Emily Nkanga, Unyọñ Ufọk
Anyone listening to the rhetoric of European anti-immigration parties cannot escape the impression that they aim to transform the continent into a lily-white bastion. They call for ‘tougher’ and ‘stricter’ actions against the ‘influx’ of African ‘fortune seekers.’ Yet, behind this alarming facade of xenophobia lie campaigns by politicians from the very same parties who seek staff from Africa—whether for healthcare in London, the high-tech industry in Denmark, or housing in Portugal. However,...
Anyone listening to the rhetoric of European anti-immigration parties cannot escape the impression that they aim to transform the continent into a lily-white bastion. They call for ‘tougher’ and ‘stricter’ actions against the ‘influx’ of African ‘fortune seekers.’ Yet, behind this...
The impact of climate change is devastating but communities find ways of surviving despite corruption and governmental planning. Wata Na Life (Krio for ‘Water is Life’), is a phrase photographer Ngadi Smart heard time and again in Sierra Leone, a country where water is very much a currency. Smart spent three months in the country of her heritage in 2021 exploring the link between water and our changing climate. What she found were communities adapting as best they could to the fall-out from a...
The impact of climate change is devastating but communities find ways of surviving despite corruption and governmental planning. Wata Na Life (Krio for ‘Water is Life’), is a phrase photographer Ngadi Smart heard time and again in Sierra Leone, a country where water is very much a...
Kom je ons helpen om de vele werkzaamheden in de ZAM-studio in goede banen te leiden? Het gaat om een onbezoldigde functie voor maximaal 8 uur per week in het Amsterdamse zenuwcentrum van ZAM. ZAM brengt de verhalen, inzichten en ervaringen van Afrikaanse creatieven en vernieuwers in onderzoeksjournalistiek, fotografie, kunst en opinie onder de aandacht van een groeiend internationaal publiek. ZAM introduceert nieuwe perspectieven in de discussies van onze tijd door middel van digitale en gedrukte...
Kom je ons helpen om de vele werkzaamheden in de ZAM-studio in goede banen te leiden? Het gaat om een onbezoldigde functie voor maximaal 8 uur per week in het Amsterdamse zenuwcentrum van ZAM. ZAM brengt de verhalen, inzichten en ervaringen van Afrikaanse creatieven en vernieuwers...
The investigative work done by ZAM’s partner NAIRE (the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors) will be featured in no less than three sessions at this year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference, to be held between 30 October and 1 November in Johannesburg. In one of these investigations, regarding the Rwanda Classified project , the NAIRE member who led ZAM’s team investigating Rwanda’s ‘long arm’ in East Africa will participate under a pseudonym. Image by AIJC. A second...
The investigative work done by ZAM’s partner NAIRE (the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors) will be featured in no less than three sessions at this year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference, to be held between 30 October and 1 November in Johannesburg....
Amsterdam, November 2024 Onlangs verschenen: The Complicit Camera [English text below] Zodra een foto het publieke domein betreedt, lijken de oorspronkelijke intenties van de maker uit het zicht te verdwijnen. Zo ontstaat een beeldeconomie, meer dan een beeldcultuur. En die cultuur wordt nog steeds gedomineerd door witte en westerse percepties. De verbeelding van het Afrikaanse continent is een ‘goed’ voorbeeld van veelvuldige vertekening. In het fotoboek The Complicit Camera onderwerpt Pieter van...
Amsterdam, November 2024 Onlangs verschenen: The Complicit Camera [English text below] Zodra een foto het publieke domein betreedt, lijken de oorspronkelijke intenties van de maker uit het zicht te verdwijnen. Zo ontstaat een beeldeconomie, meer dan een beeldcultuur. En die cultuur...
In an imaginary interview, composed from actual quotes, the late Zimbawean writer Dambudzo Marechera (1952 – 1987) comments on the troubles his country is facing today. It is reported that in 1978, Dambudzo Marechera, heckled Robert Mugabe when he came to London to address Zimbabweans at the Africa Centre. He had already seen the troubles ahead as he could read through the deceptive characters that were on the brink of leading Zimbabwe. Most of those in power in Zimbabwe today were Marechera’s...
In an imaginary interview, composed from actual quotes, the late Zimbawean writer Dambudzo Marechera (1952 – 1987) comments on the troubles his country is facing today. It is reported that in 1978, Dambudzo Marechera, heckled Robert Mugabe when he came to London to address...
