Resource alert: SUNU Journal

The first issue of SUNU Journal came out yesterday. This is a new publication on African affairs, critical thought and aesthetics founded by Amy Sall, a US-based scholar and entrepreneur, whose work focuses on black visual cultures and counter-narratives from the continent and the diaspora. SUNU, meaning “our” in Wolof, gathers perspectives on black culture and identity by young and emerging …

FINDING “HOME” IN ZOHRA OPOKU’S WORKS – MY GUEST POST FOR IAM

As part of my renewed research endeavor I resumed guest contributing to the excellent IAM – Intense Art Magazine. The new post is about the German-Ghanaian artist Zohra Opoku whose multimedia works, that use new and recycled garments and textiles, interrogate belonging, nationalism, and hybridity. I’m glad I had a chance to write about her, as she is one of …

WEAVING EWE KENTE IN CONTEMPORARY GHANA

Another Africa published an article on kente weaving and heritage preservation in Ghana. Here are some excerpts: Zoo symbolism: “The mighty elephant is the emblem of successful leadership, suggested by such proverbs as “No one follows the elephant in the bush and gets wet from the morning dew.” While the crocodile’s connotations with invincibility and danger is apparent upon seeing …

VLISCO AND THE POLITICS OF AFRO-SARTORIAL GLAMOUR

A few days ago, the Dutch textile company Vlisco released its new themed collection of wax-print materials, entitled “THINK”, triggering an outpour of excitement on social media and lifestyle publications. For its first release of the year Vlisco created a motif of lines and geometrical figures whose minimalistic patterns are “inspired by the architectural world of Bauhaus”. The collection’s “clever colouring”, that includes newly-created …