks is attenuated by the existence of a hierarchised and patriarchal structure of church relations, which primarily privileges the males and the clergy. Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011) African Pentecostal church relations as an esoteric regulatory system which is characterised by apparent monopolistic and oligopolistic competition practices. Waldinger et al. (1990) also characterised the 'church markets' as "protected market" and characterised by the principle of first-mover advantages. For example, Waldinger observed that only the senior Pastor could produce and sell church media with the exception of guest speakers. An essential feature of the hierarchisation of the church network is the 'man of God' designation. The participants recounted the privilege and power that is associated with the title of 'man of God'. They also recounted how the title is applied differentially in matters of work remuneration. Lauterbach (2016) has referred to how in-group identities and classifications facilitate narratives of entrepreneurship. Jones et al. (2008) describe the phenomenon as "positioning through divisioning". For instance, the prefix "brother" "sister" before given names is widespread in membership identification (Lauterbach, 2016). The respondents reported how the 'man of God' created a hierarchy which esteems the pastoral staff while subordinating the artists. The artists perceived the value of their contribution to the liturgy but reported being inadequately compensated for their work compared to the clergy: As musicians, we do voice it out, but we are never taken seriously. I have voiced it out and have fallen out with a lot of deacons. They say that the man of God is the man of God and that we are still little to become the men of God. So I’m like this and talent that he has is this same. Are you telling me that God blesses us differently because we have to work together with him? To usher people into prayer he needs a worship song, whose gonna be playing it? […] The church has changed […] have you read the book called animal farm all animals are equal but some are more equal. The church has become that. (Kitso, Interview, 2018) The variability of church social capital is an added motif of oppression to the experience of the African cultural workers. Before breaking out, they firstly contend with experiences of precarity and inequality within the church. Such is the nature of cultural work that it is followed by the precariousness, which incredibly manifests even in the 'holy place'. The adherence of cultural entrepreneurs, both within and without the church, to insecure careers, continues to bewilder scholarship. Hence, the ensuing discussion will add to the understanding of how the religious teachings and the beliefs mediate the cultural practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. I mainly consider how and what religious beliefs inform the motivation into cultural entrepreneurship. I examine the role of religious teachings in 'getting in and getting on' in the cultural sector.
Religiosity and the motivation of first-generation Cultural Entrepreneurship
As the respondents often articulated their entrepreneurial actions through theocentric discourse, it is expedient to explore their theological orientation for the understanding of their motivation. More studies are emerging that highlight the synthesis of religious belief and practices fused in entrepreneurial activities (Dana, 2010, 2009; Gotsis and Kortezi, 2009). These studies demonstrate how entrepreneurial action is applied in different religious environments. According to Ojo (2019), some of these studies detail how religious beliefs and doctrine facilitate or inhibit of entrepreneurship. I posit that transcendental motivation is one of the most significant distinguishing characteristics of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship. Understanding how religiosity motivates the African cultural entrepreneurs will contribute to the debates about drivers of ethnic entrepreneurship, and in particular, new immigrant cultural entrepreneurship. Most studies of entrepreneurial motivation are at best two dimensional i.e. limited to the intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, the focus on religiosity introduces a third dimension of transcendental motivation. In the recent years, there has been a growing interest in the overrepresentation of minorities among the UK’s entrepreneurs (Ram and Jones, 2008; Vandor and Franke, 2018), which has engendered enquiries about what motivates their entrepreneurship. Although there are no works that specifically explore the motivation of African cultural entrepreneurship, I build from established knowledge on the motivation of ethnic entrepreneurship. Studies of ethnic and immigrant entrepreneurship have explored what motivates immigrants into entrepreneurship despite the evidence of multiple disadvantages in host countries. Many explanations have been proffered, which are dominated by the thesis that ethnic entrepreneurs are motivated by disadvantages in the host country environment (Masurel et al., 2002). Peter Vandor and Nikolaus Franke (2018) categorise the reasons for context-level and individual-level drivers. The context reasons may entail blocked mobility due to xenophobia and discrimination in the receiving country labour market (Aldrich and Waldinger, 1990; Jones et al., 2014; Naudé, Siegel and Marchand, 2017). The individual-level reasons include the lack of access to the labour market due to insufficient language skills and unrecognised foreign qualifications (Bonacich, 1993; Kim, Hurh and Fernandez, 1989). The disadvantage theory refers to entrepreneurship as an escape from demeaning, dangerous and dirty jobs (Johnson, 2000; Masurel et al., 2002). Notwithstanding the prominence of disadvantages argument, the consideration of religion as a driver is gaining increasing attention. A growing number of studies are beginning to attend to the religious motivation of African entrepreneurship.For instance; Namatovua et al. (2018) alluded to the stimuli to African entrepreneurship whose locus is outside the purview of typical business support institutions. Balog, Baker and Walker (2013) identified the influence of spiritual values on entrepreneurial motivation, mental wellbeing and overall performance. Although the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs acknowledge the experience of barriers and difficulties in the job market, the hypothesis of disadvantages will be challenged by appreciating the complexity of their motivation. While the dominating theme of this section is the religious category of motivation, I first consider their acknowledgement of the experience of disadvantages. The experience of difficulties featured in the accounts of the first-generation Africans. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs acknowledge the experience of difficulties in the mainstream labour market. They reported frustration with the hostile treatment at work despite possession of superior educational credentials: Somehow, I would have left because I was already restless, I don’t deserve to be here I don’t know what I am doing here I just need something to shift. So that situation helped me to say you know what I’m going to take the bull by the horns and stay in front of my computer and work and that was exactly what I did. (Chinede, Interview, 2018) I suppose that some circumstances compelled me, the cause of the work I was doing at the time, I was just like I don’t quite enjoy this. I am a type of a person who can’t do something that I don’t like. It’s not in myself, I just can’t do it. I was working as a sales adviser at the time and just didn’t make sense to me. (Naradzo, Interview, 2018) An important dimension in the experiences of first-generation Africans is that the hostilities and difficulties at the workplace were expressed as an impetus for reverting to a pre-existing vocational preference. The cultural entrepreneurs reported that they already had an entrepreneurial inclination which they defaulted to upon experiencing a negative situation in the general labour market. The minimisation of disadvantages as the motivator for first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs challenges the dominant hypothesis of forced action in ethnic entrepreneurship scholarship. This realisation signals the complexity of motivations for first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship when considering their alacrity for cultural work and together with the experience of disadvantages. It paves the way to consider the significance of religion as an important driver of African cultural entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurial calling
The most significant explanation involving the element of motivation for the African cultural entrepreneurs could be determined to be the sense of a higher purpose. Wrzesniewski, McCauley and Rozin (1997) have pointed out that working personnel could view their work as nothing else but jobs, their instruments of a successful career or as a purpose to be fulfilled which could be better delineated as a higher calling. Significant measures of satisfaction derived from work as well as occupational commitment could be achieved by the individuals who could consider their work as a higher calling or purpose (Dobrow, 2007; Peterson et al., 2009). Bunderson & Tompson, (2009) have outlined that such individuals, viewing their work as a higher calling, could generally disregard all of the derivables such as the material benefits and career progression opportunities available to them so that the sense of fulfilment which could be provided by the job at hand could be achieved. Da Palma, Lopes and Alves (2018), on the other hand, have suggested that some of the people could perceive this higher calling regarding their work types through dedication of the talents or through utilisation of their vocational skills in the services of the society in which they are born as well as for the greater good of humanity. The distinguishing character of the calling experience for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is its transcendental quality. The respondents represented the motivation to embark on a cultural enterprise as a divine calling. The sense of a calling stems from a Christianity oriented conviction that every Christian must find their calling in order to satisfy God’s purpose for their life within God’s grand plan (Goossen and Stevens, 2015). Tochi reflected on the divine certainty of his career destination: I think, it’s kind of a divine calling. Well some people will say they are called to be a prophet, they are called to be a pastor, I think my path is a calling. Apart from the financial constraints and hardship that come with it, I think I do enjoy my work and I value it very much, and I Think I’m supposed to be doing what I’m doing. (Tochi, Interveiw, 2018) Tochi articulated his occupational adherence with utmost resolve. He employs the notion of ‘calling’ to eliminate the probability of alternative career pursuits. However, it is his belief in the divine provenance of the calling that is the subject of the subsequent discussion. The element of transcendent summons is a contrast to Western counterparts, who are lured by the coolness of the sector and the independence it affords (Charles Leadbeater and Kate Oakley, 1999). The intricacy of African cultural entrepreneurs’ sense of divine calling contributes to the argument that the existent cultural entrepreneurship theory is limited in explicating experiences outside of European and Anglo epistemology. Some authors have highlighted that the prevailing theories of entrepreneurial interest do not adequately factor societal context, perception and other factors such as entrepreneurial culture (e.g. Fayolle et al. 2014; Liñán et al. 2011; Fayolle – Liñán 2014; Carsrud – Brännback 2011). Thus, currently, little is known about how the beliefs of non-European groups, their attitudes, and perceptions motivate the intentions towards entrepreneurial action.The metaphysical nature of the motivation of African cultural entrepreneurship indicates a model of practice which is located on the crossroads of an African sensibility and Christian rationalism. Central to a Christianity oriented worldview is the conviction that every Christian must find their calling in order to satisfy God’s purpose for their life within God’s grand plan (Goossen and Stevens, 2015). According to Wu (2012), the Christian conception of a calling is grounded on its definition as a transcended summons whose origin is beyond the self to perform a preordained life role. Besides, the notion of a calling is generally regarded as having religious foundations that one was "called" by God or a higher power to engage in work that led to the fulfilment of a larger purpose (Hardy, 1990). For instance, one of the cardinal scriptures at the base of the theology of a calling is in book St Paul’s book of the Romans chapter 8 verse 28: 8 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. The belief in divine entrepreneurial calling is also significantly predicated on the teaching about talents or capitals. In Matthew 25:14–30, Jesus told the parable of the talents to illustrate the concept of stewardship. Chinede applied his understanding of the teaching to demonstrate the belief that God expects the individual to expend their God-given abilities effectively. There are many teachings on entrepreneurship in the Bible. There is one which borders on productivity and your ability to grow and multiply. Jesus gave the parable of the master who was going on a very long journey and called his servants and gave them several talents to trade while he was away. He gave them different sums ofmoney to trade while he’s gone. When he got back, he asked them to give an account of their stewardship […] It’s a story of profitability. (Chinede, Interview, 2018) The moral of the parable is that individuals are endowed with personal abilities or talents and God will ultimately require an account of how these have been exploited. According to Chinede, the belief that God will ultimately require an account of the talents contributes to his understanding of profitability and explains his tenacity. The idea of a God-given talent relates to the belief that their entrepreneurial career is part of their destiny, which is accompanied by a sense of inevitability. Chinede and Patrice unpacked their understanding of destiny: Destiny has to do with two things, your God-given potential and how you align yourself to follow that path you know that you were called into in this world how you can have more impact and reach any help more people. When you leave below your potential you are not in alignment with your destiny because you are living below your potential. (Chinede, Interview, 2018) I’m now a practicing Christian, but I wasn’t then. I believe that we all have a purpose. […] I think by then I had developed an understanding that, I wasn’t just born. Apart from Talent and ideas, I believe that they must have something that was more profound than that. And that if there was any intelligent design and may there was a design to my destiny. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) Patrice articulated a profound conviction that his career choice was a transcendentally predetermined destiny. This sense of destiny highlights the cultural specificity of patterns of normative behaviour, attitudes, values and belief systems that promote or hinder entrepreneurial intent. For instance, the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans is dominated by the belief that their entrepreneurial trajectories are an outcome of divine predestination. In the above quote, Chinede expressed his belief in a God facilitated career path and that as a believing entrepreneur you “align yourself to follow that path you know that you were called into in this world”. The view of the motivation of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship as a calling and destiny challenges the dominant view of forced entrepreneurship among ethnic groups. The belief in predestined entrepreneurial trajectories relates to how the theocentric worldview shapes their perception of risk and uncertainty.
