ZAM Reporter
Many books were distributed by the racist propaganda machine. But very few people were fooled by their content. In his introduction to the online publication of Afri-Comics , Professor William Worger (UCLA Department of History) recalls that the books were published in 1975-1977 as part of a “five-year secret propaganda war”. This war was led by Eschel Rhoodie, Secretary of the Department of Information in the South African government from 1972 until 1977, and was aimed at defending apartheid. The... Many books were distributed by the racist propaganda machine. But very few people were fooled by their content. In his introduction to the online...
Bart Luirink
ZAM is grateful for receiving a copy of Felix de Rooy’s Ego Documenta, The Testament of my Ego , donated by the artist, theatre- and filmmaker, curator and writer Felix de Rooy to the ZAM Library. It is with the speed of a turtle, some will argue, but finally established cultural institutions worldwide and, yes, even in the Netherlands, are becoming interested in artists from long neglected worlds. While celebrating diversity we should look at the pioneers who started breaking the walls of... ZAM is grateful for receiving a copy of Felix de Rooy’s Ego Documenta, The Testament of my Ego , donated by the artist, theatre- and filmmaker, curator...
Christina Månsson
Sold out! What a spectacular outcome of the crowdfunding for MFON. Women Photographers of the African Diaspora . But there will be a reprint soon and the editors Laylah Amatullah Barrayn and Adama Delphine Fawundu aspire to launch additional issues annually. We can’t wait. The editors do not aim to present a complete compendium of the history of diaspora women photographers, but with more than 100 photographers one can call it a comprehensive exploration of an impressive treasure trove. It includes... Sold out! What a spectacular outcome of the crowdfunding for MFON. Women Photographers of the African Diaspora . But there will be a reprint soon and the...
ZAM Reporter
Nigerian essayist Pwaangulongii Dauod is this years’ winner of the Gerald Kraak Award for non-fiction. Daoud’s essay was first published in Granta, a UK based magazine. ‘An angry, mournful and confrontingly triumphant essay about the life and death of the author’s best friend, a man called C.Boy and the queer subculture he built around him; an anthem for the queer Afro-Modern’, the press release reads. Read Pwaangulongii Dauod’s essay here: granta.com/africas-future-has-no-space/ Other winners of... Nigerian essayist Pwaangulongii Dauod is this years’ winner of the Gerald Kraak Award for non-fiction. Daoud’s essay was first published in Granta, a UK...
ZAM Reporter
Thanks to externalisation agreements , European borders are now in Africa. The EU has made migration control a central goal of its foreign relations, rapidly expanding border externalisation measures that require neighbouring countries to act as Europe's border guards. A new report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Stop Wapenhandel examines 35 countries, prioritised by the EU, and find s authoritarian regimes emboldened to repress civil society, vulnerable refugees forced to turn to more... Thanks to externalisation agreements , European borders are now in Africa. The EU has made migration control a central goal of its foreign relations,...
Bart Luirink
In the fight against HIV/AIDS, gays, drug users, street children, sex-workers, prisoners and migrants must be heard. Way back, when the beast showed its ugly face in Western capitals in the early 80s of the last century, those infected with HIV were stigmatised as carriers of a ‘gay disease’. Christian orthodoxy mobilised against Sodom and Gomorrah and the virus was applauded as ‘God’s punishment’ for alternative lifestyles. ‘AIDS’ was something that belonged to faggots, to some sufferers of... In the fight against HIV/AIDS, gays, drug users, street children, sex-workers, prisoners and migrants must be heard. Way back, when the beast showed its...
ZAM Reporter
Last week, Dutch daily Trouw published Evelyn Groenink’s essay on a new breed of African investigative journalists, ZAM’s support and the hunt for the continent’s kleptocrats. The edited version of this story is also published in Dutch in Tegenkrachten , a bundle on the need for counter-forces. The book is compiled and edited by Marjan Goslings on the occasion of her retirement as a judge. Tegenkrachten is published by Ars Aequi Publishers in the Netherlands. The essay in Trouw here . English... Last week, Dutch daily Trouw published Evelyn Groenink’s essay on a new breed of African investigative journalists, ZAM’s support and the hunt for the...
