April 16, 2023
Africa: Africans in World War 1 - Artist William Kentridge's Epic Theatre Production Restores Forgotten Histories
South African artist William Kentridge became world famous for his charcoal drawings and hand-drawn animated films, but his work continued to grow in scope and he began staging… Read more »
April 14, 2023
Africa: DNA Study Opens a Window Into African Civilisations That Left a Lasting Legacy
Pre-colonial African history is alive with tales of civilisations rising and falling and of different cultures intermingling across the continent. We have now shed more light on… Read more »
April 13, 2023
Ghana: El Anatsui Creates Gigantic Artworks From Recycled Materials - Why the World Fell in Love With Him
The artist El Anatsui was born in Ghana and has spent the bulk of his career in Nigeria, but is a citizen of the world. News of a major new installation of his work coming to the… Read more »
April 11, 2023
Nigeria: Nollywood Could See a Major Boost From Nigeria's New Copyright Law
Nigeria has finally updated its 2004 copyright law, bringing it into the digital era - where the entertainment industry has been for decades already. Read more »
April 06, 2023
Zimbabwe: Moffat Takadiwa's Landmark Exhibition Uses Found Materials to Comment On Zimbabwe's Colonial Hangover
Moffat Takadiwa is a Zimbabwean artist famous for creating work from found materials. His exhibition Vestiges of Colonialism, curated by Fadzai Muchemwa, opened at the National… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Winky D Is Being Targeted By Police in Zimbabwe - Why the Music Star's Voice Is So Important
Winky D, a 40-year-old Zimdancehall artist, is hugely popular in Zimbabwe. He's also increasingly in the news for the messages in his songs, some of which address social injustice… Read more »
April 04, 2023
Nigeria: Timeless Review - Nigerian Star Davido's New Album Is Mostly Form Over Substance
Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido (David Adeleke) has demonstrated himself to be a master of showboating. He is able to milk every situation to the maximum. And he did not disappoint… Read more »
March 30, 2023
Africa: Happy Songs - These Are the Musical Elements That Make Us Feel Good
Music has a unique power to affect the way people feel and many people use music to enhance or change their mood, channel emotions and for psychological support. Read more »
March 23, 2023
Africa: The Gaming Audience Is 'Queerer Than Ever' - So How Are Game Creators Responding?
Mainstream games are embracing openly queer characters - and so are many of their players and fans. Read more »
March 29, 2023
East Africa: Ancient DNA Is Restoring the Origin Story of the Swahili People of the East African Coast
The legacy of the medieval Swahili civilization is a source of extraordinary pride in East Africa, as reflected in its language being the official tongue of Kenya, Tanzania and… Read more »
March 30, 2023
South Africa: Amapiano Awards - South Africa's Dance Music Scene Spreads Its Joy Across the World
In 2019 amapiano began to dominate South Africa's dance floors to such an extent that, by 2021, the first South African Amapiano Awards were held to mark the rise of the country's… Read more »
March 29, 2023
Ethiopia: The Astonishing Life and Music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian Nun Who's Died At 99
As the Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou approached the age of 100, fans and music critics from the US to Ethiopia, Israel to Europe have been eagerly… Read more »
March 23, 2023
South Africa: Album Celebrates New Traditions in South Africa's Ancient Bow Music
Musical bows are among the oldest instruments in southern Africa. Musicologists think the "ping" a bowstring makes when an arrow is released inspired early hunters (as far back as… Read more »
March 22, 2023
South Africa: Noni Jabavu Was a Pioneering South African Writer - A New Book Shows How Relevant She Still Is
Noni Jabavu was the first black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad. She left the country as a teenager to… Read more »
March 21, 2023
Africa: How a Nigerian Singer and a Cameroonian Dancer Inspired a Powerful Protest in Iran
On 8 March 2023, five teenage girls uploaded on social media a video of themselves performing the Calm Down Dance Challenge. This is the choreography for the first verse of the… Read more »
March 19, 2023
South Africa: Gloria Bosman Was More Than a South African Jazz Vocalist, She Was a Guiding Light
The immediate public reaction to the death of Gloria Bosman from a short respiratory illness on 14 March 2023 was shocked disbelief. The multiple award-winning South African jazz… Read more »
March 15, 2023
Africa: Looting and Decay - How The Pandemic Wrought Real Damage to African Heritage
The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole, particularly among the elderly. A recent Unesco report shows that it… Read more »
Nigeria: 3 Recent Books That Explain the Work of Nigeria's Famous Decolonial Scholar Toyin Falola
Toyin Falola, distinguished professor of history, is one of Africa's most accomplished intellectuals. Born Oloruntoyin Falola in 1953 in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, he grew up in… Read more »
March 13, 2023
South Africa: Costa Titch - the Rising White South African Rap Star Who Embraced Black Hip-Hop Culture
Rising 28-year-old South African dancer and rapper Costa Titch (born Costa Tsobanoglou) dies after collapsing on stage on 11 March while performing in Johannesburg. Read more »
March 09, 2023
Africa: The World's First Islamic Art Biennale Shines a Light On Muslim African Artists
The inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale is underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Biennales are large and prestigious international art exhibitions held every two years.) This important… Read more »
March 06, 2023
South Africa: The Real Johannesburg - 6 Powerful Photos From a Gritty New Book On the City
Wake Up, This is Joburg is a collaboration between photographer Mark Lewis and urban planner and writer Tanya Zack. Striking images and beautiful texts follow 10 stories the team… Read more »
March 02, 2023
Egypt: Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of How the Ancient Egyptians Created Mummies
Centuries after the first golden coffins were taken to Europe, ancient Egyptian mummies still vividly capture people's imaginations. Perhaps we're awed by the grandeur of their… Read more »
March 01, 2023
South Africa: Dance Me to the End of Time - South African Film On Death Is a Powerful Celebration of Life
In her 2021 documentary Dance Me to the End of Time, South African film-maker and educator Melanie Chait has produced a truly great film. Not only for the breadth of themes it… Read more »
Nigeria: 5 Essential Books Nigeria's New President Should Read
Not many African political leaders are known to have publicly declared their love of reading. US president Barack Obama popularised the idea of a recommended reading list and he… Read more »
February 24, 2023
South Africa: South African Rapper AKA's Murder Video Went Viral - It Shouldn't Have
In the days after the killing of rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbe, known as AKA, and his friend Tebello "Tibz" Motoane, the murders kept playing out on social media. Again and again,… Read more »