Faith and perception of risk
In the previous section, I considered how the belief in divine calling sustains the motivation for enterprise despite the disadvantages and ambiguities of cultural entrepreneurship. I extend the discussion to consider how faith-oriented cultural entrepreneurship relates to the aspect of risk. Although the element of risk is pervasive in any entrepreneurial undertaking, the cultural industries are arguably riskier because of unpredictable taste and hence, consumption (De Beukelaer, 2015). The prediction of success is mostly futile, simply because there is no known hack for it (Caves 2000, 61). The focus of this section is the way African cultural entrepreneurs appear to have a diminished apprehension of risk and failure. This relates to the variances in how different cultures approach ambiguous or precarious situations. For example, the weak uncertainty aversion which characterises the culture of the United States implies that people are willing to take risks (Ogbor, 2009). This affinity for risk-taking compels them to endeavour to start their own enterprise. According to (Ogbor, 2009) the predominant view of a weak uncertainty avoidance culture is that of a person who is a master-of-destiny can substantially influence the future and that, through hard work, they can make things happen. In contrast, those that strongly avoid uncertainty and ambiguity are not likely to show risk-taking and other future-directed activities (Ogbor, 2009). However, I contend that Ogbor’s dichotomy neglects the complexity and messiness of human entrepreneurial agency, which may not always fit into defined categories of uncertainty avoidance. For example, the belief in cosmic control is the very essence of the vocational resolve of African cultural entrepreneurs. While risk-taking implies the absence of foreknowledge, a theocentric purview is characterised by dependence on an omniscient deity. Risk is generally considered in two categories, i.e. strategic and natural risk (Morgan et al., 2015). According to Morgan, strategic risk entails that the return on investment is contingent on the decisions of other stakeholders, while natural risk acknowledges that entrepreneurial decisions alone do not determine financial outcomes. For both categories, the common element is the lack of absolute control and foreknowledge of impending variables. I consider how the aspect of risk relates to a context where the actors believe in an omniscient authority. In the vast discussions of entrepreneurship and risk, I explore how the religious teachings and beliefs of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs shape their attitude to risk-taking. A significant element of the attitude of the African cultural entrepreneurs to risk is the dominant pervasive belief in divine origination of the enterprise and the assurance of God's guidance through the processes. Chinede articulated the perils of embarking on the entrepreneurial process while expressing the assurance that he drew from this Christian faith: "It's very easy to quit when the going gets tough, it's very easy to quit but in the Bible, Jesus did not promise his followers an easy life. He said in the world you are going to have tribulation, but he also said be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world. It’s so comforting when you know that the one I believe in said I should be of good cheer. I should look on the sunny side when I’m going through whatever. Then it gives you the courage and boldness that if you speak to that mountain it shall be moved. The mountains could be debts. Some people call it the divine, I don’t care what they call it. But what God has done is to orchestrate situations, ideas and money and people that will help you to move to the next higher level of success. He will attract them to you, based on the contemplation of your heart”. (Chinede, Interview, 2018) Chinede professes material belief in God as the orchestrator of the different elements of his business. He expresses confidence in God as the provider of the way out of different kinds of business vicissitudes. This attitude is in sharp contrast with the common approach which entails calculation and navigation of risk. The transcendental approach to uncertainties contributes a metaphysical dimension to the discussions of entrepreneurial risk. The theocentricity of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship highlights the needs to unshackle the debates beyond the dichotomy of risk aversion and risk tolerance. The African entrepreneurs’ belief in God as the originator of the entrepreneurial idea has received scholarly attention. Namatovua et al. (2018) explored how the African entrepreneurs regarded how a good relationship with God informs their business ideas and gaps in the market and how God reveals key business information through dreams. Gbadamosi (2014) considered how the African entrepreneurs resorted to God’s guidance to cushion the harsh experience from individual and institutional constraints. The belief in divine guidance was demonstrated by the phrase: 'by the grace of God', which featured prominently in the accounts. A precursory reading of the phrase suggests a blind and simplistic belief that God assures automatic success. However, a careful analysis of the responses reveals a sophisticated acknowledgement of the element of risk while factoring the importance of due diligence, along with the assurance of divine guidance: […] I’m considering all of that. Because you can’t be an entrepreneur and be just based on spirituality, we live in the physical, so you have to consider, you have to consider the risky aspect of what you are doing, what will come out, the outcome and everything. (Esther, Interview, 2018)
The experience of hopeful work
[…] When I read the Bible in this verse says faith is the substance of things hoped for. So you see a song of hope can come from there so that whatever you are going through, just to pray for hope and the song just comes out from there. (Kitso, Interview, 2018) The discourse of hope featured prominently in the accounts of the participants as in the quote above. In this final, section I conclude on a note of hope. The sentiments of hope in the above quotation demonstrate the optimism that characterises the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Hope is gaining increasing attention by marshalling insights from the fields of medical sociology and anthropology (Alacovska, 2018a). The exploration of hope has value to studies on creative work, which, despite its multidisciplinary nature, has uniform concern for the insecurity, inequality and precariousness of creative work (Gill & Pratt, 2008). The notion of hope has the potential to advance the understanding of the optimism of the African cultural entrepreneurs, why they seem to carry on despite the experience of personal and institutional barriers. The parallel expression of disadvantages and enthusiasm to carry on is bewildering, which engenders an exploration of the notion of hope; its function and benefits to the practice of African cultural entrepreneurs. Their enthusiasm is in keeping with the perplexity about the attitudes of creative workers to precarious work. What often confounds the sociologists is the constant supply of young cultural entrepreneurs who are prepared to endure exploitative work conditions while maintaining a significant level of enthusiasm (Mears, 2012; Menger, 2006; Neff, 2012). The attempts at explaining this puzzle have led social commentators to examine the various stimuli for enchantment with culture and creative work. One of the explanations views creative workers as strategizing risk-takers and even gamblers with a high tolerance for precarious work conditions on the speculation of future fortunes and bounties (Menger, 2006, pp. 776–777). On the other hand, the cultural and creative workers are depicted as victims who are enticed into low-paying, exploitative and even free work by the ideology of autonomy and ‘rags-to-riches fantasies’ of creative work (McRobbie, 1998; Mears, 2012; Neff, 2012; Ross, 2003). What is common between the two schools is preparedness of the cultural workers to delay gratification in the hope of future returns. Ross (2003, p. 142) alludes to the creative workers’ propensity to accept non-monetary rewards in the present ‘on the promise of deferred bounties’ and ‘future career rewards’ as the main reason for engaging in self-exploitative ‘sacrificial labour’. In the case of African cultural entrepreneurs, the puzzling resilience and enchantment to culture and creative work in spite of its insecurities, requires an exploration of their adherence to religious tenets that relate to the aspect of hope. While scholarship continues to grapple with the lure of young cultural entrepreneurs to the culture and creative sector with its vicissitudes, in the present context, the explanation is explored through the prism of theology. God was commonly cited as the locus of their hopefulness. I focus on how religious tenets influence the hope and optimism of first-generation African cultural workers. Although hope was implied in most responses, Chinede’s account was the most illustrative of the phenomenon: “You come to a place that is higher than you. It’s a place of consolation and a place of solace where it’s you as the being and the divine. It’s basically the hope in the divine intervention in your circumstances. It’s all about faith. […] It means that you necessarily don’t have to see it but it exists. […] it has to do with your faith, your being and the divine. (Chinede, Interview. 2018) This palpable hopefulness in the cultural experience of African cultural entrepreneurs attests to the function and material benefits of hope to succeed in their practice, a phenomenon that has received scant attention in scholarship. Some sections of scholarship (Ceislik, 2015; Bennet, 2015, Watson 2015) have linked the neglect of the role of hope and optimism to the fixation of scholarship with pathologies and deficits. The present discussion has benefited from Oliver Bennet’s seminal work on Cultures of Optimism (2015). Bennet (2015) argues that optimism has a significant part to play everyday life as it can be linked to the development of resources and other positive outcomes such as being healthier and more successful. For Bennet, optimism and hope have outcomes in the workplace, families, through religion, medicine and politics. Bennet cites how Martin Luther King, Vaclav Havel, Barack Obama deployed the rhetoric hope in the pursuit of their political agendas. Although there is a subtle conceptual variance between optimism and hope, optimism can be seen as a stronger version of hope, with which it is often used interchangeably (Gillham et al., 2000: 62). The pursuit of the conceptual difference between the two concepts has marginal theoretical purchase for the present study; hence the two are deployed interchangeably. In this section, I further locate the theological basis of hope in the experience of African cultural workers. Although the espousal of hope is a foundational component to the Christian gospel, a distinctive feature of the African Pentecostal movement is the ardent advancement of the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’. Nwanko and Gbadamosi (2013) state that what is distinct about African Pentecostalism is the noticeable deviation from salvation gospel to prosperity theology which is dominated by an understanding that God detests poverty and God’s promise of generosity and life of abundance is claimable here and now. This teaching insists that the spiritual and material fortunes of the adherents are commensurate to the level of their commitment, both spiritually and materially to God and the church (Hunt, 2000). Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo (2011) posit that the emphasis on prosperity is a critical emboldening factor to the self-efficacy of church-going African cultural entrepreneurs. Fundamental to the prosperity theology is the belief that economic empowerment is made possible through divine favours (Nwanko and Gbadamosi, 2013). The expectation of celestial favours is central for understanding the substance of the hope of believing African cultural entrepreneurs. These expectations are what Chinede referred to as biblical promises, which he committed to memory for retrieval upon encountering challenges and moments of despair. […] It helps you as you journey in that lonely path of being an entrepreneur because at times, it can be scary. You don't know where is the next customer going to come from […] So the religion helps in the sense that that is the place most people would say it's a vehicle for therapy, your therapy could just be meditating on the word of God. Not so many people know that that has so many beautiful things in the Bible beautiful confession. There is a confession regarding wealth that says my God shall supply all of my needs are according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Meaning you are hopeful of financial supply, you are hopeful of supply of miraculous supply that is Philippians 4 verse 19 (Chinede, Interview, 2018). In correspondence to the theology of prosperity, private prayer featured as an important coping behaviour and a source of comfort for enduring experience of stressful events in their enterprise. Reid, Roumpi and O’Leary-Kelly (2015) observed how women African entrepreneurs invoked spirituality during moments of personal and work-related challenges. Gbadamosi (2015) also noted the entrepreneurs in Pentecostal faith believe that their success is inextricably linked to the efficacy of prayer, and maintenance of high moral standards in business dealings. To the African cultural entrepreneurs, the recourse to prayer constitutes a distinctive dimension of agentic action against limitations of the hostile competitive environment. The element of prayer in the experience of the African cultural workers is a major distinguishing element from the practice of Western cultural entrepreneurs. While both categories (African and indigenous cultural practitioners) have reported common structural barriers and inequalities, the transcendent dimension of prayer as a coping strategy presents a competitive advantage for African cultural entrepreneurship: Yes, because you can speak to someone who has spiritual authority over you. They may share the Word of God with you and pray with you. It’s so comforting. When somebody tells you it’s okay you have this problem it’s going to be all right, but it’s a whole world of difference when somebody tells you that it’s gonna be all right and somebody tells you that look I will be praying with you. I will join my faith to your faith. […] It’s comforting; it goes a long way to help you allay your fears. (Chinede, Interview. 2018)
An important implication to consider is the material benefits that are derived from hope and optimism. The experience of difficulties, inequalities and barriers has the potential of causing detrimental mental and physical health consequences. Patrice recounted an experience of depression and how his faith gave him the strength to pull through: My spirituality is where I get the energy, or strength to keep going […] My sense of spirituality, my sense of purpose, is all bound up in developing understanding of why I am an artist and what I want to do with my art. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) The citation of spirituality as a source of resilience insecurities has significance beyond its spiritual realm. Scholarship has noted the pathological outcomes of intermittent and insecure project-by-project work, which include burnout, anxiety and depression (Gill, 2011; McRobbie, 2011: 33). The benefits of a hopeful attitude have received extensive attention in health scholarship. Hope is beneficial as a psychosocial resource for facilitating endurance through destitution and precarity (Mattingly, 2010; Zigon, 2009). Martin Seligman, a proponent of hope, postulated that an optimistic attitude played is crucial for sustaining positive views of experiences and prospects across a broad range of contexts (1998). Scheier et al., (2000) posited that optimists are less perturbed in difficult moments … and pull through in ways that foster better outcomes and more positive in their responses to adversity. Hope is particularly vital when considering the backdrop of a multitude of difficulties, prejudice and precarity and migration-related hardships in the lived experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The subject of hopeful work draws from the universal theme of liminal entrepreneuring in this study. In the next chapter the subject of liminality is explored in considerable depth to explain the in-betweenness first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship, the sensation of being logged between existences. Notwithstanding the materiality and the professed spiritual benefits of hope to the African cultural entrepreneurs, when viewed through the lens of liminality it is possible to see how hope can assume an ideological function in legitimising the perpetual phase of ‘becoming’. Nietzsche (1996) considered how hope could also be conceived as a process that keeps people chasing illusory goals rather than engaging in struggles over which they may have a measure of control. Nietzsche introduces the ideological strategy where a focus on hope acts as a distraction away from the existence of structural power irregularities. Fry (2011) considered how the liminality of hopeful work that is framed through the belief in meritocracy that all who diligently apply their talents today will somehow yield a dividend in the future. Fry contends through meritocratic framing, the failure to realize a return on one’s investment is rationalised as the one’s lack of talent or hard work, or by simply not playing the hope labour long enough. Yet, as I will discuss further in the next chapter, the outcomes are more complex, and the reality of the structure can confine one in perpetual liminality.
