Once the 'Mountains of Kong' crossed the African continent. A mountain range from the Niger river's source in West Africa to the White Nile in the east was drawn onto maps for more than a hundred years up until 1995. However, the mountains were a figment of Scottish 'explorer' Mungo Park's imagination. They didn't exist. Up to today, mountains of disinformation and stereotype with regard to Africa cloud our understanding of the continent. The image, for example, of 'noble primitives' happily...
Once the 'Mountains of Kong' crossed the African continent. A mountain range from the Niger river's source in West Africa to the White Nile in the east...
Last autumn Africalia, the Africa Platform of the Ghent University Association (GAP), Ghent University and 11.11.11 launched the photo monograph Transit — RDC in tribute to the late artist and photographer Kiripi Katembo. The Congolese Katembo was born in 1979, in the midst of Mobutu’s dictatorship. He became one of the most promising artists of his generation. His work is characterized by a strong aesthetic and poetic dimension. In a life too short he won numerous awards. Katembo photographed the...
Last autumn Africalia, the Africa Platform of the Ghent University Association (GAP), Ghent University and 11.11.11 launched the photo monograph Transit...
This is the exhilarating work of Dutch photographer Ernst Schade (1949). It's on view at the Kulungwana Association at the CFM Railway Station, Maputo, Mozambique from 18 February until 17 March 2016. 'O que viu, o que vê' ('What he saw, what he sees'), as the exhibition is called, presents a selection of pictures Schade shot over the years in several African countries and Portugal. Schade is a self taught photographer who has lived in Lisbon since 1995. He co-authored a number of books, including...
This is the exhilarating work of Dutch photographer Ernst Schade (1949). It's on view at the Kulungwana Association at the CFM Railway Station, Maputo,...
A self-taught photographer, Ernst began taking and publishing photographs in 1984 when he was still living in Southern Africa, including Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Since 1995, Schade is living in Portugal, and photography is now his main occupation. He has worked with photographers such as Sebastião Salgado, Peter Turnley and Kadir van Lohuizen. In Mozambique, he also worked with Ricardo Rangel, Kok Nam and Sérgio Santimano. The exhibition "O Que Viu, O Que Vê" is open until 18 March 2016....
A self-taught photographer, Ernst began taking and publishing photographs in 1984 when he was still living in Southern Africa, including Zambia, Zimbabwe...
The exhibition 'Society' is a collaboration between Framer Framed and the Market Photo Workshop. Framer Framed (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and the Market Photo Workshop (Johannsburg, South Africa) have teamed up for the exhibition Society , which opens at Framer Framed on international women’s day tomorrow, Tuesday March 8. Society features works by South African photographer Akona Kenqu (b.1987). In this series Kenqu explores the daily lives, identities and roles of skaters in contemporary...
The exhibition 'Society' is a collaboration between Framer Framed and the Market Photo Workshop. Framer Framed (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and the...
Submissions are now open for the Gerald Kraak Award and Anthology on the topics of gender, human rights and sexuality for a range of writing genres and photography. The award is named after Gerald Kraak, a South African writer and former anti-apartheid activist. Kraak passed away in October 2014. One year later, ZAM published fragments of his unfinished novel Shadow Play . The book will be released later this year. The Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF), in partnership with The Other Foundation...
Submissions are now open for the Gerald Kraak Award and Anthology on the topics of gender, human rights and sexuality for a range of writing genres and...
Weddings in Southern Africa are an amalgamation of African cultural practices and Western rituals Sabelo Mlangeni (South Africa) is one of the winners of POPCAP'16, the piclet.org Prize for Contemporary African Photography. His work Isivumelwano: An agreement, 2003-2014 comprises a series of photographs shot at various wedding ceremonies in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland. How does the love between two people become a community event? In a statement, Mlangeni writes: 'Wedding...
Weddings in Southern Africa are an amalgamation of African cultural practices and Western rituals Sabelo Mlangeni (South Africa) is one of the winners of...
