ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Dec

01

2023

Opera in Cape Town: critics trace how a colonial art form was reinvented as African

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MANY people thought that classical opera in South Africa – regarded as a Western, colonial art form that was the preserve of white people during apartheid – would die with democracy in 1994. Instead, the opposite happened. Black singers emerged as the new stars and the format of opera began to be Africanised for new audiences. Critics mapped this transformation as Cape Town established itself as a hotbed of the new opera. One such critic was Wayne Muller, who became an academic and wrote a PhD on the view of these changes. Now he has a book on the subject…

Dec

09

2023

By LINDA NG’OMBE AND CHIKONDI PHIRI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

This Drama Queen has seen it all. Now she’s living her best life – and helping others do the same

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

RASHIDA Nyirongo is a busy woman. She juggles studio commitments, which take up around 3 hours most weekdays, with a life full of advocacy and community-oriented engagements. Her regular work on Radio Maria Zambia, Feel Free Radio, Breeze FM and Smooth Radio have helped ensure that the woman known as the Drama Queen of Chipata is a familiar voice for millions of listeners in eastern Zambia. She is also a voice for the downtrodden. Nyirongo's current work seems a far cry from her early childhood dream of getting an education and working in a bank. But her parents, who have…

Nov

30

2023

By ESTHER MUSEMBI AND FISKE NYIRONGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Missla Libsekal is a Global Ambassador for African Contemporary Art

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

DRESSED in two shades of black and flipping through Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina’s How To Write About Africa; Ethiopian writer, curator, researcher and activist Missla Libsekal was in her element as she took a break from her work on Art X Lagos, one of the continent's premier art events. "These kinds of events offer Africans on the continent and in the diaspora to be in dialogue with each other. ART X really does provide a space for that to actually happen, for somebody like myself to be invited and participate in the conversation," Libsekal shared. Libeskal has been working to…

Nov

25

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Music streamers collaborate with telcos to widen Africa reach

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WITH African superstars taking to global music stages and a growing army of young mobile subscribers - consisting largely of Gen Z’s - among the most ardent African music fans. homegrown and foreign streaming platforms are pushing hard to build their presence in a growing market. Until recently, one of the biggest challenges for streamers has been high data costs and few payment options. But there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Streamers are now increasingly partnering with mobile operators to overcome expansion hurdles, offering incentives like free access to premium content and attractive offers on data…

Nov

24

2023

By The African Mirror

NBA Africa’s first original docuseries “Born & Bred” premieres on NBA App

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NBA Africa has announced that its first original documentary series “Born & Bred” has premiered on the NBA App. The five-part series tells the stories of five current and former NBA Academy Africa prospects from Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Sudan through exclusive footage and interviews with the prospects, family members, friends, and coaches. “Born & Bred,” which features Nigeria’s Rueben Chinyelu, Egypt’s Seifeldin Hendawy, South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach, Senegal’s Khadim Rassoul Mboup, and Angola’s Aginaldo Neto, spotlights each prospect’s basketball journey, including the communities where they were raised and the moments that have shaped them as players and…

Nov

23

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird’s TenX Series: 10 Top African Female Afrobeats Stars

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

FEMALE artists are a major driver of the Afrobeats phenomenon, producing some of the top singles and collaborations that rank as the most-streamed Afrobeats hits, both on the continent and abroad. Their global recognition is aided by wins and mentions in the world's top music and entertainment awards. Afrobeats emerged in the late 1960s and primarily involved the fusion of a variety of West African music genres such as juju, highlife, fuji and Yoruba vocals, rhythms, and instrumentals. During this period, the music grew mostly on the continent and was primarily associated with two West African countries: Nigeria and Ghana.…

Nov

21

2023

By The African Mirror

Nkoli: The Vogue Opera – the making of a musical about a queer liberation activist in South Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE history of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid (separatist white minority rule) is taught only through the broadest of brushstrokes in the country’s schools. So might music be a way to bring the story of one anti-apartheid activist alive for a new generation? And when that activist is a Black gay man, Simon Nkoli (1957-1998), how do you reclaim his story from the stereotypes all of those labels potentially carry? GWEN ANSELL, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria Those were the challenges facing South African composer Philip Miller when he began work on what became…

Nov

18

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Ethiopian artist scores a second record art sale

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ETHIOPIAN artist Julie Mehretu has yet again set a new record for an African-born artist's highest sale price for a painting at auction. According to Art Newspaper, Mehretu’s work, ‘'Walkers with the Dawn and Morning', sold for US$10.38 million at the Now Evening Auction in New York on November 15. Sotheby’s auction website describes 'Walkers with the Dawn and Morning' as "an expansive celebration of black perseverance post-Hurricane Katrina, swirling with dense layers, choreographed linework, and hints of bright colour in a deep, tonal sea.” According to Lucius Elliot, the head of the Now Evening Sale Auction, the painting possesses…

Nov

15

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Afrobeats dominate the 2024 GRAMMY nominations

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NIGERIAN artists are taking the spotlight in the upcoming 2024 GRAMMYs, dominating the inaugural 'Best African Music Performance' category. The new category, announced in August, is one of three new category additions aimed at making the GRAMMY Awards process "more fair, transparent and accurate," according to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. An uproar over unfair allocations of spots in past awards for African artists compelled the inclusion of this category. The new category has seen household names in the Afrobeats world dominate nominations for what is set to be a historical award. Asake, known for his charismatic stage presence,…

Nov

13

2023

By DANIEL TROTTA

SZA tops Grammy nominations in a year made for women and ‘Barbie’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

VERSATILE recording artist SZA led this year's Grammy Award nominations with nine, coming in ahead of industry heavyweights Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish, in a year made for women artists and the movie blockbuster "Barbie." The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on February 4. The 34-year-old SZA, born Solána Imani Rowe, snagged nominations for album of the year with "SOS" and record of the year and song of the year for "Kill Bill," while being shortlisted in multiple genres including pop, melodic rap and both progressive and traditional R&B. The song "Kill Bill," also nominated…