Africa is taking back control of its narrative
🌐 There's a confluence of firsts for art in the global spotlight.
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Culture will be decolonised.
Art is sometimes part of what I do, but not a major focus. Be that as it may—I couldn’t help but notice the recent confluence of firsts that signal a rise in the presence of African art and culture internationally.
As is usually the case, this hasn’t happened overnight. Interest in African art has grown in recent years: many artists from the continent have been featured in international exhibitions and biennials. African fashion has become more popular. And of course, Nigeria’s film industry is one of the largest in the world.
What’s interesting about this moment is how African culture is becoming more visible in major platforms and representing a diverse set of countries, some of which are more often associated with conflict and poverty through global media coverage.
These are African-made stories and imaginings dealing with contemporary issues like the environment, society, indigenous knowledge, and exile or migration.
It’s another sign of a continent taking back control of its narrative and tackling decolonisation head on. The growing movement to redress global imbalances goes wider than art and architecture—we’re seeing it in geopolitics, we’re seeing it in science, and we’re seeing it in economic alliances.
But back to culture: here’s a brief summary of what’s happening on three major platforms.
Cannes
A record number of African films have premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival.
Equally significant is the fact that some films come from countries that are new to the festival and generally underrepresented in the global film industry—such as Sudan, Cape Verde and the DRC. Sudan, for example, has its first-ever film presentation (a co-production with Egypt, Germany, France, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia) with Goodbye Julia, a film about the complicated relationship between two women, one from the North and one from the South of a divided country.
Many of the films are international co-productions, with France the best-represented production partner: it’s involved in eight of the 14 titles.
And, many films are directed by women, or feature women in key roles. One of the more prominent examples is director Kaouther Ben Hania, whose film Les Filles d’Olfa (Four Daughters) was only Tunisia’s second entry to the Cannes main competition since 1970. It’s a documentary that mixes fiction and reality to explore the life stories of a Tunisian mother and her four daughters, two of whom disappeared after joining the Islamic State in Libya. Almost the entire film crew was made up of women.
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale of Architecture is usually dominated by a European gaze. Enter this year’s 18th edition, which was curated by an African for the first time: Scottish-Ghanaian architect and novelist Lesley Lokko.
That leadership is reflected in an abundance of work by Africans and the African diaspora, who make up more than half the participants.
Titled The Laboratory of the Future, the exhibition explored decolonisation and decarbonisation, bringing under-represented movements and countries to the fore so as to correct the “incomplete” story of architecture.
“The Black body was Europe's first unit of energy. We have had a relationship to resources since time immemorial. We operate at a place where resources are not stable. They are also often fragile. They're often exploited. Our relationship to them is exploitative. I think we have a lot to say about this conversation.”
—Lesley Lokko, Scottish-Ghanaian architect and novelist
In one gallery of the Central Pavilion, an installation by Nigerian-born and US-based Olalekan Jeyifous presented a futuristic imagining of the continent freed from colonialism and its economic exploitation: a space bright, leafy, featuring green technologies and Indigenous knowledge systems.
In another exhibit, African-American Norman Teague upcycled ordinary plastic items like laundry detergent bottles. Making its debut at this year’s exhibition, Niger presented a ‘cultural laboratory’ built around a brick made with locally sourced materials. Another structure was designed to house the Benin Bronzes to be returned by the UK to Nigeria.
Netflix
On July 20th, Netflix is launching its first-ever African animated original show: Supa Team 4 follows the adventures of four superhero teen girls living in a futuristic Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
The project was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema and designed by Cameroonian illustrator Malcolm Wope. Mulendema was one of the eight winners in a 2015 Africa-wide talent search launched by Triggerfish and The Walt Disney Company.
Also on Netflix, and co-produced with UNESCO, a new series titled African Folktales, Reimagined is presenting traditional stories of monsters, genies and malevolent spirits that have been reworked by filmmakers into 30-minute fantasy dramas. Most stories centre female characters that tackle social issues such as domestic violence and child marriage.
“There’s a lot we don’t know about ourselves. All these platforms exist now and we need to utilise them to preserve these stories.”
—Gcobisa Yako, South African filmmaker
One drama recasts MaMlambo, the goddess of rivers in Zulu mythology, as a goddess that watches over women who have tried to take their lives in the river—women like Amandla, who is dealing with the aftermath of violent abuse. The little dialogue featured in the film is shot in isiXhosa, a widely spoken language in South Africa.
The filmmaker, Gcobisa Yako, sees the act of transforming folktales into digital stories as a form of preservation and evolution of oral traditions which all-but disappeared during the rule of colonial powers on the continent.
(Sources: Akoroko, Euronews, Africanews, Euronews, Pulse Nigeria, Guardian)
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Story Threads
Three snippets from recent Briefing ($) editions:
Trend to watch | The number of people living in slavery has risen by 10 million in the past five years, according to new estimates. The increase was driven by conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change—crises that, taken together, put more people at risk of exploitation by aggravating extreme poverty and leading to forced migration. North Korea, Eritrea and Mauritania have the highest prevalence of modern slavery, which refers to labour or sexual exploitation conditions that people cannot escape due to threats, violence, coercion or deception.
Points of tension | A strained relationship between neighbours Iran and Afghanistan has been tipped over the edge because—by most accounts—of a dispute over water rights. Recent clashes have killed at least three people and injured several others along the border between the two countries. Iran’s officials have accused the Taliban administration of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from Helmand River in Afghanistan, which flows across that border into eastern Iran, as drought has been worsening in the region.
Under the radar | More than half of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs—including Lake Titicaca in South America, the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Dead Sea in the Middle East—have shrank over the last three decades. In that time, they’ve lost about 22 gigatonnes of water per year, according to new research. The main reason is losses to the atmosphere due to high temperatures linked with climate change, together with unsustainable use for agriculture, hydropower and consumption.
Media Insider
In recent posts of the Media edition ($)—which is full of resources for those of you interested in working with journalism—I shared a few words on stress busting, awkward instincts and reading clues to your future professional path.
The bottom line of that last one:
Pay attention to what you do when you don’t have to; when no one’s watching.
Got film?
Global Health Film is looking for submissions for its annual festival, which this year is planned for 1-2 December. Short or feature-length films are welcome on any global health topic including LGBT rights, maternal and neonatal health, mental health, refugee health, climate change, infectious and non-communicable diseases. Global Health Film brings together a global audience to experience excellent storytelling that creates understanding and empathy, and ignites academic, personal and professional interest in health and social justice issues. Submissions close June 30/August 12.
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