Amsterdam in the Netherlands will be full of music, literature, film, debate and art in Afrikaans between 8 and 10 April 2016. Our Dutch readers are invited to meet South Africans Jack Parow, Antjie Krog, Hemelbesem, Tom Lanoye, Bettina Wyngaard, Ingrid Winterbach and many more at the upcoming A.K.A Afrikaanse Kultuurfees in Amsterdam. The 3d edition of this festival is happening at the Compagnietheater, the Melkweg, the Zuid-Afrika Huis and Rialto cinema. On Sunday April 10, ZAM will co-host the...
Amsterdam in the Netherlands will be full of music, literature, film, debate and art in Afrikaans between 8 and 10 April 2016. Our Dutch readers are...
Visiting Kampala in the Netherlands The City Remixing exhibition, on in Groningen in the Netherlands from 7th to 28th April, shows the Ugandan capital through the eyes of three photographers. They are M.W. Wambwa (1933), one of the first engineers in the country and a photojournalist who covered the first years of independence in the sixties; Dr. A.T. Schofield, a UK missionary, medical doctor and amateur photographer who lived in Uganda in the early years of the last century; and Sudanese Elsadig...
Visiting Kampala in the Netherlands The City Remixing exhibition, on in Groningen in the Netherlands from 7th to 28th April, shows the Ugandan capital...
Debate Afrikaans and Diversity at A.K.A. 2016 What is the essence of a language? In South Africa, Afrikaans used to be the 'tongue of the oppressor.' Today, it is just one of eleven official languages, an equal among equals. But whose Afrikaans are we talking about? Afrikaans isn't -and has never been- exclusively white: it is the home language of five million 'coloureds,' people of mixed heritage, and quite a few blacks too. Under apartheid, this reality was suppressed: schools taught only 'white'...
Debate Afrikaans and Diversity at A.K.A. 2016 What is the essence of a language? In South Africa, Afrikaans used to be the 'tongue of the oppressor.'...
Visual artist Moshekwa Langa's work is something between the finest swindle and honest innocence In an interview with ZAM in 2005, visual artist Moshekwa Langa said: “I'm a non-authentic mix. I grew up in South Africa but I also had teachers from Russia, the US and the UK. I red Grimm's fairy tales and books about Anansi, the Ghanaian spider. I don't feel a tendency to show my roots. I'm beyond that”. On April 14 an exhibition of Langa's latest work will open at the Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town....
Visual artist Moshekwa Langa's work is something between the finest swindle and honest innocence In an interview with ZAM in 2005, visual artist Moshekwa...
Last weekend A.K.A Afrikaanse Kultuurfees Amsterdam, a festival full of music, literature, film, debate and art in Afrikaans took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We publish pictures of some memorable moments here. Photo credit: Hans Mooren {gallery}A.K.A.{/gallery}
Last weekend A.K.A Afrikaanse Kultuurfees Amsterdam, a festival full of music, literature, film, debate and art in Afrikaans took place in Amsterdam, the...
Four ceramic plates by artist Ruan Hoffmann are part of a special exhibition of South African art in the Netherlands. The works, which often carry witty and puzzling inscriptions, were created in 2009 during Hoffmann's stay at the Amsterdam-based Thami Mnyele residence. A series of 10 plates were donated to ZAM in support of the movement's activities to promote the works of (South) African contemporary artists. The exhibition, organised by the Galerie Patries de Dorst in co-operation with...
Four ceramic plates by artist Ruan Hoffmann are part of a special exhibition of South African art in the Netherlands. The works, which often carry witty...
An amazing list of creatives is giving acte de présence at the first edition of 'Africadelic' on Wednesday May 25, 2016 in Paradiso, Amsterdam. If you happen to be in town, do come and meet photographer Lard Buurman, who will be presenting the cities from his 'Africa Junctions' series. Listen to the experts of the Analog Africa label playing the releases of funky and psychedelic music from the 60's and 70's. Watch filmmaker Ivan Barbarosa's new Typhoon clip. And there's more: World Press Photo...
An amazing list of creatives is giving acte de présence at the first edition of 'Africadelic' on Wednesday May 25, 2016 in Paradiso, Amsterdam. If you...
