Artist Nnenna Okore in her studio
Conversation with Nigerian sculptor Nnenna Okore in her studio The first time I saw Nnenna Okore’s work was at the Newark Museum and I found it very poetic and compelling. Hung from the ceiling, transparent strips of shredded burlap dyed with clay like color, felt tactile and earthy yet paradoxically also ethereal and majestic. That […]
An Art Crtic in Africa: Holland Cotter’s report on the state of the Arts in Africa
Holland Cotter, art critic for the New York Times, spend a month in November 2011 in West Africa. Jerry Vogel, an expert on West Africa, who had just finished guiding a group organized by the Museum for African Art through Northern Mali – see earlier posts on my travels to Mali – guided Mr. Cotter […]
New York Africa Film Festival at the Walter Reade theater
This weekend is a great opportunity to learn more about African film. The New York African Film Festival at at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater is screening contemporary and classic African film exploring notions of home and homeland. April 11 – 17, 2012.
Tuareg nationalism and racial politics
I found very interesting this discussion around the role of race in the Tuaregs’ motivations for forming a separate state. It certainly highlighted the many potential causes for the conflict in Northern Mali. Read on! Racial politics of Tuareg nationalism
Rotimi Fani-Kayode: “Nothing to Lose” in Chelsea
Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Nothing to Lose at the Walther Collection Project Space. I was thrilled to see that finally Rotimi Fani-Kayode was getting a proper showing in New York. This tribute to his photographic work is long overdue. Indeed he was seminal in his portraiture of black African homosexuality. “The first solo exhibition in New York […]
Tinariwen: A perspective on Northern Mali turmoil
Tinariwen are a band of Touareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara desert region of Northern Mali. They have performed internationally and their fifth album Tassili won the Award for Best World Music Album in 2011. It was recorded in the rocky desert as you can see in the video. Tinariwen share their perspective on the events in Northern […]
Miracle workers in East Africa
The cure to an over-sized heart. There are some faces you never forget, that stop you in your tracks and remind you of the miracles in this life. The alert and happy face of Mbura Mwakia with his beaming smile is just one of those. Mbura is 14 years old but his body really looks […]
African Women empowerment: Nimbaya Drummers from Guinea
Friday night at Symphony Space in New York City, Nimbaya, the all-women percussion and dance ensemble from Guinea, came out strongly for women causes in Africa and spoke out against FGM (female genital mutilation). To the powerful rhythmic sound of the drums mixing humor to drama they created a narrative that condemned FGM. I […]
Nigerian High Fashion Week in Lagos: African Designers are Stars
Writing this blog is taking me on my own personal journey of discovery. I found out this week that FASHION is thriving on the African continent. Last week was fashion week in Lagos, the host of the Arise Africa Fashion Show where seventy seven African designers were represented. Well established and internationally known African designers […]
Contemporary Dance and African Heritage
New work by Okwui Okpokwasili and Nora Chipaumire. Friday night at St Marks Church in New York city, Danspace, in the context of Platform 2012 curated by Ishmael Houston- Jones, presented the powerful performances of two highly accomplished performers and Bessie award-winners: Okwui Okpokwasili, a second generation African American from the Bronx – her parents […]
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