AfricaIs aCountry

'Africa Uploaded'

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

'Africa Uploaded'

By
Sean Jacobs

These photographs (above and below) by South African Rushay Booysen (from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province) forms part of the  “Africa Uploaded: Experiences Through The Lens” (offline) exhibit next month–December 7 till 31, 2010–in the United Arab Emirates “… curated by Annabelle Nwankwo-Mu’azu and under the patronage of Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.”  The rationale for the exhibit: “… This exhibition focuses on the work of a groundbreaking generation of artists, capturing their experiences as ‘Afrophiles’ and cultural trailblazers. The experience is multi-sensory and employs photography, video projections and film.” Apart from Booysen, the featured artists–all photographers–are Angèle Etoundi Essamba (Cameroon), Uche James Iroha (Nigeria), Antony Kaminju (Kenya), Mandla Mbyakama (South Africa), Aida Muluneh (Ethiopia), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Uganda/USA) and Lindeka Qampi (South Africa). Anybody passing through the UAE this month?

Further Reading

The rubble of empire

Built by Italian Fascists in 1928, Mogadishu Cathedral was meant to symbolize “peaceful conquest.” Today its ruins force Somalis to confront the uneasy afterlife of colonial power and religious authority.

Atayese

Honored in Yorubaland as “one who repairs the world,” Jesse Jackson’s life bridged civil rights, pan-Africanism, empire, and contradiction—leaving behind a legacy as expansive as it was imperfect.

Bread or Messi?

Angola’s golden jubilee culminated in a multimillion-dollar match against Argentina. The price tag—and the secrecy around it—divided a nation already grappling with inequality.

Visiting Ngara

A redevelopment project in Nairobi’s Ngara district promises revival—but raises deeper questions about capital, memory, and who has the right to shape the city.

Gen Z’s electoral dilemma

Long dismissed as apathetic, Kenya’s youth forced a rupture in 2024. As the 2027 election approaches, their challenge is turning digital rebellion and street protest into political power.

A world reimagined in Black

By placing Kwame Nkrumah at the center of a global Black political network, Howard W. French reveals how the promise of pan-African emancipation was narrowed—and what its failure still costs Africa and the diaspora.

Securing Nigeria

Nigeria’s insecurity cannot be solved by foreign airstrikes or a failing state, but by rebuilding democratic, community-rooted systems of collective self-defense.