Meschac Gaba at Afrika 010. Rotterdam buildings, African headdress Dutch harbour city Rotterdam's Central Station, Market Hall, World Port Center and Maas Tower, braided into wigs and worn on African heads. These are the new ‘perruques architectures’ (wig architectures) by Beninese artist Meschac Gaba. A series of thirteen such wigs is part of the recently opened Afrika 010 exhibition in the ‘Wereldmuseum’ (World Museum) in Rotterdam. Gaba's work has previously been inspired by iconic architecture...
Meschac Gaba at Afrika 010. Rotterdam buildings, African headdress Dutch harbour city Rotterdam's Central Station, Market Hall, World Port Center and...
Amsterdam celebrated Africa Day 2016 with an energetic Africadelic night with talks, art and music. Africadelic is an initiative by Otiniel Fernandes da Silva, better known as Mano, and his creative agency Mano a Mano Produções . Mano call himself a socio-cultural activist, cultural producer and curator. and divides his time between Luanda and Amsterdam. The evening began with a state of the continent program hosted by Ama van Dantzig , featuring photographer Lard Buurman , Rob Perrée ( Africalia...
Amsterdam celebrated Africa Day 2016 with an energetic Africadelic night with talks, art and music. Africadelic is an initiative by Otiniel Fernandes da...
After the European premiere at the Gataway African Film Festival (GAFF) in Ireland, Welcome to the Smiling Coast stopped in Amsterdam for an outdoor screening in front of more than 100 people. ZAM’s intern Prisca Abranches was there and summarizes the film. On Friday June 24, I attended the Dutch premiere of Welcome to the Smiling Coast that took place at Pllek, a great space which offers a beautiful atmosphere for the outdoor screening of the documentary. I sat down comfortably and the screening...
After the European premiere at the Gataway African Film Festival (GAFF) in Ireland, Welcome to the Smiling Coast stopped in Amsterdam for an outdoor...
One day to go! Nelson Mandela's birthday is being celebrated by people world wide by putting an extra 67 minutes into activism for causes worth fighting for. The number of minutes is inspired by the number of years Mandela put into civil disobedience, the struggle for democracy, challenging the oppressor, speaking out loud and being a statesman for change and prosperity. Reflection is not the opposite of action. It is a necessary condition for effective and meaningful performance. I like the...
One day to go! Nelson Mandela's birthday is being celebrated by people world wide by putting an extra 67 minutes into activism for causes worth fighting...
Luanga Choba, a former doctor who decided to pursue her dream and to fully devote herself to her passion: music. Who is Luanga Choba? Luanga Choba is a South African singer who also happens to be a medical doctor. I create my songs and here's where I tend to feel uncomfortable calling myself a "songwriter". It feels more truthful to me to say I'm a conveyor or conduit of song. How they come about, especially for one who has never been to music school, is of spiritual origin. I work on them and...
Luanga Choba, a former doctor who decided to pursue her dream and to fully devote herself to her passion: music. Who is Luanga Choba? Luanga Choba is a...
In a subtle by-the-way, Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau taught his packed audience at ZAM at the Amsterdam launch of his book an interesting lesson. Once a streetkid in his country's capital Maputo, Macilau made a living begging and washing cars. “We never wore the pretty clothes that were donated to us. People give less money to well-dressed street kids”, he says. In conversation with Dutch photographer Kadir van Lohuizen Macilau spoke at length about his country, his book and his own growth...
In a subtle by-the-way, Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau taught his packed audience at ZAM at the Amsterdam launch of his book an interesting...
02|09|16 – 17|09|16 Contemporary African photography is taking Basel by storm With the likes of Nabil Boutros, Filipe Branquinho, Léonard Pongo, Graeme Williams, Julia Runge and others, ImageAfrique'16, presents hundreds of works from Congo, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon, Tunisia, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Egypt and Italy. The visuals on display are part of Edition POPCAP, a book comprising the winners of five annual competitions. ZAM is a mediapartner. More information here .
02|09|16 – 17|09|16 Contemporary African photography is taking Basel by storm With the likes of Nabil Boutros, Filipe Branquinho, Léonard Pongo, Graeme...