In 1991, acclaimed South African artist Helen Sebidi’s artworks were presumed stolen in Sweden. Three decades later, a caretaker at the residential college where they disappeared found them in a ceiling cupboard, still in their original packaging. While her mother earned a living as a domestic worker in Johannesburg, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi was raised in the countryside by her grandmother, from whom she learned the traditional crafts of mural painting and pyro engraving of calabashes. As a teenager...
In 1991, acclaimed South African artist Helen Sebidi’s artworks were presumed stolen in Sweden. Three decades later, a caretaker at the residential college where they disappeared found them in a ceiling cupboard, still in their original packaging. While her mother earned a living as...
During the Tigray war, queer Tigrayans like me had to isolate ourselves from the state and our community, as violent nationalism and support of the state’s subjugation were justified by the same people who faced oppression from the state. “So did you dump the strap-on?” I asked a friend over text. I had expressed my worries after police started searching the homes of Tigrayans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. As a queer woman, I had begun de-dyking my space, which included getting rid of...
During the Tigray war, queer Tigrayans like me had to isolate ourselves from the state and our community, as violent nationalism and support of the state’s subjugation were justified by the same people who faced oppression from the state. “So did you dump the strap-on?” I asked a...
This exhibition features (diasporic) artists from Somaliland telling their own story, unobscured by a colonial gaze. The Anarchist Citizenship: People Made of Stories explores the possibilities of visual storytelling, imagination, and self-determination. In doing so, it offers an alternative approach to understanding this self-declared independent region of Somalia. It places the agency of Somali(land) people at the centre. As a result, we are presented with an approach that overrides Eurocentric...
This exhibition features (diasporic) artists from Somaliland telling their own story, unobscured by a colonial gaze. The Anarchist Citizenship: People Made of Stories explores the possibilities of visual storytelling, imagination, and self-determination. In doing so, it offers an...
Cape Town is a most popular holiday destination. The city also bears the scars of slavery that the Dutch settlers were guilty of. In his new book, The Truth about Cape Slavery , Patric Tariq Mellet challenges the Netherlands to improve on the weak apology and the lack of reparations offered in 2022 by the Dutch government and king. Finding My Roots I first came to understand what slavery meant when I was a young boy of eight years old. I was occasionally cared for by a German nun while my single...
Cape Town is a most popular holiday destination. The city also bears the scars of slavery that the Dutch settlers were guilty of. In his new book, The Truth about Cape Slavery , Patric Tariq Mellet challenges the Netherlands to improve on the weak apology and the lack of reparations...
Vanaf woensdag 16 oktober gaat de Nigeriaans/Britse programmamaker Ikenna Azuike in een nieuwe serie op zoek naar Afrikaanse diaspora gemeenschappen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk (Nigerianen), Portugal (Kaapverdianen), Finland (Somaliërs), Cyprus (Soedanezen) en Belgie (Congolezen). Maar Azuike (45) gaat vooral ook op zoek naar zichzelf. In de eerste van 6 uitzendingen wordt dat al behoorlijk stevig neergezet. Ikenna, geboren en de eerste acht jaren van zijn leven opgegroeid in Nigeria, verhuisde in...
Vanaf woensdag 16 oktober gaat de Nigeriaans/Britse programmamaker Ikenna Azuike in een nieuwe serie op zoek naar Afrikaanse diaspora gemeenschappen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk (Nigerianen), Portugal (Kaapverdianen), Finland (Somaliërs), Cyprus (Soedanezen) en Belgie (Congolezen)....
Many of Zimbabwe’s richest men and women are vessels for the ruling party’s looting of state coffers. Commonly called ‘mbingas’, for their penchant for the good life, these briefcase entrepreneurs drive luxury cars, own several mansions, broadcast lavish weddings and parties on online media and buy gifts for their fans. However, they rarely engage in meaningful production or create employment. Mukudzei Madenyika traces how they rose from once well-intended black empowerment schemes. Establishing a...
Many of Zimbabwe’s richest men and women are vessels for the ruling party’s looting of state coffers. Commonly called ‘mbingas’, for their penchant for the good life, these briefcase entrepreneurs drive luxury cars, own several mansions, broadcast lavish weddings and parties on...
Award-winning author and BBC broadcaster Zeinab Badawi will be in conversation with fellow writer Vamba Sherif about her new book, dealing with a history from the dawn of humanity to independence. In her new book, the Sudanese-British journalist traces the sprawling history of the African continent through the voices of Africans themselves – of countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers from across more than 30 countries. ‘The history of Africa is the story of the...
