As the curtains draw to a close on Alioune Diagne’s first U.S. solo exhibition at Templon New York on May 1st, the impact of this moment continues to resonate. Hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed Senegalese Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, Diagne’s New York debut marks a powerful expansion of his artisticContinue reading “Alioune Diagne Bridges Dakar and NYC, Dreams and Identity”
Category Archives: Activism
How the Artist Rita Mawuena Benissan Became a Custodian of Ghana’s Memory
Curated by Ekow Eshun, Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan’s 2023 exhibition In the World not of the World at Gallery 1957 in Accra served as a groundbreaking exploration of Ghanaian identity and cultural heritage, melding traditional artistry with contemporary techniques. The exhibition was notable for its reinterpretation of customary Ghanaian symbols, particularly the royal umbrella,Continue reading “How the Artist Rita Mawuena Benissan Became a Custodian of Ghana’s Memory”
This Is Not Just Another Conference on African Youth
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even though the media reports often on these SDGs, most young people aged 18-35 across Africa aren’t aware of these goals, yet these young people constitute over 70% of the continent’s total population.Continue reading “This Is Not Just Another Conference on African Youth”
The Performance Artist Speaking Up For Africa’s Outcasts
Va-Bene Fiatsi, a performer known as crazinisT artisT, works all over the world but lives in Kumasi, Ghana, heading a studio practice and artist residency that is questioning notions of gender, sexuality, and identity. The preferred pronoun is “sHe/it”, and sHe/it identifies as a womanx. As a performance and installation artist who is bringing aContinue reading “The Performance Artist Speaking Up For Africa’s Outcasts”
Meet the Woman Who Had the Courage to Write About Intimate Violence
Soon after she started dating Eric Schneiderman, the powerful attorney general of New York State, Tanya Selvaratnam noticed a troubling pattern in her lover’s behavior. A successful, Harvard educated author and producer in the art world, Selvaratnam initially gave Schneiderman the benefit of the doubt and tried to understand where that behavior might come from.Continue reading “Meet the Woman Who Had the Courage to Write About Intimate Violence”
What Is This African Art Project at the Grand Palais in Paris?
The pandemic caused the Africa2020 Season, which was scheduled to showcase cultural projects all over France, to be postponed, but the Season did kick off in December 2020, and the plan is that it will unfold as planned until July 2021. N’Goné Fall, the Senegalese General Commissioner of the Africa2020 Season, called the large scaleContinue reading “What Is This African Art Project at the Grand Palais in Paris?”
We Interviewed Nigerian Novelist Ben Okri About a New Book on the Climate Crisis (Part 2)
Harper Collins is publishing Letters to the Earth: Writing to a Planet in Crisis, in response to the climate crisis in this age of Covid. Two years after Letters to the Earth was created from an idea, the launch of the paperback edition feels timely, because 2021 might prove to be an important year forContinue reading “We Interviewed Nigerian Novelist Ben Okri About a New Book on the Climate Crisis (Part 2)”
The Young Poet Who Spoke the Truth About America
Right after the 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman took to the stage after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice-President on Wednesday, her name started appearing on all kinds of social media feeds. As the youngest ever inaugural poet, she delivered a five-minute speech that would soon go viral, with instantContinue reading “The Young Poet Who Spoke the Truth About America”
The Jerry Rawlings I Knew
I received a call early yesterday morning before it was officially announced that the first President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, had just passed on. It was paralyzingly surreal. Chairman or Uncle Jerry, as I alternately addressed him, was an exemplary manifestation of immortality, making it especially arduous toContinue reading “The Jerry Rawlings I Knew”