Conclusion
The central argument in the chapter is that the theocentricity of African cultural entrepreneurship is a significant distinguishing aspect from that of their postmodern and hedonistic Western counterparts. While the link between religion and entrepreneurship is well established in the literature, the chapter contributes original knowledge of an ecclesiastically oriented cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans. The knowledge of the religious factor in the cultural practice of African cultural entrepreneurs underscores the importance of cultural context in the study of entrepreneurial interest. Thus, the chapter contributed knowledge about how the beliefs of non-European groups, their attitudes, and perceptions motivate the intentions towards entrepreneurial action. The metaphysical nature of the motivation of African cultural entrepreneurship indicates a model of practice which is located on the crossroads of an African sensibility and Christian rationalism. The study observed that the African Pentecostal churches are regarded as a safe space for incubating and nurturing nascent entrepreneurial action and an invaluable source of seed social capital. While for many African cultural entrepreneurs, the church is the intended area of practice; for some, it is an avenue to broader practice in the circular realm. The significance of the church space raises the awareness of the spiritual forms of cultural value which are often neglected in the cultural policy discourse. The analysis of the experiences of first-generation Africans demonstrates the value of the church as a safe space for talent and practice incubation. The study highlighted the nature and the dynamics of the cultural economy in the church. The church functions as a site of cultural production, where the worship is combined with aspects of traditional African expression. This is accompanied by a wide range of cultural activities, which include gospel music, praise dance troops and comedy. The emergence of the artefacts and furniture of commerce in the church is an index of a de facto cultural economy. The Christian media sector and publishing are a prominent practice of symbol making activities in the church sector. The study explored how the church content industry is driven by the imputation of sacramental value, which is based on the belief that the products have inherent spiritual potency. The belief in the sacramental value of the church based cultural goods relates to the observation of how the terminology of blessings drives the church cultural economy. I contended that the language of blessing is deployed discursively to minimise the significance of money in church work relations. The spiritualisation of compensation exposes the African cultural entrepreneurs to a range of labour insecurities, which contributes to the critique of the precarity of cultural work. In the church, the precarity results from the operationalisation of the theology of blessing to destabilise the working relations. The church is an invaluable source of networks and social capital (Elam And Chinouya, 2000; Dana, 2010; Sonny Nwankwo and Ayantunji Gbadamosi, 2013), the study observed its limitations. However, the extent to which the African cultural entrepreneurs are able to exploit the church networks is weakened by the hierarchised and patriarchal structure of church relations, which primarily privileges the males and the clergy. The relations are characterised by monopolistic and esoteric oligopolistic competition practices (Nwankwo, Gbadamosi and Ojo, 2011). An important feature of the hierarchisation of the church network is the ‘man of God’ designation which is conferred along seniority and patriarchal lines. The focus on the religiosity of first-generation cultural entrepreneurship was helpful to explain the motivation and adherence to a cultural career despite the experience of multiple disadvantages. The central explanation for the motivation of African cultural entrepreneurship is their sense of divine vocational calling, which is grounded the belief in a transcended summons to perform a preordained life role (Wu, 2012). The perspective of a divine calling is a relief from the dominant view of forced ethnic entrepreneurship. Contrary to the dominant view that ethnic entrepreneurs are compelled to entrepreneurial action by disadvantages in the mainstream economy, the respondents only acknowledged the disadvantages as impetus to an already existing calling. Most studies of entrepreneurial intent are at best two dimensional, i.e. limited to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The focus on religiosity introduces a third dimension of transcendental motivation. The study explored how the perception of risk is mediated by theology. The acknowledgement of risk was expressed along with a pervasive sense of assurance of God’s guidance in origination and the duration of the enterprise. The religious teachings are central in unravelling the puzzling hopeful nature of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The subject of hopeful work feeds into the universal theme of liminal entrepreneuring in this study, which is further discussed in the following chapter. Apart from religiosity, transnationality is an important dimension of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship. In the same way they adhere to their religious persuasions, their cultural entrepreneurship is subject to continental tethering.
Chapter 7: One foot here one foot in Africa
Introduction
Religiosity and transnationality are the two most defining characteristics of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans. As an epilogue to the study, the present chapter explores the transnational dimension of the experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The chapter will explore the tension of being simultaneously tethered to several cultural and geographical contexts.The inquiry is instigated by the recurring references to practice in the natal country, which denoted a straddling of two worlds and a constant oscillation of allegiances to 'home' and adopted country. The frequent references to Africa as 'home' in the discourse of many Black Africans in the diaspora have been noted elsewhere (e.g., Nwankwo, 2005; Oja, Nwankwo, & Gbadamosi, 2013). The postcolonial settlement of Africans in various multicultural European locales has seen the emergence of new transnational and diasporic identities. Thanks to the advancement of communication technologies and reduced cost of international travel, the overseas diaspora can now be more easily maintained than in the past (Vertovec, 2004). The post-millennial upturn in the volume and diversity of migration has given rise to more varied migrant enterprises (Bagwell, 2018). The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are a significant constituency of these newcomers, whose identity is primarily defined by the experience of contending belongings and a constant endeavour to rediscover the meaning of their presence in racially ordered Western societies. To this end, most studies have focused on the stationary experience of Western cultural workers, while neglecting the ambulatory cultural practice of transnational identities. Considering the paucity identified above, this chapter aims to gain knowledge of the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs through the transnational optic. The entrepreneurial actions of transnational diasporans are receiving increasing scholarly attention, thereby enlightening on the meaning for today's societies and international economy (e.g. Ojo, 2013; Elo and Jokela, 2015). Ojo (2013) refers to it as entrepreneurial transformation originating from ethnic entrepreneurship that indicates the link between country of origin and country of residence. The transnational dimension unlocks the understanding of the significance and endurance of the cross-border connections to the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The enduring continental ties are associated with complexities of developing a coherent identity. It has implications for self-identity, whether or not they perceive themselves in relation to the European or African social contexts or in-between.These ambiguities have impact to their entrepreneurial action and cultural products. In the ensuing discussion, I develop knowledge about the phenomenon of transitioning from an African aesthetic and sensibility to a European cultural setting. The discussion will contribute to the understanding of the implications of the unmooring of the cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans and their embedding into a new cultural context of Birmingham. This process is marked by the departure from the tacit cultural logic of country of origin to a new diasporic sensibility. The chapter deploys the notion of liminality to analyse the perpetual limbo between two existential positions. Liminality is a useful theoretical lens to explore transitional roles, activities behaviours and locations of entrepreneurial biographies (Daniel and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). The chapter will discuss the meanings that the respondents extrapolate from the process of carving new identities as transnational cultural practitioners. I explore the behaviours and manoeuvres that African cultural entrepreneurs deploy in the projection and performance of their new diasporic identities. The chapter will add to the understanding of the ongoing experience of how the practice of new immigrant cultural workers is simultaneously prefigured by native and the adoptive territories. This perspective could be extended to appreciate the transnational experiences of in the contexts of other recent immigrant groups such as the Eastern Europeans. The chapter will answer the questions such whether the respondents experience the process of developing new transnational identities and whichever actions and strategies do the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs deploy in negotiating their multiple belonging. The chapter comprises of four sections. The sequence of the sections is modelled on the migratory progress of the African cultural entrepreneur which begins with the transition from African cultural context to the UK’s cultural arena. The analysis of the transition process will consider what the respondents represented as perpetual suspense between the home and adoptive country cultural practice. The discussion on the transition experience will segue into exploring the perpetuity of the transition as a liminal experience, which is also a prevailing theme of the study. The penultimate section will focus on the transnational experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs and how it is characterised by multiple belongings and the tension between host territory and continental allegiances. The transnational sensation of the warring between continental and host country’s cultural allegiances necessitates the exploration of the notion of double consciousness. This will draw from Du Bois’ notion of double consciousness (1903) and Gilroy’s (1993) distillation and British application of the same concept to comprehend multiplicity of lineages of the initial generation of the cultural entrepreneurs of African origin. Latterly, the chapter examines the strategies for maintaining cultural identities across nation-state borders. The themes that emanated from the responses include strategies for continental validation and performance of continental identity.
Transitioning from an African to a Western cultural logic
This section explores how the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs experience the initial settlement phase in a new cultural context. I consider what the respondents characterised as the transition from an African cultural context to a Western cultural system, which entails navigation and realignment to a new order of practice. The analysis of the transition process considers the unmooring and transplantation of a continentally grounded cultural practice, into a new context of contrasting frameworks, worldviews and cultural aesthetics. While I acknowledge the heterogeneity of the African cultural contexts, where the respondents originate from, the discussion adopts a largely unitary approach in mainly because of the limited scope of the study. An important aspect of the transition experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is a conceptual migration between cultural sensibilities. In this context, I apply the idea of cultural sensibility as an implicitly preferred orientation to a cultural context and to other people within it (Wright, 2015), which refers to the person's moral, emotional or aesthetic ideas or standards. The understanding of the transition from an African sensibility is crucial for appreciating the disorientation that the ethnic cultural entrepreneurs endure on being embedded into a Western cultural economy. Also important for understanding the new experiences when the values, aesthetics and ways of knowing collide with those of the new cultural milieu. Rudo and Patrice reflected on their initial encounter and disorientation on being embedded in a new cultural milieu: I always go back to those first days when people would ask me about my mannerism, why I do certain things. For instance, in Africa we don’t look at people directly in the eyes. We tend to lower our eyes as you know, as sign of respect […] They didn’t understand me, and I didn’t understand that this is exactly what I was doing […] I was stopped by policemen in this country, they asked me why I was looking away, as if I was being dodgy. That is when I realised that we need to understand each other’s cultures. (Rudo, Interview, 2018) You know that sometimes as West Africans, we kiss our teeth. And there are many different registers of just that. You go… (kissing teeth sound) when thinking back “Aaagh! Man” or can go (kissing teeth sound)- angry. But here it’s as considered rude. Even to some black people it is rude. So little things like that you have to edit out. Because it’s just not understood. (Patrice, Interview, 2019) The respondents narrated how some elements of their cultural behaviour were received/ decoded in the dominant European sensibility. The discrepancies in translation underline the disorientation when daily codes are confronted with an unfamiliar meaning or misdecoded. For instance, Rudo’s avoidance of eye contact is an act of respect and submission in her Zimbabwean sensibility, yet the same act of etiquette was decoded as duplicitous according to Western knowledge. While in Patrice’s experience the nuances in the meaning of the manoeuvre of kissing teeth were beyond the knowledge of the host community and some sections of the African diaspora. The disparities of the cultural codes during the transition phase have implications beyond the realm of mundane human interactions. DeVito (2008) alludes to the importance of the ability of two parties to code and decode this information, whether verbally or nonverbally to everyday human interaction. This makes it imperative for the new immigrant African cultural entrepreneur to review their cultural product and modes of dissemination for better decoding by the mainstream audiences. For instance, an African comedian may soon discover that some jokes fall flat to the Western audience due partly due to the contextuality nature of humour and euphemisms. Langa articulated the differences in musical sensibility necessitated the adoption of new techniques and approaches to appeal to the emotion of the local audience: It took me some time to actually understand the music the way the locals understand it. I grew up with a different type of music I couldn’t even change the key, it was a foreign concept because we don’t do that in African music. To then understand music the way the locals understand it was very difficult because they grow up with their music and I grew up with my music and not knowing how music is perceived by the locals. So, when putting up an album for the Africans I know exactly how to trigger that particular emotion. But with music in the UK, I first had to become part of the culture for a while to actually understand how they feel, and how music makes them to feel if you played this way or that way. (Langa, Interview, 2018) Tochi’s acknowledged that in spite of his advance musical practice, he lacked the relevant socialisation to appeal to the taste of the indigenous audience. His experience relates to the discussion on notion of habitus in chapter 5. The idea has been propagated that certain sensibilities have been the outcomes of early transmissions which generally took place within the existing context of the family. More significantly, the experience of the collision of sensibilities represents their initial exposure to the inequalities and hegemonic hierarchies of knowledges in a Western cultural milieu. Alascova and Gill, (2019) allude to the hegemony of Western universalistic knowledge in the promotion of geographically circumscribed ideals as general mechanisms and sources of knowledge while Harding (1993: 58) has alluded to the ‘ epistemological ethnocentrism’ which is visible in the practice of privileging Western empirical sites as ‘superior grounds for knowledge’. The disparities in the status of knowledges have echoes of hierarchies in ways of speaking as cited in chapter five. For instance, Friedman, O’Brien and Laurison (2016) highlighted the insistence on neutral intonation in the acting industry. These cultural arrangements extend to hierarchies of aesthetics which contribute to the processes of evaluating cultural value. O’Brien and Oakley (2015) assert that what is culturally valuable in one community could deprecated in another.This is demonstrated by the dominance of British culture, which is normally afforded preferential state funding, often to the negligence of BAME individuals and communities (O’Brien and Oakley, 2015). For the African cultural entrepreneurs, the experience means waking up to the perplexing participation on the basis of taste (Wright, (2015). Wright states that Western societies, tastes are more than social but also bound up with the kinds of people that are presumed or desired to occupy national territories (Wright, 2015). This has enabled bad taste to be associated with a set of social and political meanings into a socially acceptable form of pathologising prejudice about marginal groups [ibid]. However, I do not suggest the absence of knowledge and taste hierarchies in African cultural contexts. Here, the discussion is about the initial experience of marginality and coming into a cultural order which aggrandizes the cultural taste of the dominant culture.