Award-winning author and BBC broadcaster Zeinab Badawi will be in conversation with fellow writer Vamba Sherif about her new book, dealing with a history from the dawn of humanity to independence. In her new book, the Sudanese-British journalist traces the sprawling history of the...
The International Theatre Amsterdam celebrates the annual event with two amazing shows. Eight years after leaving the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama are looking for their place in society. Michelle is a bestselling author and one of the most influential Americans today. Barack travels around the world giving lectures while campaigning. But in a world of extremism and centre-right thinking, their relevance and influence are declining. Duizend aanslagen op de Obama’s is a biopic that is made...
The International Theatre Amsterdam celebrates the annual event with two amazing shows. Eight years after leaving the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama are looking for their place in society. Michelle is a bestselling author and one of the most influential Americans today....
Recently released statistics on African population growth tell a different story to what the prophets of doom want us to believe. In no other continent is population growth falling as fast as in Africa. While in 1960 African women bore an average of 6.6 children, today it is 3.8. By 2050, the annual UN report calculates, it will drop further to 2.6. The report's authors point to several reasons for this decline. Fewer children die shortly after birth, and life expectancy has been increasing. In...
Recently released statistics on African population growth tell a different story to what the prophets of doom want us to believe. In no other continent is population growth falling as fast as in Africa. While in 1960 African women bore an average of 6.6 children, today it is 3.8. By...
During the last decade of Apartheid in South Africa, William Matlala (1957) made photographs of and for the people around him. William and I met because of his contributions to a research project about cultural responses to the consequences of mining in the Witwatersrand. He took me on a tour through his life, captured on a hard drive, containing scans of negatives. I instantly fell in love with the photographs, in which the people posing present themselves as they wished to see themselves and be...
During the last decade of Apartheid in South Africa, William Matlala (1957) made photographs of and for the people around him. William and I met because of his contributions to a research project about cultural responses to the consequences of mining in the Witwatersrand. He took me...
The 8th satellete edition of the iAfrica Film Festival (iAFF) is set to take place on October 17, 2024. This special event will feature a thoughtfully curated selection of inspiring feature films, documentaries, and short films, showcasing the vibrant tapestry of contemporary African culture. The iAFF serves as a platform to highlight the immense contributions of the African continent to the world. Beyond its well-known role in providing raw materials, agricultural products, and natural resources,...
The 8th satellete edition of the iAfrica Film Festival (iAFF) is set to take place on October 17, 2024. This special event will feature a thoughtfully curated selection of inspiring feature films, documentaries, and short films, showcasing the vibrant tapestry of contemporary...
In this exhibition visual artists Amado Afdani (Sudan/Egypt) pays homage to the Sudanese soldiers who served in European colonial armies (‘askaris’). They are martyrs rather than sell outs. Askari Soldiers is one of Alfadni’s socio-political art projects on the history of the Askari (Arabic and Swahili for a military soldier). The Askari refers to the enslaved Sudanese soldier who served in the European colonial armies in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. During both world wars, Askaris also...
In this exhibition visual artists Amado Afdani (Sudan/Egypt) pays homage to the Sudanese soldiers who served in European colonial armies (‘askaris’). They are martyrs rather than sell outs. Askari Soldiers is one of Alfadni’s socio-political art projects on the history of the Askari...
In a new 6 part series for Dutch television, Ikenna Azuike travels through various African communities in Europe in search of the meaning of home. What do Afro-Europeans tell us about making a home? And how do you find the right balance when uniting two continents within you? Nigerian-British-Dutch Ikenna Azuike (45) has a fine career and a nice family. Yet he feels “split.” In his tv-series The Afro-European Azuike visits Somali Finns, Cape Verdean Portuguese and Congolese Belgians, among others....
In a new 6 part series for Dutch television, Ikenna Azuike travels through various African communities in Europe in search of the meaning of home. What do Afro-Europeans tell us about making a home? And how do you find the right balance when uniting two continents within you?...
Based on the theme of Belonging, Afrovibes has shaped this year’s festival programme with performances that focus on North Africa and the (north) African diaspora in the Netherlands. Northern African countries are often seen as ‘non-African’ but as belonging to the Arab world. How do artists who identify with this part of the world look frames that continue to divide us? How do we connect, engage and live in solidarity? Afrovibes opens on October 2, 2024, and runs until October 13 in Amsterdam,...
Based on the theme of Belonging, Afrovibes has shaped this year’s festival programme with performances that focus on North Africa and the (north) African diaspora in the Netherlands. Northern African countries are often seen as ‘non-African’ but as belonging to the Arab world. How...
