Current projects

Southern African Encyclopedia of Music & Sound

The Southern African Encyclopedia of Music & Sound is a collaborative, open-access digital platform hosted by the Africa Open Institute (AOI) at Stellenbosch University in partnership with the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR). This project emerged from the need to re-examine critically and expand upon J.P. Malan’s South African Music Encyclopedia (1978–1986), which primarily focused on Western classical music traditions and excluded many indigenous and vernacular forms.

In response to these limitations, the Southern African Encyclopedia of Music & Sound is designed as a decolonial, inclusive, and dynamic resource that documents the rich and diverse musical traditions of Southern Africa. The project utilizes Wikipedia as a public-facing platform to ensure that research on Southern African music and sound is widely accessible. By expanding and revising existing entries and creating new ones, the encyclopedia actively engages with the politics of representation and knowledge production in contemporary Southern Africa.

Contact person: Prof Willemien Froneman (wfroneman@sun.ac.za

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