Another significant experience of the transition phase is resuming their entrepreneurial practice in the context of a formalised and more industrialised culture and creative sector. The participants drew contrasts of the cultural systems by reflecting on their continental cultural practice which they characterised as the profoundly organic and ‘everyday’: And so, right from the start, because if you are putting on a play back home, nobody was giving you money. There was no funding system to go and apply, you had to fight and you had to go, and get patrons and had to collect, and the money was never enough actually to feed you. Except if as a drummer and you are playing at weddings and things like that. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) From the Congo I used to play music in the streets, really normal in Africa, everyone plays music to be honest […] Being a musician in Congo is different from here. In Congo is kind of passion and there are not many producers. But people are still doing it because we were brought up with music, we grew up in music. […] (Pichaux, Interview, 2018). For a new immigrant African cultural worker, a significant aspect of the transition is adapting to an institutionalised cultural order. A perfunctory reading of the characterisation by Patrice and Pichaux suggests an informal character of the continental cultural sector, which is in contrast to the commercially organised Western cultural system.However, rather than a unique feature of the African cultural economy, informality has been defined as a prevalent feature of creative work (Alascova and Gill, 2019). Creative work has been defined as characteristically informal, involving autonomous, casual, playful and bohemian work patterns (Duffy, 2016; Neff, 2012; McRobbie, 1998; Ross, 2003). Although the respondents articulated described an everyday nature of cultural work in African, a superficial reading of informality can be problematic. Alascova and Gill (2019) assert that postcolonial countries have been regarded entirety as informal economies and societies thereby invoking connotations of primitiveness in contrast to the formal economies of the ‘centre’ which are normally associated with order, modernity and fairness. On the formal/informal dichotomy, Maclean in Alacovska and Gill (2019, p.8)argues that the “boundaries between the formal and the informal are in themselves racialized and colonial, imposed by development agencies, financial institutions and governments from ‘the centre’”.In this way, informal entrepreneurial action is viewed as inferior. I, therefore, argue that while the informality characterisation of African cultural entrepreneurship may apply, it should not be conceived through the purview Western normativity.Instead, an alternative conception of informality should consider mutuality and reciprocity rather than a profit-driven logic beyond limited ‘market’ and ‘managerial’ perspectives(Banks,2006;HesmondhalghandBaker, 2011; Lee, 2012). Alascova and Gill (2019) observe that in community-oriented societies of Africa, informality is conceived differently as a form of mutual aid and as a mode of resource redistribution. Here, the focus is how social work is maintained through a non-market commitment to a common good and through practices that exist under the radar of tax and social work institutions (Alascova and Gill (2019). Thusly, informality and allied conceptsofcreativelabourare reconsidered beyond the parochiality of the Western register. The provincializing approaches should be cognisant of the importance of ‘remote’ contexts and the generative potential of ex-centric views (Gibson, 2010). Such a view from elsewhere can potentially help us re-imagine alternatives to the ‘troubles’ intrinsic to creative work, such as precarity, social inequality and psychosomaticillness, caused by the neoliberal logic of aspiration, informality and entrepreneurial subjectivity (Gill, 2007; McRobbie, 2016). Therefore, rather than a binary transition from an informal non-West cultural system to an organised one, instead, it is a transition between different logics of culture and creative industry. The difference in the cultural logics is captured in Patrice's description of his initial awakening to the marketisation of the UK cultural system: When I came here it hit me even more, because I wasn’t even thinking: “O, I am going to make money”. I was just more like, yes money we need it. So, you had to get up and make it yourself. So, when I got here, I arrived with that mentality, and then I started to realise that wait a minute, people are complaining that their £20 000 pounds funding was cut, I was like what’s going on? Unless they give you funding you cannot create. That thing was totally amazing to me. (Patrice, Interview, 2018) For a new immigrant African cultural entrepreneur, the marketisation of the UK cultural system is a disorienting experience.The transition from an African cultural economy to a Western capitalist setting awakens the African cultural entrepreneur to the primacy of economic capital to cultural practice. However, I further argue that while it is paramount for the new immigrant cultural entrepreneur to integrate into the Western cultural economy, it should not be viewed as an absolute strategy and a universal ideal. As the central tenet of the study is the promotion of the understanding of cultural work beyond the confines of the dominant Euro-American orbit. I advance this argument by highlighting the multiplicity of models of cultural production, distribution and dissemination. I contend that cultural labour research ought to consider other case studies of cultural industries, which may not fit squarely with Euro-American models.Numerous viable models already exist in the global South, albeit informal and minimally integrated to international intellectual property (IP) grid (Lobato, 2009).Yet according to Lobato, Western creative industries policy seeks to formalize these networks, incorporating them into established circuits of international commerce, but it also needs to acknowledge that informal economies have their own logics and their own potential. I, therefore, I contend that a non-parochial Western policy formulation approach could benefit from observing the approaches of the cultural practitioners in the developing countries. Nollywood is a classic example of an alternative organisation and distribution. The Nollywood has evolved from its status as a home-grown video industry to become a prominent space for African expression and job creation. The Nollywood video economy is arguably the largest film industryintheworldtoday.The measurement of output remains a subject of debate. However, the magnitude of the video distribution network and the size of viewership in Nigeria and across the diaspora is undeniable. Lobato (2009) contends that if we adjust criteria to reflect the number of films commercially circulated through the dominant release platform, then Nigeria shoots to number one. Almost all the Nigerian films are commercially distributed, and typical sales for the average Nigerian film are around 20,000 (Haynes, 2005).So, while Nollywood is not the world’s largest film industry in terms of revenues or audience, it’s likely that it produces more films that significant numbers of people actually watch than anywhere else in the world (Lobato, 2009). Therefore, the transition period could be an opportune time for the new immigrant African cultural entrepreneur to compare and interact with aspects of home and destination country cultural practice. Although the transition phase is often regarded as a temporary space that one moves through briefly, the subsequent section will explore the perpetuity of the transition phase and the resulting ambiguities.
The practice of cultural entrepreneurship in liminality
I don’t think I am here totally, let me not say “I don’t think”, I am not here totally. I am here because I feel I’m in the University, the University of life. (Kitso, Interview, 2018) Kitso summarises the sense of being located between two unsettled existential stations. The assertion: “I’m not totally here” denotes an acknowledgement of departure from their previous state or environment while professing an indeterminate sense of arrival to the intended social station. Most of the discourse of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs has been marked by the feeling of being held in a not-yet-up-and-running start-up phase. Through the notion of liminality, I explore the perpetuality of the transition phase. This is in consideration that despite the significant lengths of residence of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the UK, they are still not expending their entrepreneurial potential. The experience is a sensation of suspense between the continental practice and effectual practice in the country of residence. Metaphorically, lodging in a half-way house on the way to becoming a successful cultural entrepreneur. The adoption of a provisional identity, while undergoing the process of intercontinental transition, is an expected component of migration. However, the focus here is the protraction of the transition phase. Through the lens of liminality, I extend the twin theme of interstitial belonging from the fourth chapter. This state of affairs characterises what Jen Couch (2017) describes as an international band of cultural nomads. This is a neither-here-nor-there class and one that is complex to navigate. The exploration of being ‘neither-here-nor-there’ of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship mitigates the preponderance of the knowledge of settled indigenous groups in the cultural entrepreneurship literature. There is a lacuna for the understanding of entrepreneurial experiences of groups who are in the early stages of the process of settling among host communities. Besides, entrepreneurship is about the development of creative organizing actions; however, research tends to focus on its fixed qualities, thereby neglecting what goes in the ‘in-between’ of the entrepreneuring processes (Cardon, Wincent, Singh & Drnovsek, 2009; Hjorth, 2005). The ‘betwixt and between’ present an opportunity to observe the creative entrepreneurial improvisations that occur in a state of abeyance. Liminality is often deployed in anthropology to depict points of passage where one is 'betwixt and between',it denotes a suspense between their background and what they are yet to assume (Malkki, 1995). Liminality is defined as a state of being betwixt and between social roles and or identities, is the hallmark of an increasingly precarious and fluctuating career landscape (Ibarra and Obodaru, 2016). Liminality is a germane concept to elucidate the aspirational nature of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship. It explains how the African cultural entrepreneurs are suspended in the transition process in-between their former continental identities and their aspirational entrepreneurial identity. For Malkki it is a twilight zone of invisibility, ambiguity and no fixed positions. The concept of liminality is mainly appropriated from Victor Turner (1969) in the context of ritual initiation. Turner noted the ritual process is based on the limen or liminality, which is the in-between stage when ritual initiates go through a period of disorientation and an indeterminant identity. According to Turner (1969), during the liminal phase, the participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun. Most significant to the present discussion is Turner's description of the liminal class as persons who 'elude or slip through the network of classifications that normally locate states and positions in cultural space' (Turner 1969, 95).The aspect of slipping through the network of classifications is a fitting characterisation of the fluidity of belonging of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The liminal characterisation first-generation African entrepreneurship is a universal theme of the study. The twin themes of liminality and interstitially are pervasive in this study. In chapter four, I argued that cultural expression of new immigrant Africans in situated in the interstitial spaces of Birmingham’s cultural geography, between the spaces of white culture and minority culture. It is useful to appreciate the reality of being internally exiled in a multicultural city such as Birmingham and permanently deferred from full participation in the social and cultural processes. While in the discussion of economic capital, I posit that the first-generation African are located between the socio-economic status of the country of origin and their new subordinated socio-economic class usually due to the obsolete nature of African credentials in the UK. Effectively, they are held between the strata of the country of origin and the indeterminate country of residence social classification.Turner (1967: 95-96) conceives that during the liminal phase, the status of the subjects of passage is ambiguous due to their structural 'invisibility'; they are "at once no longer classified and not yet classified,". In chapter 4 I intimated the invisibility of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs to policymakers and raised questions about their visibility to policy consultative processes. The contemporary context extends the liminal thread to discuss the permanent abeyance of African cultural entrepreneurs between two positions of identification.This thread is extended from the discussion on the liminal experience of hopeful work in the previous chapter. Most respondents articulated a provisional subsistence that is sustained by constantly hopping for future breakthroughs. The barriers that I am facing and the barriers that probably I'm going to face, is breaking into the industry, because once you break in it's easy to build your connections […] I just need to break-in and then once I've broken in our need to work as twice as hard as everyone else because I know it’s going to be more challenging for me to break in. (Bekezela, Interview, 2018). Bekezela’s anticipation for a break in the future demonstrates the liminality, which is the hopeful nature of African cultural entrepreneurship as explored in the previous chapter. The maxim: ‘foot on the door’ is ubiquitous in the community of African cultural entrepreneurs to justify deferred compensation or working without. I argue that the constant hoping for a break situates the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in the liminal space of perpetual contingent work. However, the element of hope for a future break is not unique to African cultural entrepreneurship. Elsewhere, scholars have explored how cultural work is often sustained by hope despite apparent precarious labour conditions. Christopher and Corrigan (2013) refer to ‘hope labour’ as the driver of voluntary online social production, often poorly compensated work carried out in the present in the hope that future employment opportunities may followwhile some sections of scholarship have considered the significance of hope as a coping strategy from the precariousness of the cultural sector. Neff (2012) views hope labour as a viable coping strategy for navigating the insecurities of the contemporary labour market, yet it does so without the risks associated with related processes, such as ‘venture labour’. However, some have explored the function of hope labour in masking the structural realities connect through the frame of meritocracy. According to Thompson (2009), relations of dominance are represented ideologically as beneficial and accessible to anyone who has the ability and the inclination to succeed with them. Drawing from the neoliberal precepts of meritocracy, Fry (2011) suggests that hope labour will pay off for the best and the hardest working. The belief in working harder was detected in the discourse of the respondents through the use of the phrases: ‘working hard’ and ‘twice as much’ (Nyaradzo, interviews, 2018; Bekezela, interviews, 2018). It is an established belief among black people that they have to work as twice as hard as their white peers just to get as half as far. For Kuehn (2013)through meritocratic framing, the failure to breakthrough is attributed to the individual’s lack of talent or diligence, or by simply not playing the hope labour game smartly enough or for long enough.In the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the distinction is the protraction of hopeful working. While contingency working is an established route for embarking on a cultural career, I submit that for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, it is a liminal trap. As discussed in chapter four, success in the cultural industry depends not just what you know, but dense networks and nepotism. A critical component of the system of hope labouring in cultural work is the insistence on prior work experience. As a new graduate of fashion and design, Thembie expressed the dilemma of prior industry experience requirement for fashion jobs: Most of the jobs they were asking for experience, you know when they asked for experience, I do have experience in the University but not in a company set up. That's the problem, most of the jobs they would ask for somebody with experience […] That's the problem. I don't know why these companies do that. Where do you get experience when you're just coming out of university? (Thembie, Interview, 2018)
For Thembie, the liminal strait of tertiary education and work experience is bound up with multiple intersectionality of race; age and gender.I submit that the insistence on prior experience functions as a barrier, particularly to mature first-generation black cultural entrepreneurs because of the nature of the inequalities to access work experience schemes. According to McRobbie (1998) these workers are posed midway between labour and capital, doing the job of both at the same. However, Hesmondhalgh contends that raising the point that work is being performed for free in itself is not an adequate objection (Hesmondhalgh, 2010). For example, Hesmondhalgh (2010) further argues that pro bono experiences might attract higher wages when the acquired skills are applied in later contexts. While this is applicable to young native cultural entrepreneurs, I contend that unpaid internships function as a formidable glass ceiling to the social mobility of African cultural entrepreneurs who tend to be more mature and often saddled with multiple economic commitments. I further argue that the insistence on prior experience confines the African cultural entrepreneurs to indeterminacy more than the younger indigenous cultural workers. Considering that 83% of media internships are unpaid, it makes it difficult for those from low-income backgrounds to access high-profile jobs in the creative sector (Cullinane and Montacute, 2018). Since most of the work experience programs are on pro bono basis, the capacity for a mature African entrepreneur to accrue experience is diminished because of the priority to afford sustenance to their families in the UK and abroad. The experience is in contrast to the younger native cultural entrepreneurs who have the benefit of familial economic capital (Friedman and Laurison, 2019). As discussed in chapter four, the lack of economic capital curtails the cultural participation of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs from gaining work experience in the cultural sector. The impasse between lack of experience and lack of capacity to engage in upaid work creates a permanent transitional process. Apart from the responsibilities that are immanent in mature of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, gender attracts a set of added liminalities. The female first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are subjected to multiple liminalities which are inherent in a gendered experience. The entrepreneurial careers of new immigrant women are more susceptible to interruption by domestic vicissitudes. It is generally believed that African women place more emphasis on their motherly role and domestic concerns rather than career or business (Bajpai, 2014). Abenguni described how their domestic and maternal obligations punctuated her career progression. Being in the industry in the UK has been a challenge, especially, when I had my daughter, I had to go on maternity break, I gave myself that maternity leave because I wanted to concentrate on raising my daughter. But after that I had to carry on. You need to be in the eyes of people you can’t afford not to be in the eyes of people as a musician (Abenguni, Interview, 2018). Abenguni reflected on the intermittent character of the entrepreneurial careers of African women which are often interrupted by periods of maternity breaks. She expressed her apprehension of the long periods of home confinement and its detriment to the visibility of her brand. The sacrifice of suspending the enterprise to concentrate on raising the daughter is consistent with maternal instinct. However, another way to view it is through the pervasive ideology of a good entrepreneurial mother, who is also at home full time with her children (Johnston and Swanson, 2006; Medved and Kirby, 2005). The term ‘mumpreneur’ has developed to normalise the conflict experienced by mothers who as they continue to take primary responsibility for home and family while working (Jacobs and Gerson, 2004). Ekinsmyth defines a mumpreneur as ‘an individual who discovers and exploits new business opportunities within a social and geographical context that seeks to integrate the demands of motherhood and business ownership’ (2011: 105). The term per se denotes liminality between the positions of motherhood and enterprise. It is the tension of societal expectations of motherhood and entrepreneurial success. In Abanguni’s case, the liminality the experience is straddling the verges of reproduction and cultural production. This should be appreciated by considering the African norms and expectations associated with rigid gender-based roles in some African contexts. Thurer, (1994: xv) the notion of a good mother “is reinvented as each society defines her anew in its own terms, according to its own mythology”. While the maternal experience is universal, for a first-generation immigrant it has added constraints that are tied with limited economic and social capital as it was discussed in chapter 5, hense diminished childcare interventions. While the practice of African cultural entrepreneurship is predominantly invisible, being an mumpreneur confines them to another subset of invisibility as a home confined cultural entrepreneur. Although thus far, I have framed the experience of liminality as a detriment, it is equally important to consider the opportunities thereof. In literature, the concept of liminality has often been treated primarily as a structurally imposed condition (Garsten, 1999) and often as and is often associated with negative consequences (Ibarra & Obodaru, 2016). However, (Anderson, 2005) has considered liminality more positively as a transformative stage for creating possible futures and states of being. Thus, in this section, I consider how new opportunities and strategies of action can be realised out of liminal conditions. Brooker & Joppe, (2013) regard liminality as spaces that allow entrepreneurs to discover their true selves. Turner (1977b) suggested that the liminal phase is an occasion for heightened reflexivity. This opens an opportunity for the entrepreneur to evaluate their situation and explore innovative pathways. For instance, in the case of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, their interstitial location has spawned novel spatial interventions around Birmingham. This implies that novel ways of being and doing develop in the liminal spaces (Steyaert, 2010). In these spaces, the liminal entrepreneur improvises in the in-betweens: interpreting, responding and performing anew in an amorphous way (Cornelissen, Clarke & Cienki, 2012). For a new immigrant African cultural entrepreneur, the transition phase could be a time for reflecting on the implications of dispensing with some aspects of the continental background and considering the meaning of their new identity. While the liminal person may endure a moment of restlessness due to the uncertainty of the future, it is also ‘an expanded and excentric site of experience and empowerment’ revealed in the possibilities for conflict and resistance in the life of the newcomer (Bhabha, 2004, 6). For a new immigrant cultural entrepreneur, the liminal state could be an opportunity to pivot their cultural practice in response to the opportunities and challenges of the new territory. Ultimately, according to Minto-Coy, (2011) both the existential liminality and the ambivalent position between national cultures facilitate new spaces of entrepreneurship and novel market interventions in both the country of origin and host country. Langa reflected on his new hybrid ontology: I identify with the human race. I would love to put myself on an international platform where race plays no role. I love speaking in a universal language and I find music is a very universal language in itself. Although I’m from Africa, I have transcended race, I pick whatever I think is nice from any culture and make it a part of me. So, I don’t really consider myself a European or in African, I’m just a human being and I try to live. (Langa, Interview, 2018) Langa views his current identity as neither African nor European, although ambiguous, it denotes anin-betweeness which is liberated from social categories of race. Such phases can be exploited for entrepreneurial exploration, where the previously held ontological perspectives, ideas about home and destination culture are reviewed. According to Couch (2017), the actor could benefit from the material affluence in the latter and from an enhanced social status in the former. The limbo can be an opportunity to juxtapose the African and adopted country cultural spheres, to make judgements on the benefits of interacting with the two. Ultimately for the African cultural entrepreneurs, the experience of liminality is perpetual sensations of being located between the former stations of the country of origin and that of the host country. Hence, for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the liminal experience entails an ongoing identity work in the construction of their entrepreneurial self. An analogous perspective to this liminality is the condition of simultaneous belonging, which is the subject of the subsequent discussion.
