Controversy and the National Arts Theatre in Lagos
The theater, built by the military and finished in time for FESTAC in 1977, has always been a site of public disagreement.
Culture
Zambian skull (plus Zambian guide) in a London art gallery
The Thai-born artist, Pratchaya Phinthong, mines Zambia's colonial history to explore how historical narratives are performed through objects.
Sathima’s swansong
There is a time for everything: Between Afropunk and the passing of a musical legend, Sathima Bea Benjamin, is our Weekend Music Break.
Who no know go know
The words and images found in the Chronic have a tendency to defy simple consumption.
South African Low-Fi Freedom
A group of artists attempt to democratized the image of the country's past through ripping clips off Youtube to re-author what South Africans once knew.
Chief Boima Interviews … Kae Sun
In our current #hashtag fueled media landscape, it is fairly hard for an up-and-coming artist to
Joyful Melancholy
Alex Lomani is part of the Congolese diaspora, who has lived in the US, the DRC and South Africa. He has just released "Mélancolie Joyeuse," a free EP on Bandcamp of four songs that each speak to his personal experience over the past couple of years.
The discourse about a film
What are the politics of the briefly banned film "Of Good Report"?
Michael Caine on the Cape Flats
The film "Zulu" - starring Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom - are getting lukewarm reviews. Is the novel, it's based on, any good?
Not stitched together
This week's Weekend Music Break, no. 50, includes a homage to the 34 striking miners murdered by South African police in August 2012.
The image of the modern Arab man
The photographer Scarlett Coten wants to look beyond accepted stereotypes of Arab men, exposing a more diverse, and perhaps softer image.
5 New Films to Watch Out For, N°29
Nègre Blanc (“White Negro”), director Cheikh N’diaye’s new film about albinism, in which he tackles rumors,
What is wrong with Italian Reality TV?
The question is whether a reality TV show -- focusing on visiting Italians -- filmed in refugee camps in 3 African countries is useful.
Writing Windhoek
Namibian literature is a subject that usually draws a blank look and those deeply involved face many frustrations.
The noises of Lagos
Emeka Ogboh's experimental videos and soundscapes of Lagos, Nigeria.
When Basquiat went to Africa
In 1988, Basquiat traveled to Cote d'Ivoire, anticipating "very unsophisticated" Africans would see his art. That's not what happened.
The fuss over the first Afro-Latino Spiderman
When Marvel Comics first announced that a new Spiderman would be half-Hispanic and half-African-American.
Summer in the City
Weekend Music Break 49 makes stops in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and with the diaspora in Australia, among others.
Everyone has their own Paul Biya
What would happen if the president goes missing? The people wouldn't care. They've learned to live without him.
Stone breakers
This edition of Weekend Music Break, number 48, curated by journalist and rapper T'seliso Monaheng, stops over in Senegal, Lesotho, Ghana and South Africa.