Peter Hermes
Over en Weer , a commemorative book celebrating the 25th birthday of the City Link between Haarlem, the Netherlands and Mutare, Zimbabwe, is testimony of a rich tradition of solidarity against all odds. It was a common feature of Dutch society in the 1970s and 1980s: the existence of as many solidarity movements and groups as there were struggles for independence and against oppression and deprivation worldwide. Almost every so-called ‘third world country’ (guess where to find the ‘first world’?)... Over en Weer , a commemorative book celebrating the 25th birthday of the City Link between Haarlem, the Netherlands and Mutare, Zimbabwe, is testimony of...
ZAM Reporter
The winners of the 7th contemporary African Photography Prize have been announced. Yassine Alaoui (Morocco), Paul Botes (South Africa), Anna Boyiazis (United States), Tommaso Fiscaletti & Nic Grobler (South Africa) and Phumzile Khanyile (South Africa) are the winners of this year CAP Prize. The CAP Prize is an exposure award directed at photographers whose work engages with the African continent or its diaspora. It consists of a series of exhibitions produced in collaboration with major photography... The winners of the 7th contemporary African Photography Prize have been announced. Yassine Alaoui (Morocco), Paul Botes (South Africa), Anna Boyiazis...
Philipp Schultz & Wongel Abebe
Vintage Addis Ababa recovers a wedding photo-shoot in times of terror Love can often flourish in the most hopeless of situations. And so it was for Saynalem and Genet who married each other in 1978 during the h eight of Ethiopia’s brutal Red Terror. The bloodshed began a year earlier, when Marxist leader Mengistu Haile Mariam took control of Ethiopia and launched a lethal campaign against his enemies. Thousands of people died during the crackdown, with hundreds of thousands more forcibly resettled.... Vintage Addis Ababa recovers a wedding photo-shoot in times of terror Love can often flourish in the most hopeless of situations. And so it was for...
ZAM Reporter
He often inspired, sometimes mentored and always encouraged new generations of South African photographers. In 2007, ZAM published Aids Landscapes , a feature with the works of David Goldblatt who passed away last week. In this production Goldblatt’s mastery in picturing the South African landscape and his huge sense of social and political engagement met. His eye in the sky captured the small red ribbons, testimony of a terrifying pandemic inflamed by denialism and carelessness. At the time the... He often inspired, sometimes mentored and always encouraged new generations of South African photographers. In 2007, ZAM published Aids Landscapes , a...
ZAM Reporter
For two weeks, Tsegaye coexisted with a group of women in their communal homes in Ethiopia’s capital city. Finding them in a state of stillness and vulnerability, in a deeply intimate environment, he spent full days with them. Arriving in the morning and leaving after dark when they started work, he won their trust and approval, before taking the sensitive and striking images. The resultant black and white photographs speak of this trust that developed between the spectator and observed subject, as... For two weeks, Tsegaye coexisted with a group of women in their communal homes in Ethiopia’s capital city. Finding them in a state of stillness and...
ZAM Reporter
Rebecca Davies & Haji Mohamed Dawjee explore religion and sexuality for the Daily Maverick (video, visuals and story). Video: A moulana from Pretoria answers questions about what to do if you're gay and Muslim. {youtube}KUv2id8S574{/youtube} Video: The People’s Mosque in Cape Town is an inclusive mosque, which offers a place where the LGBTI Muslim community can worship. This is a peek into a mosque which has over 30 regular worshippers and offers access to counselling and marriage ceremonies for... Rebecca Davies & Haji Mohamed Dawjee explore religion and sexuality for the Daily Maverick (video, visuals and story). Video: A moulana from Pretoria...
ZAM Reporter
How King Leopold’s negro clerics and civilized negroes linger in todays’ reality Joseph Kiwele’s theatre play Chura na Nyoka (The Toad and the Snake) had a simple message: different people don’t match. This story about two animals who are not able to maintain a friendship because of their biological differences was written in 1957. Commissioned by the Belgium colonial oppressors, Kiwele served his masters with a fantasy aimed to brainwash a children’s audience. Don’t mix – not with whites, not with... How King Leopold’s negro clerics and civilized negroes linger in todays’ reality Joseph Kiwele’s theatre play Chura na Nyoka (The Toad and the Snake) had...