The transnational experience
The current section explores the experience of first-generation through the transnational optic. Transnationalism pertains to the experience of straddling two worlds and balancing two identities that at times seem to be mutually exclusive (Upegui-Hernandez, 2009). For Vertovec (1999), transnationalism refers to a kind of social formation spanning borders. While Drori, Honig, & Wright (2009) state that the process of transnational entrepreneurship involves entrepreneurial actions by individuals who are rooted in at least two different social and economic territories. Drori, Honig, & Wright add that transnational entrepreneurs simultaneously conduct cross-national enterprises by travelling both physically and virtually. The virtual part acknowledges that transnationalism is not necessarily dependent on moving back and forth between the country of origin and country of residence (Gowricharn, 2009). Thanks to the advances in communication technology, which have significantly lessened the need for physical travel and opened alternatives of transacting with the home country while away from home, yet further complicating the sense of home and belonging. For the present study, the dimension of transnationality is a significant facet of the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Tochi expresses the concurrence of continental and occidental consciences: I think I’ve kind of felt the relationship with like-minded people in the continent whereby we produce the art in England and distribution and dissemination should be enjoyed by people in the continent. It’s one foot here and one foot in Africa. (Tochi, Interview, 2018) Tochi deployed the expression 'One foot here and one foot in Africa' to portray his concurrent attachment to the country of origin and country of residence. His assertion is a useful setup for the subsequent discussion on the condition of simultaneous belonging of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Tochi summarised a ubiquitous sentiment in this study of straddling several locations that entail the entrepreneurial biographies of the participants. Portes et al. (1999) described the condition as living in two incompatible cultures in an era of globalisation with a diverse network of linkages that may span several nation-states. In the ensuing discussion, I consider how the respondents extrapolate the status of simultaneous attachment at least to two different social and economic contexts. The discussion of the simultaneity of belonging contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurial actions related to diasporic identity. The significance of the notion of belonging occurs on multiple levels which include one’s perception of one’s identities and their multi-positioned subjectivities (Waite and Cook, 2011). Anthias (2006:21) adds that belonging entails how the social place resonates with the stability of the self and with the emotional and social ties that are related to such places.For those with a material connection to multiple places, which is the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the feelings of belonging are more complex and nuanced and understood only through a set of dispassionate “rules” of citizenship or group membership (Ojo, 2018). The complexity of belonging is further complicated by the multinational stops in the migration histories of some new immigrant Africans. Waite and Cook (2011) note that it is common that migrants relate to multiple points in their migratory accounts between departure and destination area and retain symbolic and material ties to their natal lands, and the new relations are formed in host communities. The experience is a simultaneous attachment to different locations what Gidwani and Sivaramakrishnan (2003) have characterised as ‘straddling worlds’ and being ‘here and there’. For instance, it is common for Francophones, to stop in Belgium and France before coming to the UK. Rousseau et al., (1998) refer to these as stepping stone or "intermediate countries".In consideration of these intricate arrangements that span as least two locations and associated emotions, it is intimated that transnationals embody an unstable sense of identity and belonging (Anthias,2006). The existence of multiple locations in the biographies of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs complicates the notion of ‘home’. BluntandDowling (2006) suggest that diasporic groups have complicated relations with the home. Waite and Cook (2011) have suggested the notion of plurilocal homes to explain the concurrent attachment to distant places. Thus, the transnational experience enables people to develop a sense of belonging and a concept of home that is not tied to any single place, but, rather, constructed through connections between “here” and “there” (Waite and Cook, 2011). While the respondents articulated emotional connections to the continent as their home, I also observed the ambivalence from the materiality of their present location, particularly to the future of their entrepreneurial career. Concurrently, the African cultural entrepreneurs espouse the imperative of a relatable cultural practice, while cherishing nostalgic ambition to cater for the continental market. Notwithstanding the general purchase of fluidity and non-fixity sense of home, in the following section, I illustrate the incongruence of this conception to an African worldview. The argument of the home as a fluid and non-fixed construction is mitigatedby the traditional knowledge that undergirds the notion of home to an African sensibility. Apart from the emotional attachment, the African cultural entrepreneurs expressed their attachment in spiritual terms. One gets a sense of the profundity of the notion of home from Patrice's sentiments about his ancestral allegiance: […] That connectivity can be couched in a term that I call ‘ancestral allegiance’. So that’s how I describe my connectivity with the motherland by using this concept called ‘ancestral allegiance’. My allegiance to where my ancestors are from is unshakable and obviously my dad is an ancestor now. (Patrice, Interview, 2018).
While the sensation of plurilocality may apply to the experience of first-generation Africans, there is still something to be appreciated about the ascendancy of an ancestral dimension of on the notion of home to African rational. Like Patrice, the respondents expressed spiritual allegiance to the land of their ancestors. In my Ndebele-Zulu culture, the natal country is defined by the location of my neonatal umbilical cord disposal. The interment of the inkaba (umbilical cord) marks one’s connection with the clan and the land. Waite (2011) observed that Africans felt their sense of belonging to the continent emotively (“by blood”) and simultaneously perceived the attachment to Britain as socially empowering. It could be an instrumental attachment to the country of residence, for instance for education and refuge, and on the other hand, the customary and spiritual attachment to home.In spite of the emotive discourses of ancestral allegiance, the accounts of the participants reveal the complexity of belonging and many factors such as political conditions in the country of origin which impact on their capacity to transverse. While I argue that the view of plurilocality has limitations to an African sensibility, the accounts of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs indicate an enduring simultaneity of belonging and double consciousness. This simultaneity manifests through their ambivalence about wholly focusing on Western markets and audiences. The discourse of African cultural entrepreneurs is simultaneously characterised by the compulsion to participate in mainstream market and undertones of private anxiety about continental markets. The outcomes of this tension are indecisive business strategies and vague cultural products. The attempts to collaborate with natives have produced bland hybrids with questionable relevance to both continental and country of residence audiences. The relevance of the discussion on the notion of home is to develop a profound understanding of the complexity of being simultaneously attached to two or more cultural and geographical contexts. I believe that our music, especially my Zulu-Ndebele traditional music, I find that most of those songs are very spiritual and sometimes I don’t want to take away that spiritual aspect out of it. So what I would do, like for example, I would sing a song that my grandfather likes so much when we were doing our ritual gatherings (sings). When I’m doing that, when I’m singing I go deeper spiritually, so when I go deeper spiritually at that moment. At the same time I’m aware that I’m singing for people I want them to get something out of it. I find myself probably doing a poem in English because I also want the local to understand. (Abanguni, Interview, 2019) Abanguni articulated the tension of retaining the spiritual essence of her artform and import of being relatable to the British audience.The accounts of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs demonstrate an embodiment of warring consciences along emotional, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions. Their double conscience constitutes an oscillation between the existential poles of a marginal lived experience in the UK and the subjective memory of the value of their cultural expression in the motherland. Further illumination of the experience of multiple belonging requires better understanding of the notion of double consciousness. Although the discussions on double consciousness are traditionally associated with the study of multigenerational immigrant groups, I explore its relevance to the recently settled African diaspora. The phenomenon is amply captured in the following except from Du Bois, Of Our Spiritual Strivings: Between me and the other world, there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. [...] It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. (Du Bois, Of Our Spiritual Strivings, 1903). The excerpt by scholar and activist William Edward Burghart Du Bois depicts the sensation of 'double consciousness'. Du Bois (1903) based his discourse on the sense as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one unified identity. Although his main proposition was the problem of the colour-line in Twentieth-Century America, its value for the present study is to explicate the subjective feeling of twoness, which implies an oscillation between the contexts of identification, in this instance Africa and Europe. Du Bois’ notion of double consciousness is a useful theoretical perspective for illuminating the experiences of diasporic identities. Itzigsohn and Brown (2015) argue that the theory of double consciousness is essential for the analysis of individuals within the context of the modern racialized world. I leverage the notion to explicate dual strivings of the first-generation cultural entrepreneurs in their simultaneous endeavour to maintaining continental ties and pursuing of Western relatability in their cultural practice. While Du Bois theory offers a plethora of points of debate, the most relevant to the present discussion is his assertion of how "One ever feels his twoness," "-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconcilable strivings..." (Du Bois, 1969, p.45). I posit that the Du Bois’ thesis of a bifurcated identity serves a starting point to understanding the possibility of multiple identities. Although Du Bois assertions are situated in American antiquity, they retain relevance for debating competing for cultural allegiances in the experience of African cultural entrepreneurs in the British cultural milieu. Even Du Bois himself later developed an awareness of the universality of his thesis by acknowledging that he initially thought that racialization was a unique phenomenon of the United States, but later realised "that the majority of mankind has struggled through this inner spiritual slavery . . .” (Du Bois, 2007, p. 69). The crux of his thesis is the experience of an inherently divided individual: "being a Negro and an American at the same time". In the contemporary context, I deploy the notion of double consciousness to enlighten the competing imperatives of sustaining an African cultural expression while striving to be relatable to the dominant culture of the adoptive community.
