Beyond Oppression-Liberation-Maendeleo
by Parselelo Kantai It may have been the economist David Ndii who coined the term “the Chlorophyll Zone”. Recalling the tragic fallacy of centralised economic planning in Kenya in the early years of uhuru, Ndii describes how the drafters of that touchstone of economic planning in Kenya, Sessional Paper Number 10 of 1965, divvied up the country into a hierarchy of six […]
Ankara Press, new romance imprint from Cassava Republic Press
A new romance imprint from Cassava Republic Press is now public: Ankara Press. Press release follow follow: Ankara Press is a fresh new voice publishing romantic fiction for the African market, and is devoted to publishing easy-to-read novellas with African settings, storylines and characters. The Ankara Press imprint launches today with six new titles, set in locations […]
Propaganda and Politics tunnel vision history of art activism in South Africa
The important contribution of the Black Consciousness Movement to art activism in 1970s South Africa is without question, yet mainstream art history ignores it. The poet and painter, Lefifi Tladi, reflects in conversation with Percy Mabandu. With his blue beret slanting sideways to hint at his balding head, the painter-poet who became one of the creative dynamos of the […]
The New Thing
[hr] Out of the silence, the crevices, cracks and forgotten places of Cape Town, comes the thing that is jazz. Lindokuhle Nkosi listens to the language of traditions, improvisation and healing, as channelled by some gifted young South African protégés in the realm of sound. Audio accompaniment by Boeta Gee. [hr] Here is this sound, this […]
Exitour as Rhizome
“Why did we embark on this insane trip?” Having journeyed together from Douala to Dakar, Goddy Leye, LucFosther Diop, Justine Gaga, Dunja Herzog, Achillekà Komguen and Alioum Moussa* report on the questions, lessons, and collaborations of the inaugural Exitour. It all began when a group of young, talented artists were selected and invited for a one-month stay at the ArtBakery […]