“Mandela was not the only head of state taken in by Koagne. Le king kept snapshots of himself with many a man of power, among them Mobutu Sese Seko and Denis Sassou Nguesso […] He took Mobutu for 15 million dollars. Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso lost 40 million to him. Sassou, Etienne Eyadéma of Togo, several high officials of Gabon, Tanzania and Kenya, a member of the Spanish government and an ex-operative of the Israeli Mossad were bamboozled as well.” – Dominique Malaquais (Blood Money: A Douala Chronicle).
Bantu Serenade by Ntone Edjabe (featuring Nah-ee-lah) (read excerpt)
Santu Mofokeng: Trajectory of a street photographer (part1) (read excerpt)
Binyavanga Wainaina: Hell In Bed With Mrs Peprah (read excerpt)
Dominique Malaquais: Lindela (the winnie suite) (read excerpt)
Boubacar Boris Diop: Myriem (read excerpt)

Cover:
Neo Muyanga
Beyond the Chrysalis by Nneoma Angela Okorie (Arak Collection, 2025)
Beyond The Chrysalis was curated by Nneoma Angela Okorie in 2023. Nneoma is a Nigerian curator and researcher. She was the ARAK Collection second 2023 Curatorial Residency Fellowship Recipient. To forge a personal visual language is to interrogate the world unrestrained by the boundaries of what is customary, a crucial signifier, and of real consequence to the rally for the representation of pluralities. Beyond The Chrysalis marks the non-linear paths, the detours, and the overlapping phases of an artist's practice. To enter this space is also to be aware of the three accomplices relevant to this inquiry: the artistic language, the approach to making, and the trails that meander through the recesses of an artist's imagination. The publication presents thirty-two works by three artists; Gor Soudan, Maliza Kiasuwa, and Khalid Abdel Rahman. What is critical is the interrogation of each artist's approach, dwelling on a framework indicative of a changing climate that situate art from the continent within broader frameworks, relevant to our time (post-colonial) rather than isolating it as a static object of study. The artists have developed distinct vocabularies which present a counter-narrative rooted in their lived experiences and identity to assert their agency.