For new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs, the consequence of the cultural contention manifests as a clash between continental and host country relevancies: The local culture, to be honest with you, they listen to something totally different. So basically, I’ve been working mostly with people from Africa rather than people from here, but now I’m beginning to cross over[…] I had to become part of the culture first for a while to actually understand how they feel and how the music makes them to feel if you played this way and all you put in this order. (Langa, Interview, 2019) Langa articulated a practice that is situated at the cultural crossroads of African and British musical appreciation.The respondents described how the dual consciousness manifests as a contention of relevancies. Their cultural entrepreneurship is subject to competing relatabilities to natal audience and country of residence cultural market. They endure the dilemma between their African cultural expression and the dictates of the British cultural system. The anxiety about format-audience fit dominates the experience of African cultural entrepreneurs. In contrast with native cultural entrepreneurs whose audience relatability is taken for granted, the cultural practice of first-generation Africans is located between contending cultural allegiances, which manifests through a constant comparing and contrasting of the canons. This means that their cultural practice is does not exist for its own sake, but always in reference to cultural sensibility and taste of dominant community. The warring engenders new navigational skills between the two cultural straits. Langa articulated his strategy of navigating the tension and the imperative to attend to both cultural aesthetics: […] It’s almost like switching between two personalities. The moment you say we are doing African album I put on my African person and I get into Africa immediately. That’s why I say I have expanded myself. And then if I look at the audience, I switch immediately it’s almost like acting on a switch. I am sitting between knowledge and understanding of different people. (Langa, Interview, 2018) In a more practical way, the duel manifests in the funding applications. The African cultural entrepreneurs reported the conflict that arises between adherence to the original African cultural expression and satisfying the demands of the funding institutions, in the present case, the Birmingham city council. The respondents expressed the imperative of meeting the demands of the funders, which necessitated the realignment of the cultural expression: You have to alter your practice; it comes in the funding as criteria for all the partners. It’s the same thing in Africa if they say they want 10 tonnes of cocoa to produce the chocolate you have to produce 10 tonnes. If the man in Birmingham says I want five tonnes of cocoa, I have two produce five tonnes […] There is a challenge, sometimes you choose the work because you want to sustain yourself. Those type of questions, and it becomes a moral and ethical dilemma for yourself as an artist. I have to do the musicals, but I don’t like musicals, I just do them because of the money. It can make things difficult in your personal life, cause bills have to be paid. (Tochi, Interview, 2018) The African cultural workers articulated their ambivalence of adjusting the cultural expression to meet the demands of the funding institutions. The act of adjusting practice to meet the funding criteria is also an indigene experience. Norris Nicholson (2001) observe that is some cases, the complex links between politics, economics and culture have implications on the agency of cultural producer to access resources, now available through the commercialisation of cultural meanings own. The political economy of funding matrixes includes different processes which include the existent reproduction practices, the appropriation of new practices and even decisions to renounce certain cultural meanings (Coronado, 2014). While I acknowledge the universality of funding politics to cultural practice, I suggest that it becomes complicated when it relates to the evaluation of cultural practices of the previously colonised nations. This hegemonic arrangement rests on the contradiction between authenticity and commercialisation of culture and intercultural relations between the West and the Other (Amoamo, 2007). These instances of commercial mediation have been criticised by postcolonial theorists influenced by the work of Said (1978), who cite the cultural appropriation of the culture of the colonised ‘other’ by Western societies. For instance, in the case of tourism, there have been attempts to invert the positions of power by empowering the indigenous communities to define the rules of cultural exchange. Yet still, Coronado, 2014) observes that the indigenous groups in charge of these programs are often exposed to implicit and explicit pressures to behave according to various ideologies and interests. Yet the same initiatives, however, through their funding priorities and organizational arrangements shape local industries in ways that privilege Northern audiovisual textual norms and industrial practices, leading to criticism of paternalism and even neo-colonialism (Coronado, 2014). For the African cultural worker, instances of heightened double consciousness arise out of fidelity to African cultural form and adherence to funding prerequisites, which requires ambidexterity in meeting the demands of the market and retention of some aspects of continental culture. The realignment process creates a dilemma to relate to the local audience or to maintain the originality that can be validated by the continental audience. The African cultural entrepreneurs experience the expediency of presenting a streamlined or watered-down version of their cultural expression for relevancy local to audience. Despite the apparent ambiguities of the transnational status of African cultural entrepreneurs, it is important to appreciate the merits that can be realised out to the agentic actions of the transnational individual. The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs have the capacity to exploit and channel their transnationality to ameliorate their cultural practice. The participants reported remarkable skill in negotiating their double consciousness and contending demands: I realised that there was a funding issue, I realised that is the criteria for the funding […] It has altered my practice in the sense that it has enhanced it because if I have to get a grant from the Birmingham Council, that grant says I must do something for the local people. So, in doing something for the local Birmingham people and creating a new audience and creating a new partnership and at the same time, I’m expanding my horizon to see what is beneath the surface. (Tochi, Interview, 2018) To navigate the funding straits, the respondents demonstrated a sophisticated negotiation skill in giving the funders what they want while reserving certain aspects of their African aesthetic for the appropriate context and audience. They exercise ambidexterity by adopting a “tell them what they want to hear” approach during the funding application process while retaining their African sensibility.
African cultural entrepreneurs exploit their double consciousness by creating hybrid texts. A survey of their social media platforms reveals several collaborations with the native artists in the production of fusion works. A classic example of a hybrid production is The Long Road EP. The project brought together an eclectic group of musicians which included Grammy Award-winning group Tinariwen, Robert Plant and spoken word poet Scroobius Pip and Congolese-born musician and singer Didier Kisala. The Long Road record, which was released in 2016, highlights real-life experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and across the world (Platforma.org.uk, 2019). These collaborations have the potential of opening the African artists to new audiences. The respondents demonstrated the ability to exploit their transnational dividend. They articulated a non-territorial approach to their cultural work because of their international orientation. Their embeddedness in 'dual worlds' enables them to identify and exploit opportunities that are unobserved or unavailable to those located in a single geographical area (Drori et al., 2009). For instance, the African cultural entrepreneurs articulated the value of continental connections as market and audience for their cultural artefacts. These connections are reported as significant relief from forms of resistance to their cultural practice by the prospective audience or the dominant structures of the adopted country. Tochi (Interview, 2019) asserted the importance of maintaining the connection with Africa: "All of us should assemble back in the continent from time to time to disseminate experience that we have gathered in the West". These transnational networks can be regarded as a form of social capital and potential access to new market opportunities and business ideas (Bagwell, 2008; Portes et al. 1999; Wong and Ng 2002). Tochi further articulated the value of these continental networks: I think the adjustment I need is to look more to Africa for distribution? I think that's the reality for any African and that for everything that you produce, whatever you are producing you need a partner in your own country of origin. That means whatever we are producing like this album that we are producing now, no matter how it may sound the Westerner, there is an element that relates to the people in Africa or else they are not going to buy it. It just cannot the be all foreign otherwise they are not gonna buy. We Africans in the West we cannot dictate to Africans in the continent. We need a way to work with them. So, that's the adjustment, of late I think back to Africa in terms of distribution. (Tochi, Interview, 2018) Tochi’s entrepreneurial strategy has Africa as an important component of his marketing strategy. The recourse to Africa as a distribution channel and audience could be seen as a competitive advantage of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship. Unlike the indigenous cultural entrepreneurs, African cultural entrepreneurs are generally non-territorial. While formerly economic success has been associated with the development of links with the mainstream, the success of these transnationally attached entrepreneurs may be contingent on the maintenance of strong networks across national borders (Portes et al. 1999). However, I caution that the celebration of the opportunities of transnational cultural entrepreneurship should not disregard the efficacy of the structural schemes of the dominant culture. Jones et al. (2010) argue that the advantages of these diasporic links are unlikely to outweigh the disadvantages of labour market conditions, which many ethnic minority enterprises face (Jones et al. 2010). Also, the degree to which the transnational cultural entrepreneurs can exploit their transnational status is contingent on the political and economic conditions in the country of origin. For instance, some of the refugee first-generation cultural entrepreneurs are not able to return to countries of origin because of fear of persecution. Lastly, some forms of African cultural expression which depend on the physical performance may derive limited benefits from transnationality. In sum, the simultaneous sensations of belonging in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs demonstrate the complexity of managing the two milieus. Despite the challenges of a variously attached practice, there are still attempts of asserting the pre-eminence of continental ties. In the following section, I underline the significance of maintaining the continental roots to an African cultural entrepreneurship.
Preforming the identity of a rooted African cultural entrepreneur
It’s important to remember where you came from. For instance, as you were coming here you had a route and you’re going to take the same route going back. I always have the same mind-set that I should be proud of where I came from and proud of you are. (Kofi, Interview, 2018) This final section, I explore the narratives and concrete manoeuvresdeployed in performance of a continentally rooted African cultural, entrepreneurial identity. In the opening quotation, Kofi articulated his view of the value of maintaining continental ties. Kofi vests the significance of his practice on the memory of the route to and from the continent. His expressions of pride in his origin demonstrate the emotional commitment to Africa as the place of origination. The significance of the current focus is predicated on appreciating the salience of continental rootedness to the identity of an African cultural entrepreneur. Asimeng-Boahene, 2013 summarises the salience of connectedness to diasporic individuals: The things to which we are connected benefit us to characterize who we are, who we were, and who we hope to become. These meanings are likely to be especially salient to those in identity transitions and play an important role in the (re)construction of identities of immigrants like the African immigrants in the diaspora (Baffoe and Asimeng-Boahene, 2013, p.85). The traditional African maxim: "you can take an African out of Africa, but you can never take Africa out of the African", inspires the argument that while the African cultural entrepreneurs strive for a country of residence legitimacy, their preoccupation with continental credibility is ascendant. Baffoe and Asimeng-Boahene (2013) state that African immigrants sustain deliberate attempts to recreate culture in foreign places with the aim of preserving cultural ties between the African homeland, themselves and their children born in abroad. The salience of these ties is demonstrated by the extent to which many Africans go to ensure that the bodies of their loved ones are returned to their ancestral lands in Africa for burial (Odhiambo, 1992).In the present study, the nostalgic references to Africa as motherland or homeland were a recurrent feature in their discourse. In particular, the study analyses how clichés are deployed as a narrative strategy for the performance of the identity of a continentally connected cultural entrepreneur. The clichés of continental connectedness featured prominently in the discourse of African cultural entrepreneurs. For Down and Warren (2008, p.4) entrepreneurial clichés facilitate a relatively "weak" but functional attachment to building an entrepreneurial identity, one that can be jettisoned quickly, should it become inappropriate. Down (2006) adds that the clichés also serve to smooth over the rugged and inconsistent terrain of individual experience into a consistent and secured narrative. Accordingly, the subsequent discussion focuses on how the clichés are employed as a strategy to manage or simplify the complexities that accompany the identity of a transnational African cultural entrepreneur. The extent, to which, actors employ linguistic resources in the process of identity construction and maintenance has been a subject of extensive debates. Mallett and Wapshott (2015) have stated that, individuals innovate by drawing on available narrative resources as they seek to find a balance between complexity and coherence. Also, Korhonen and Leppäaho (2019) highlight how entrepreneurs often construct their narrative identities based on the scripts of pioneer, native, diplomat or gambler. While Naudin (2018) observed that cultural entrepreneurs use stereotypical characteristics that are associated with entrepreneurs and bohemian artists, and how these are either rejected or adapted which presents unstable identities, which emerge in a social and relational context. Similarly, albeit in their African way, the African cultural entrepreneurs employ traditional narrative clichés associated with being an African cultural entrepreneur in the process of maintaining, constructing and simplifying their transnational cultural, entrepreneurial identity. The clichés of a continentally rooted cultural entrepreneur featured prominently in their discourse. The appreciation of the significance of the clichés of rootedness depends on the understanding of the importance of continental credibility to the African consciousness. I argue that to continental cultural credibility is of significance to the African cultural entrepreneurship in the same way bohemianism is to the entrepreneurial identity of Western cultural workers. Subsequently, I argue that clichéd narratives and material performances of rootedness serve a discursive function of managing the complexities of a transnationally situated cultural practice. Patrice articulates a conscious strategy for projecting his connectedness to Africa. He references the practices he deploys, a combination of clothing and food: I always look for new ways to stay connected while I’m here. There are times when I could be hungry, unless I eat African food I do not feel like I’ve eaten that’s one. I have my clothes that I wear and have little things that are personal to me, when I go out I don’t wear ties I wear this African wear […] When I had my children I had to let them know about African heritage without them actually physically going there through things like having drums, having stories from Africa. It is what I call 'ancestral allegiance'. So that's how I describe my connectivity with the motherland by using this concept called 'ancestral allegiance'. (Patrice, Interview, 2019) The cultural entrepreneurs place considerable effort in the construction of a rooted cultural entrepreneur. Patrice equates his performances to what he refers to as avowal of ancestral allegiance. According to Nqweni (1999), the deep regard for one’s ancestors is central to the African traditional world view. The expressions of ancestral allegiance introduce the spiritual facet of the continental ties to an Afro-centric cultural practice. It also explains the implications of the image of an out-of-touch African cultural entrepreneur to the credibility of their cultural expression.
The participants draw on a wide range of artefacts in the performance of African ancestry. In the above quotation, Patrice describes how he deploys his African wear as a demonstration of ancestral allegiance. In this way, the body becomes an important stage for some of the exhibitions of rootedness. Gsir and Mescoli (2015) describe how the body plays a role in projecting information about ourselves through movement and the donning of cultural products. Regalia such as the Kente cloth, tribal piercings, beads feature prominently in the displays of continental attachment for Africans in the diaspora. However, a ubiquitous example of an embodied cliché of rootedness is dreadlocks. An analysis of the social media accounts of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs reveals the ubiquity of spotting dreadlocks for performing the identity of an African artist. The image of a dreadlocked African cultural entrepreneur is a dominant cliché in the performance of continental rootedness. The locks are a relatively recent fashion in the West, emerging of the Black Power movement of the sixties and the infiltration of reggae into popular music (Mastalia and Pagano, 2000). For Kuumba and Ajanaku (1998) the growing of dreadlocks has become increasingly popular among people of African descent globally. The spotting of dreadlocks is virtually essential in demonstrations of a continentally rooted African cultural entrepreneur. However, I contend that dreadlocks as a cliché for continental rootedness is problematic in its presentation of a caricatured version of an African cultural entrepreneur. For instance, the alleged African origin of dreadlock is confusing and widely debated. The Rastafarian cultivation of dreadlocks began in the 1940s (Edmonds, 2008). It was apparently inspired by the appearance in the Jamaican press of Africans wearing a similar hairstyle; however, those whose pictures appeared have been variously identified as Gallas, Somalis, Masais or Jomo Kenyatta’s Freedom Fighters (Edmonds, 2008). Besides, the hair locking practice is only associated with specific regions, for instance, the Himba people of Namibia. I also submit that the identity that is often presented is an essentialised version of an African, based on essentialist ideas of a rustic and unpolished African cultural entrepreneur, trapped in the past despite the evolving aesthetics. Yet, Hall (1999) viewed identity as an ongoing product of history and culture, rather than a finished product. The other problem is that of overstretched assumptions of Pan African identity. For instance, the image of an African cultural entrepreneur donning Kente colours has a diminished relevance beyond West Africa.
