ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Mar

12

2026

Mali’s maestro of African salsa: how Boncana Maïga shaped dance music

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE passing of celebrated Malian flautist, composer and arranger Boncana Maïga at the age of 77 truly marks the end of an era in the music of West Africa. He was a charismatic performer and bandleader, with innate musical talent and an acute ear. His story is unique and could only have happened in its time, and because of his personality and musical training in Cuba. As a musician, producer and scholar specialising in both Malian and Cuban music, I’ve followed the career of Boncana Maïga for many years, have worked with many Cuban dance bands, and have produced many…

Mar

07

2026

By BARNABAS TICHA MUVHUTI

Zimbabwean artist Option Nyahunzvi explores cultural values in a bold new exhibition

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN Zimbabwe, hunhu is a cultural belief system that instructs us to embrace our neighbours, honour our elders and respect each other’s rights. Also known as ubuntu, it’s a way of being that resonates with southern Africa’s interconnected but diverse communities, where generational wisdom and values are passed from elders to the young. Hunhu is a central idea in the latest solo show by prominent young artist Option Dzikamai Nyahunzvi at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Called Zvatiri (Who We Are), the exhibition is an appeal to Zimbabweans to reclaim their culture and values. His main focus has always been…

Mar

06

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Silamour ‘Soli’ Philander

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WITH profound grief and an even deeper sense of gratitude, South Africa bids farewell to one of its most cherished sons - a man who turned the rhythms of ordinary life into extraordinary art, and who made an entire nation feel truly seen. Silamour 'Soli' Philander, beloved entertainer, gifted storyteller, and enduring cultural voice, passed from this world on 4 March 2026, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 65 years old. South Africa will not easily find another like him. Soli was born on 19 January 1961 at Somerset Hospital, Cape Town, to Frederick and Shahieda Philander, and…

Mar

05

2026

By ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT

Ahoy, party pirates! Mi Casa’s Friendship Cruise returns to rock the high seas – bigger, bolder, and boozier than ever

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BUCKLE up, vibe tribe: after selling out faster than free tequila at a beach braai, Mi Casa's Friendship Cruise by Heart FM is back for 2026, docking in the Atlantic from April 14–17 aboard the swanky MSC Opera. Think three nights of non-stop musical mayhem, gut-busting laughs, and friendships forged in saltwater and soulful beats – because who needs therapy when you've got DJs and deck parties? Curated by South Africa's slickest trio, Mi Casa (you know, the ones who make house music sound like a warm hug from your ex), this year's floating fiesta cranks the dial to 11.…

Feb

28

2026

By JOSHUA KUMBANI and MARGARITA DÍAZ-ANDREU

Dance scenes in South African rock art: a closer look at ritual, music and movement

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ROCK art is widespread across southern Africa and includes a wide range of depictions such as human figures, animals, dots, handprints, and other painted or engraved imagery on rock surfaces. The rock art tradition of paintings was made by San hunter-gatherers over thousands of years. The first dance scenes in southern African rock art were documented 100 years ago. But there’s been some confusion as to whether certain scenes could indeed be interpreted as a dance. Dance can be simply defined as intentional and organised bodily movement. It also functions as an expression of mood and a form of nonverbal…

Feb

19

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

New film captures fatherhood in 1993 Nigeria

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE film opens in rural Nigeria, where two young brothers, Akin and Remi, fill the quiet with childhood play and small quarrels. Their relationship is intimate but shaped by absence. Both boys speak of their father, Folarin, with admiration that borders on reverence, even though he is rarely home. Folarin works in the city, a man whose presence is imagined as much as experienced, the provider somewhere beyond their everyday world. That early calm setting sets up the contrast that defines My Father’s Shadow, the private tenderness of family life against the coming urban chaos of Lagos in 1993. It…

Feb

18

2026

By STEPHANIE JENKINS

History with a human face and voice: how museum theatre gets kids to care about the past

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE facts of history are important, but try telling that to a classroom full of bored youngsters. One way to liven up the subject is to show that real people lived through historical events. Drama academic Stephanie Jenkins argues that learning becomes fun when learners care about what they are asked to remember. And one way to encourage caring is to perform the stories of the past, using museums as theatre spaces. Here she explains the idea, using an example from her work in South Africa – where the past is painful but shapes current social issues and future citizens.…

Feb

14

2026

By The African Mirror

One Voice, One Dream, One Journey – and he’s inviting you along

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

PICTURE this: You're stopped at a traffic light in Germiston, South Africa. The engine idles. Your mind wanders. Then suddenly - a voice cuts through the noise. Not through speakers, not through a screen, but raw, real, and right there in front of your windshield. That's where Kutlwano Kenneth Yika has been building his dream. Not in a studio. Not on a stage with perfect lighting. But on street corners, at intersections, in public spaces across South Africa - one song, one stranger, one moment at a time. For years, the 27-year-old musician has been South Africa's best-kept secret, travelling…

Feb

11

2026

By The African Mirror

Ebo Taylor: The guitarist who painted Ghana’s sound in gold

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

EBO Taylor didn't just play music—he conjured it from the red earth of Cape Coast and sent it spinning across continents, a hypnotic fusion of palm wine guitar, jazz sophistication, and funk's irresistible pulse. The legendary Ghanaian guitarist, composer, and bandleader who spent six decades weaving the soul of his nation into every note has died at 90, leaving behind a sonic tapestry as rich and complex as Ghana itself. Born Deroy Taylor in 1936, he emerged during Ghana's cultural awakening, when highlife music floated through colonial dance halls, and independence hung electric in the air. By the late 1950s…

Feb

07

2026

By TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU

South African novelist Lauretta Ngcobo is the subject of a tender and urgent new film

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LAURETTA Ngcobo, who passed away in 2015, left a singular and impactful literary legacy in South Africa. Even in a life of exile and resistance to apartheid and white minority rule in the country. As a novelist, feminist thinker and freedom fighter, her intellectual contributions were foundational. Ngcobo’s work often deals with the realities of black women facing both political and social oppression. While And They Didn’t Die (1990) is considered to be her masterpiece, her first novel, Cross of Gold, was published in 1981. Awards and recognition came relatively late in her career. In a new documentary film, And…