ZAM Reporter
Visual activist Zanele Muholi has donated an artwork to ZAM as a gesture of appreciation for our work and upcoming Mandela100 programme. ‘We are thrilled’, said ZAM editor Bart Luirink at the unwrapping of the 100 x 66.7 cm silver gelatin print last Monday. ‘Thabile, Parktown, 2015’, number 1 out of an edition of 5, was delivered in the weekend. The picture is part of Muholi’s ongoing Somnyama Ngonyama (‘Hail the Black Lioness’) project. ‘We are extremely grateful for this gesture by Zanele and her... Visual activist Zanele Muholi has donated an artwork to ZAM as a gesture of appreciation for our work and upcoming Mandela100 programme. ‘We are...
ZAM Reporter
The UN peace keeping mission in Mali is a failure. In 2014, in an interview with ZAM, journalist Bram Posthumus already told you so . The UN peace keeping mission in Mali is a failure. In 2014, in an interview with ZAM, journalist Bram Posthumus already told you so .
ZAM Reporter
As part of their European tour, the Music is A Great Investment (MIAGI) Youth Orchestra from South Africa will perform at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on Wednesday 1 August 2018. Friends of ZAM can win two x two tickets for this concert. Send a mail before Mandela's birthday (18 July, 2018) to info@zammagazine.com . More information on the website of The Concertgebouw . As part of their European tour, the Music is A Great Investment (MIAGI) Youth Orchestra from South Africa will perform at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on...
Pieter van der Houwen
There were no cribs, no bitches, expensive Nikes or flashy wheels in his lyrics, Re Fuse magazine reports Senegalese rap musicians don’t sing from the same hymn sheet as their American cousins. Hip-hop in Senegal is strictly about the issues that matter. It refrains from lyrics portraying success or a luxurious lifestyle. In 2001, Senegal’s long-ruling party was quietly removed from power after opposition candidate Abdoulaye Wade adopted Pape et Cheikh’s influential song ‘Yatal Gueew’ (a plea for... There were no cribs, no bitches, expensive Nikes or flashy wheels in his lyrics, Re Fuse magazine reports Senegalese rap musicians don’t sing from the...
Jerry Afriyie
As a Dutch activist against racism and racist caricatures like ‘Zwarte Piet’, Jerry Afriyie longs for a society that includes everyone. His unrelenting fight for justice has forced him to look at his own flaws and responsibilities. In this article Jerry shares the battle he went through to overcome his own aversion to homosexuality. “Children have never been good in listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” These are words by James Baldwin, an American writer and my... As a Dutch activist against racism and racist caricatures like ‘Zwarte Piet’, Jerry Afriyie longs for a society that includes everyone. His unrelenting...
Ayo Adene
Why do young Nigerians ask president Macron for advice? I’m watching this Interactive Session between the French president and Nigerians, hosted by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in Lagos. Lagos is the innovation capital of Nigeria, and as is the trend these days, many future-conscious politicians and tech leaders from Macron to Zuckerberg, are gravitating away from Nigeria’s sleepy politicians to its dynamic young people. Earlier, the French president had visited a nightclub made famous by... Why do young Nigerians ask president Macron for advice? I’m watching this Interactive Session between the French president and Nigerians, hosted by the...
ZAM Reporter
The Mozambican recipient of this year’s DemocraSEE, an award for contemporary Southern African photography, was announced in Cabo Verde. Vombe will receive a R 40 000 grant to produce a body of work over the course of the next year in collaboration with a mentor/curator of his choice. Further he will be supported through critique sessions with various appointed subject and practice experts. On completion, the work will be published on www.democrasee.photography . Photo: Passengers by Mauro Vombe... The Mozambican recipient of this year’s DemocraSEE, an award for contemporary Southern African photography, was announced in Cabo Verde. Vombe will...