Another cliché in the performance of a rooted cultural entrepreneur is what I refer to as ‘grab a continental celebrity’. The preoccupation with the maintenance of home ties can be observed through social media posts. The quest for continental validation can be deduced from exhibitions of associations with African cultural luminaries on social media. Images of African cultural entrepreneurs hobnobbing with celebrated Africa based artists can be analysed as credibility boosting strategy. Appearing on the same event poster with big continental stars is another popular strategy. This is also accompanied by an occasional name dropping of a continental artist in their discourse. Rudo observed her own moment of name dropping: So I’ve had the opportunity of working alongside people like Stella Chiweshe, I’ve shared the stage with her a few times. I’ve worked a lot with Chatwell Mujuru who has been my mentor, my friend my colleague and have known him for a very long long time, and the likes of Anna Muteka, Oh I’m mentioning names here. (Rudo, Interview, 2018) The appreciation of the value of these validation manoeuvres is connected with the understanding of the anxiety of being perceived as a continental relevant of African cultural entrepreneur.Tochi articulated his preoccupation with continental validation: I think I tried to strive all the time to get my work in Africa. I think the recognition I want, I want it to be from the continent. I think when they see me doing it and reviving our culture and our cultural legacy, our food, our clothing all emotional and not borrowing something of the Western philosophy. I think when that is in place; I think that’s where the achievement and the recognition is (Tochi, Interview, 2018). Despite the best performances of rootedness, the complexities and complete conundrum of transnationally situated identities are omnipresent. Firstly, Gsir and Mescoli (2015) refer to the problem when some cultural aspects performed by migrants are not exactly the sameas those which countries of origin want to show or promote. The attempts at performing a rooted African cultural entrepreneur are mitigated by the inevitable realism that more time spent away from Africa results in the loss of relevance on the premise that cultures are dynamic and are subject to evolve over time. For the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the more time spent away from the continent while embedded in the Western cultural order, the more likely the mismatch with the expectations of the country of origin. Secondly, it is implausible to retain the continental version of cultural practice because of the interaction between cultures, which results into practices which are situational and are necessarily connected to the context in which they are produced (Gsir and Mescoli, 2015). A survey of many cultural expressions of first-generation reveals the invertibility of fusion and even bastardisation, as an outcome of accommodation and negotiation which are essential in a diverse city such as Birmingham. For instance, Abanguni reported how she is compelled to incorporate English session musicians, which resulted in fortuitous productions. I normally sing traditional music. But when incorporation different people, that’s when it kind of changes, although it’s the same style, but because I’ve added, for instance my bass guitarist is English, my keyboard player is Ugandan, my conga drummer is Congolese. So, we come altogether, and I give them what I want them to sing. They also come in with their sound and it comes out a bit different, I believe the style is still the same, Zulu-Ndebele traditional, the Abanguni style. (Abanguni, Interview, 2019) Another interesting case of cultural hybridisation is that of Lekan Babalola, highly celebrated percussionist, and his a clarinettist Kate Luxmoore wife Kate Luxmoore. Babalola is the curator of the Birchfield Jazz festival, an annual event in the Handsworth and Aston wards. The couple are Babalola are an embodiment of a cultural infusion, which is a concatenation of African traditional music and English country folk. Most of their works such as the ‘Somerset Songbook Revisited’ are rooted in both English and Nigerian musical heritage. They describe the Somersent Songbook Revisited production as an Anglos Saxon love song reimagined with Yoruba grooves (Kateluxmoore.com, 2020). Although the Yoruba overtones are discernible in their presentations, their artform will is neither purely continental nor English, but a kind of world of music format. Babalola and Luxmoore case demonstrate the inescapable cultural fusion, which makes any claims of cultural authenticity futile. Lastly, the new socioeconomic class of the transnational cultural entrepreneur has a mediating function to their cultural practice and identity. According to Sayad (2014: 105) when migrants assume lowly status in society it is often the case that their culture is associated with low culture.The first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs were preoccupied with the status that is afforded their practice by the main stream market. The view that their culture is not understood and valued appropriately dominated their discourse. Therefore, despite the sentimental projections of a continentally rooted identity, the conditions of transnationality are a veritable experience and bound to result in further entanglements with the duration of their residence in diaspora.
Conclusion
The chapter contributes to the debates of cultural entrepreneurship knowledge of ambulatory group. The extant cultural entrepreneurship literature has focused on settled groups. The transnational dimension of the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is dominated by the simultaneous allegiance to countries of origin and seeking relatability to the country of residence. The chapter explored how this tension governs a repertoire of identarian schemes and ambiguities. These uncertainties contribute to vagueness of entrepreneurial action and product.The migratory process entails the experience of the transition from one cultural context to another. The discussion on the transition experience highlighted the disorienting experience of moving from an everyday cultural arrangement into a marketised cultural order. I argued that rather than a hierarchy of cultural systems or the dichotomy of formal and informal, the transition is between alternate logics of culture. This view raises the importance of the appreciation of different models of cultural entrepreneurship in different contexts and societies. Research needs to consider other cultural relations and forms of collectivity, including combining “gift” and commodity-based economic relations (Hesmondhalgh and Saha, 2013). The notion of liminality was applied to explain the experience of being held in a protracted transition between two existences. The theme of liminality is ubiquitous throughout the study, which considers the perpetual state of provisional entrepreneurship. The cultural entrepreneurship of first-generation Africans is characterised by multiple liminalities, which include constant hoping for a break and the in-between location of tertiary education and the elusive work experience. The discussion considered how the intersectionality of maturity and gender team-up to in the production gendered liminalities. One of the implications is institutional invisibility, which impacts their capacity to participate in policy consultative processes. Apart from the apparent disadvantages, the liminal phase can avail opportunities which include an opportunity for reflection on the past entrepreneurial identity and what could be. The chapter proceeded by exploring the transnational dimension of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. Through Dubois’ notion of double consciousness, the chapter highlighted the embodiment of conflicting consciences. The transnational status of African cultural workers entails a conflict of allegiances to home cultural context and that of the country of residence. The contending allegiances engender managing a cultural practice that is relatable to both their continental and country of residence markets. However, the tension is further complicated by the expediency of meeting the funding demands. A prevailing experience in the transnational experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is a complicated conception of home and the fluidity of belonging. The chapter attempted to highlight that however complex and fluid the concept of home, the natal home is of particular customary and spiritual ascendancy according to African axiology. However, in spite of the emotive discourses of ancestral allegiance, the accounts of the participants reveal the complexity of belonging and many factors such as the diminished capacity to transverse due political conditions in the country of origin. The significance of continental allegiance was extended through the discussion on the performance of the identity of a continentally rooted cultural entrepreneur. I considered how African cultural entrepreneurs use discursive and material clichés with the goal of simplifying the complexities of a transnational identity. The clichés of spotting locks and donning African wears makes the body an important stage for the performances of rootedness.
The findings of this study are a qualitative analysis of the phenomenon of the experiences of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs of Birmingham. Although the entrepreneurship of the UK's ethnic minorities has received significant attention in academic literature, the entrepreneurial exploits of black Africans who now are the dominant black group in the UK, are not well researched. Similarly, the growing area of cultural entrepreneurship has mainly focused on the experiences of indigenous culture, and creative workers and no studies have considered the cultural entrepreneurship of Africans in the UK. Through the prism of the experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs of Birmingham, the study sought to understand the experience of minority cultural entrepreneurship embedded in a Western cultural milieu. Hesmondhalgh and Saha (2013) note that many cultural expressions of ethnic and racial minorities remain as invisible marginalised and dismissed. This study also adds value by providing qualitative insight into the lived experience of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs. The exploration of the aspect of being first-generation has not been attended by extant studies which tend to focus on the cultural experience of settled groups and multigenerational immigrant communities. Also, while most studies of minority entrepreneurship often deploy broad identifiers such as BAME and Black British, this study has signalled a departure towards a more particularised approach to the study of African culture in the UK. The thesis set out to explore the question of what have been the lived experiences of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs in Birmingham. The main aim of this research was to contribute to the study of cultural entrepreneurship by exploring the lived experience of new immigrant cultural workers in a Western cultural milieu. The study purposed to explore the particular experiences of being an African first-generation cultural worker. The third aim was to analyse how the cultural practice of first-generation Africans is located in the cultural milieu of the city. The methodological approach was guided by the necessity to afford the participants a voice to articulate their experiences with a higher degree of autonomy. This informed the choice of methods which gave the interviewees the flexibility to narrate their biographies. Scholarly counsel entreats researchers to allow the participants to tell their own story on their own terms even through the use of informal networks when researching diffused ethnic groups such as Africans (Nwankwo et al. 2011). The semi-structured interviews were employed as the primary research method, and 14 participants were interviewed. The interviews were supplemented by an exploration of the city's policies and cultural landscape in the process of situating the practice of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs within the cultural milieu of Birmingham. The view of the city guides the investigation of the city as a research 'character' which includes its particular structures, the people, the built environment and the local policies (Naudin, 2015). The study examined the city policy publications to understand how they relate to the culture of minority groups, in this case, the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. A walkabout method was adapted and deployed to appreciate the city's cultural geography and to understand the significance of particular cultural landscapes to the local African residents. The walkabout involved street-level evaluation of the geography and incorporated impromptu conversations, which functioned as rich metadata in the analysis of the spaces. I acknowledged my embeddedness within Birmingham's African networks, which also benefited the study for participant recruitment. The researcher's knowledge and proximity to the study population were invaluable for accessing an otherwise hard to access community. A distinctive feature of the study is its interdisciplinarity and interconnectedness of conversations from diverse theoretical fields. It primarily informed the general entrepreneurship studies about the ethnic entrepreneurship of a new immigrant group. From the theoretical home of cultural entrepreneurship, the study informed debates of ethnic entrepreneurship about a specific entrepreneurial practice which is not entirely mercantile but symbolic. The thesis drew from a wide gamut of theoretical disciplines, which included Bourdieu's concepts of capitals. Bourdieu's ideas on capitals were applied in exploring the resources and assets at the disposal of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The study gleaned from cultural geography theory to explore the spatial experiences of first-generation Africans in Birmingham's cultural landscape. The notion of hope was applied to elucidate the perplexing adherence to cultural work despite the uncertainties. The idea of double consciousness was useful in characterising the sensation of being simultaneously tethered to multiple cultural contexts. The concept of liminality was used to explain how the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are perpetually located between two existences. The character of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneur raised interesting contrast with the dominant image of the cultural entrepreneur in literature. The indigenous cultural entrepreneurs have been depicted as young, anti-establishment, highly individualistic and guided by a spirit of self-exploration and self-fulfilment (Leadbeater and Oakley, 1999). They have a utopian outlook and are lured to cultural work by its hedonistic, dance and rave culture (McRoobbie, 2016). Their overall approach encourages playful experimentation and bohemian lifestyle (Forket, 2016; Schediwy, Bhansing and Loots, 2018; Naudin, 2018). These are pervasive characterisations of the cultural entrepreneur which are usually based on the Western, white, male, middleclass, in Western tech hubs (Alacovska and Gill, 2019). However, the character and the value system of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is in sharp contrast with that of the Western cultural entrepreneur. Unlike the bohemian, playful and younger native compatriots first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship is a grave vocation. The seriousness of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is attributable to the responsibilities and obligations that come with their maturity. Some of the obligations are extraterritorial and customary, which leaves them with little or no latitude for wanton experimentation or play. The experience of precarity is one aspect that the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs share with the indigenous counterparts. The revelation of precarity is in correspondence with a plethora of commentary on the insecurities of cultural work (Bridges, 2017; Butler and Stoyanova Russell, 2018; Banks, 2019). However, I argued that first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs experience hyper-precariousness, which describes the added dimensions of insecurity. Above the commonly reported experience of precariousness are distinctive disadvantages which are immanent in being mature and a recent immigrant, e.g. lack of recourse to familial abode, economic capital, and extraterritorial obligations. The findings of precarity are fundamental to the exploration of the question: what are the particular experiences of being first-generation African cultural entrepreneur? These findings are consistent with the narrative that cultural entrepreneurs usuallly practice without economic capital. While it is well established that the cultural entrepreneurs compensate their lack of economic capital by converting other forms of capitals, I argued that this practice is less applicable to first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, due to their deficiency in all the capitals. The assumptions about the ability of the cultural worker to exchange one form of capital for another demonstrates the parochialism of existent cultural entrepreneurship theory, which is based mainly on the purview of settled indigene cultural workers and multigenerational ethnic entrepreneurs. The knowledge about capital inequalities in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is a further rejoinder against the touted egalitarian image of cultural work. The experience of difficulties and precariousness is transcended by a profound attitude of vocational adherence, which is accompanied by perplexing self-exploitation despite the elusive return on investment. The devotion of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs to cultural work despite the reports of institutional inequalities underlines the importance of embodied satisfaction and value to the individuals, which is often neglected in the pervasive critique of the culture and creative industries. The research promotes a transcendental perspective to debates of ethnic entrepreneurial intent. The theories of ethnic entrepreneurship motivation are mainly categorised into the economic and cultural schools of ethnic entrepreneurial motivation. The proponents of the economic school intimate that ethnic groups are pushed into self-employment due to the racial discrimination in the job market (Ram and Deakins,1996; Minniti et al., 2006; Smallbone and Welter, 2004). On the other hand, cultural theory maintains that ethnic and immigrant groups are equipped with cultural predispositions such as hard working, risk tolerance and inclination towards self-employment (Masurel et al., 2004). However, the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs introduces a transcendental perspective to the debate. The religiosity of African cultural entrepreneurs is foundational in understanding their motivation. The participants described the provenance of their entrepreneurial intent as passion and a sense of divine calling and destiny. The intrinsic and theocentric nature of their motivation challenges the dominant view that the immigrants are forced by circumstances into entrepreneurial action. The African cultural entrepreneurs acknowledged the element of economic disadvantages, but only as impetus, which emboldened a pre-migration entrepreneurial predisposition.
The relationship with co-ethnic and mainstream social networks is a salient experience of being a first-generation African cultural entrepreneur. Theories of ethnic entrepreneurship have suggested that ethnic and new immigrant have the potential to recourse to community and familial economic capital to resource their enterprise. It is well reported that ethnic social networks of friends and family in the country of residence and home country are a significant resource for startup capital (Evans, 1989; Massey et al., 1993; Waldinger, 1996; Zhou, 2004; Blanchard et al., 2008). While that is more applicable to overtly commercial lines of ethnic entrepreneurship and multigenerational ethnic communities, the potential to benefit from community economic resources is significantly diminished in the context of African cultural entrepreneurship. I posited that the African community makes an exception to cultural entrepreneurship due to its image as an inefficient facilitator of social mobility. The respondents reported how cultural work is eschewed due to the insistence on rapid economic amelioration among the cohort of first-generation Africans. Instead of support, a deviant career option such as cultural entrepreneurship is often met with censure and ridicule. I also intimated that the adverse view of cultural careers among the community of first-generation Africans is their experience of barriers in the mainstream job market. I submitted that the expediency of social expedited social mobility informs the new immigrant communities' aversion to precarious occupations. Analogous to the experience in co-ethnic networks, is their attempts of accessing the social networks of the dominant culture. The ambitions of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs to gain admission into mainstream networks are impeded by their lack of legitimate social capital. The participants lamented the density of native networks, which is also a typical characterisation in the literature (Naudin, 2018). The experience of the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is a significant rebuttal of the meritocratic promise that the cultural and creative industries will open up participation to the everyday “masses”. Through the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs, the thesis contributes growing critique of the density of middleclass social networks in the culture and creative industries. Contrary to the image of fluid and dynamic, ‘knowledge economy’, there is growing concern that Britain’s cultural and creative industries are increasingly dominated by those from privileged class origins (Hough, 2014; Plunkett, 2014; Banks & Oakley, 2015). Some critique has been directed to the way the privileged often draw upon powerful social networks in forging cultural careers (Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2006; Nelligan, 2015)while some other critique has been associated wtih the significance of the barriers which have be experienced by those with working class backgrounds while they could be attempting to enter into the CCIs(Randle et al, 2014, Eikhof and Warhurst 2012; Friedman et al 2016). The thesis adds the perspective of new immigrants to the growing voices of naysayers. The new immigrant African cultural entrepreneurs lamented the importance placed on 'whom you know' rather than 'what you know'. The study also revealed the importance of legitimate cultural capital for getting in and getting on the mainstream culture and creative sector. The respondents acknowledged their lack of habitus, also referred to as the knowledge of the 'rules of the game', which is critical among the mainstream social networks. Notwithstanding the importance of local cultural capital, the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs resist unilateral enculturation in favour of mutual cultural exchange. However, the study revealed these networks are not impervious, thanks to the messiness of social network structures, the formerly excluded individuals are afforded access based on the intersection of networks. The multiple disadvantages in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs are invaluable in the argument against the merits of egalitarianism that are associated with cultural work. The thesis explored how the culture of first-generation Africans is located in the city of Birmingham. The assessment of the policy and geographical milieu of the city revealed that the cultural practice of first-generation Africans is situated in the urban interstitial spaces, in-between and betwixt the spaces of white culture and those of minorities. The spatial experience of African cultural entrepreneurs of Birmingham has implications for how the diverse cultural expressions of the subalterns are accommodated in multicultural cities of the West. The absence of the African culture from the city’s prestigious cultural institutions adds to the critique of the culture-led urban regeneration zeitgeist. The promise by proponents such as Richard Florida (2002) and Charles Landry (2000, 2006) that the city-centre culture-led regeneration schemes will yield distributive economic benefits alone is untenable because of lack of sustainable social benefits. The absence of the first-generation culture from Birmingham's diasporic cultural spaces demonstrates the unviability of the collective cultural provision on the premise of a collective experience for all black people. Following the separatist approaches of Asian scholars who have argued away from the collective black experience, I contend that summation of non-White groups in the cultural provision is injurious particularly to African cultural entrepreneurs mainly due to their continental sensibilities. The two most seminal principles in the lived experience of first-generation Africans are religiosity and transnationality. The metaphysical nature of the motivation of African cultural entrepreneurship indicates a model of practice which is located on the crossroads of an African sensibility and Christian rationalism. The centrality of religion to first-generation African cultural entrepreneurship is a major distinction to its Western counterpart, which is often characterised as hedonistic (McRobbie, 2018). The thesis developed the knowledge of the religious space as an incubator of African cultural entrepreneurship. The study explored the cultural economy in the African Pentecostal church. The cultural economy in the church mirrors the structures in the circular realm, including its hierarchies and precarity. The study considered sacramental value and the discourse of blessings as drivers of the cultural economy in the African Pentecostal church. Products such as books and DVDs are patronised out of the belief that they have inherent spiritual potency rather than their aesthetic quality. The church-based cultural entrepreneurs reflexively deployed the terminology of blessings in lieu of commercial lingo. I argued that the discursive deployment of ‘blessing’ in the place of ‘money’ is a discursive strategy to minimise the function of money in church labour relations. I further argued that the beatific discourse shapes the labour relations in the church by privileging the church as ‘dispensers of blessings’ while subordinating the artist to the receiving end of the blessings. The study contributed knowledge of how theology shapes the risk perceptions of African cultural entrepreneurs. The image of the heroic entrepreneur is often associated with themes such as risk-bearing, the quest for achievement, dominance and independence (Mitchell, 1996; Ogbor, 2000). The exploration of theological tenants provided fresh perspectives to discussions of risk and entrepreneurial action by considering how the belief in God's assurances for success diminishes the perception of uncertainty. Scholarship has often neglected what risk means to entrepreneurs who subscribe to the belief in a supreme being as the originator of the enterprise. The diminished risk perception view offers relief from the pervasive perspectives of entrepreneurial risk and opens space to consider alternative logics of entrepreneurial behaviour beyond the echo chamber of Western entrepreneurship literature. The transnationality of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is central to the exploration of the particular experiences of being first-generation African cultural entrepreneur. The status of first-generation indicates to the continuation of the cherishing of a strong sentimental attachment to their homelands. The transnationality of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs relates to the experience of being simultaneously tethered between the continental and European cultural contexts. The experience manifests as a perpetual double consciousness of managing a cultural practice that relates to both markets of the natal country and the country of residence. I attributed the warring consciences to the vague business strategies and bland, hybrid cultural products. A dominant theme in the experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs is the liminal location of their practice. The notion of liminality was useful throughout the study to illustrate how the African cultural entrepreneurs are held in abeyance between statuses of home and destination country. Liminality also explained the aspirational and perpetually unfolding nature of first-generation cultural entrepreneurship. Their liminality raises implications of visibility to policy formulation processes and arts funding organisations. The complexity of the transnational experience is demonstrated by the different identarian schemes that the African cultural entrepreneurs employ in managing the ambivalences of their transnational entrepreneurial Identities. Part of the toolkit is the use of the clichés for the performance of the continentally rooted African cultural entrepreneur. Through spoken and embodied clichés, the African cultural entrepreneurs are keen to project the identity of a cultural entrepreneur who is still relevant despite the long periods of absence from the continent. However, the performances are problematic by presenting a caricatured version of the African cultural entrepreneur based on the stereotypes of a primitive and static culture.
There are several potential categories of beneficiaries from an enhanced understanding of the lived experience of first-generation cultural entrepreneurs. Firstly, the knowledge of how the cultural expression of new immigrant Africans is located in Birmingham could be applied to similar Multicultural cities of the West. The insights about the interstitial location and provisionality of African cultural practice engender the need new strategies of engaging the diverse culture in the city. The study equips the policymakers and enterprise support institutions in the development of culturally responsive strategies for engaging new immigrant cultural workers. There is a significant lacuna for the understanding of the behaviour of groups who are in the early stages of settlement among host communities, which has implications about their visibility to consultative policy processes. The research developed the awareness of religious establishments as veritable sites of cultural production and networks of first-general African entrepreneurs. The knowledge of the salience of church space has value to policymakers as a platform for consultative activities and for disseminating programs and policies, especially those that emphasise social and economic inclusion. The transnationality of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs could be of interest to countries of origins and international cultural relations organisations such as the British Council and UNESCO. International policy needs to respond by formulating programs that promote transnational cultural entrepreneurship. The policymakers in the home country and destination countries need to explore the benefits of the growing presence of African cultural expressions in various global cities such as Birmingham. Most importantly, the study offers a theoretical apparatus for the first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs to explore and articulate their experience in the British and Western cultural economy. It is anticipated that through the findings of this research, the African cultural entrepreneurs will be better equipped to construct a research-based representation of their disadvantages and agentic potential. The knowledge of the centrality of religion to first-generation African cultural practice could inform processes of cultural value assessment by considering the aspect of spiritual value, which is often neglected in cultural policy. One of the limitations of the study pertains to the aggregation of the African continent and the negligence of its various cultural contexts. I acknowledge the treatment of the Africans as a homogenous group. The same offence of aggregating black people is endemic in academic literature and policy. Although the separate focus on black Africans represents the effort to depart from the umbrella categories for minority groups, it still ignores the extensive ethnic differences across the continent. Despite the best efforts to achieve gender balance among the participants, there were few women African cultural entrepreneurs. This has contributed to a lack of strongly gendered perspectives. Another limitation is the flaccid gender story. This was a result of the inequitable participation of women in the study. The study was dominated by male participants, although the sample contains both male and female African cultural entrepreneurs. The sparse participation of women could be attributed to the reported gendered image of cultural work in the African community. Additional weaknesses pertain to the lean sample size and the confinement of the sample to Birmingham, which limits the generalisability of the findings. However, the size of the sample is consistent with the methodological framework. The insights from this thesis could be complemented by a research project on the participation of West Midlands based African community in the innovation discourses. The project could consider ‘STEAMhouse: an innovation co-working space in Birmingham’ as a case study. The study would investigate the social, structural and cultural dynamics that shape the participation of the African community in the region’s innovation hubs such the STEAMhouse. Although STEAMhouse has adopted policies to address the underrepresentation of minorities, there is still an apparent absence of some minority creative, particularly Africans. Therefore, the study would investigate the gap between policy rhetoric and practice. The knowledge from the research could illuminate the diversity policy programs and inform career initiatives among the minority communities of the region. A cultural mapping project could be another germane extension of the present study. I suggest that this study could be expanded for a more focused examination of the cultural work of first-generation African in Birmingham and its relationship with the urban environments. The project could be named Birmingham Afroscape. During the research I sensed an emerging story about how Africans interact with historical and contemporary local environments. However, due to the scope of the present study, the methodology has been based on the oral accounts away from their landscapes of practice. Therefore, I envisage that the value of a mapping study of African cultural practice around Birmingham would associate the instances of African cultural practice their geographies. The project will entail an expansion of the methodologies. This would entail further interviewing for in-depth knowledge of the experiences of the practitioners, cultural practices and their spaces of practice. More Participant observation exercises and interviews will be necessary to reveal more about the spaces of African cultural practice. As it has been highlighted in the study, the hidden nature of some of African culture will require an extended walkabout ethnographic exercise of the city in order to detect some spaces that are hidden from street view. This kind of participant observation is crucial to understand better the spatial patterns African cultural entrepreneurs in spaces such as the 'joints', the churches, clubs, domestic homes and halls. The project could facilitate an enhanced knowledge of the culture of Africans in Birmingham. The understanding of spatial patterns could benefit the cultural awareness of city planners. One of the outputs from the cultural mapping project could be a virtual reality map installation featuring locations of African culture in Birmingham. The users will be able to tour the city and interact with immersive content out of the sites of African cultural practice. Some of the content could include video clips, live performances and audio. This thesis has attempted to cast a spotlight on the enigma of the lived experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs. The following are the key terms that capture their experience: nascent; marginal; interstitial; liminal; aspirational; deficiency; agency; religious; calling; hopeful; tethered; serious; mature; precarious. The quote by Patrice is a fitting summation of the living experience of first-generation African cultural entrepreneurs.
But I have no biological or family or somebody who was going to open a door for me. Or call a director and say can you give him a small role in a film, he is quite good. No, nothing like that. To open doors, I had to make my performances count. (Patrice, Interview, 2018)
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