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Kippie Moeketsi at 100: the soul-stirring story of a South African jazz legend

Kippie Moeketsi at 100: the soul-stirring story of a South African jazz legend

IT’S 100 years since the birth of reedman Jeremiah Morolong “Kippie” Moeketsi on 27 July 1925. He was one of the most influential saxophonists shaping South Africa’s modern jazz style. His death in poverty in 1983, when Black jazz in South Africa remained undervalued outside its community, meant his cultural legacy is only just coming into the light, and there is still no definitive biography. As a researcher and commentator on South African jazz history, I’ve written about the biographical landmarks of his life. A hundred years ago, South Africa was a British-ruled colonial state. Many of the race-based socio-economic…
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African content creators are redefining travel

African content creators are redefining travel

KIMORA Smith Mensah is a Ghanaian travel storyteller and tour guide known as Efyakimora on TikTok, where she has more than 100,000 followers. Her journey is rooted in a deep curiosity about Africa and a mission to inspire others to explore it. For Mensah, food has become a vibrant entry point into understanding culture. “When I started exploring, I also started trying new things, especially food. I love it,” she explained. “Culture isn’t just about dance or tradition, it’s also about what people eat and how they eat it. Respecting culture means respecting food.” She recommends following social media content…
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What makes a person cool? Global study has some answers

What makes a person cool? Global study has some answers

FROM Lagos to Cape Town, Santiago to Seoul, people want to be cool. “Cool” is a word we hear everywhere – in music, in fashion, on social media. We use it to describe certain types of people. But what exactly makes someone cool? Is it just about being popular or trendy? Or is there something deeper going on? In a recent study I conducted with other marketing professors, we set out to answer a simple but surprisingly unexplored question. What are the personality traits and values that make someone seem cool – and do they differ across cultures? We asked…
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Sea shells inspire creative enterprise on Kenya’s coast

Sea shells inspire creative enterprise on Kenya’s coast

IN a modest studio in Bofa, Kenya’s Kilifi County, workers clean and sort sea shells. Unfinished mirror frames sat on one table, while strands of shell earrings adorned another. There was no expensive machinery—only glue guns, sketchy sketches, and time. Pieces came together gradually, sometimes over the course of a few days. The work was systematic and labour-intensive. It may not have looked like much, but it has created jobs in unexpected ways. Kenya's coastline spans along the Indian Ocean, connecting historic settlements: Lamu, Mombasa, and Kilifi. For centuries, the region was part of the Indian Ocean trade routes that…
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Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city

Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city

JOHANNESBURG is weathering a storm of crises. Nowhere is its complex tangle of challenges more visible than in the inner city, where crime, overcrowding, and infrastructure collapse – such as roads literally exploding – paint a grim picture. Cultural institutions haven’t been spared either, with long-standing landmarks like the Johannesburg Art Gallery caught in cycles of neglect and crisis. Yet, while many avoid the inner city or speak only of its decline, the creative and cultural practitioners of Johannesburg never left. In fact, artists, architects, fashion designers, animators, musicians and the like have been hard at work. They’re building, dreaming…
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East Africa’s fashion identity emerges, spurred by integration policies

East Africa’s fashion identity emerges, spurred by integration policies

“EVERY fabric I use has crossed a border, carrying culture, craft, and connection,” remarked fashion designer Mary Wamboi. Wamboi received a shipment of earthy Ugandan bark cloth just hours after the arrival of a consignment of vibrant Tanzanian kanga fabrics. The fabrics, along with an order of Kenyan Maasai beads, are for her latest connection. She described the clothes that she makes as “East African stories.” “We are building something bigger than ourselves,” she says, “This isn’t just about fashion, it is about who we are as a region.” Wamboi exemplifies the burgeoning cross-border collaboration among players in the East…
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Chimamanda’s Lagos homecoming wasn’t just a book launch, it was a cultural moment

Chimamanda’s Lagos homecoming wasn’t just a book launch, it was a cultural moment

WHEN the announcement of Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi’s latest novel, Dream Count, was made, it was regarded as a major event in African literature. The internationally celebrated Nigerian writer had not published a novel in the past 12 years, and her long-awaited return stirred both anticipation and speculation. In the post-COVID context in which the book comes, so much has changed in the world. The first leg of her three-city homecoming book tour coincided with my stay in Lagos as a curatorial fellow at Guest Artist Space Foundation, dedicated to facilitating cultural exchange and supporting creative practices. After Lagos, Chimamanda took…
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bird Interview: In Conversation with Nigerian documentary filmmaker Joel Kachi on winning an Emmy, potential of virtual reality in storytelling, and more

bird Interview: In Conversation with Nigerian documentary filmmaker Joel Kachi on winning an Emmy, potential of virtual reality in storytelling, and more

NIGERIAN filmmaker Joel Kachi Benson won an Emmy Award last month in the documentary film category for "Madu," a coming-of-age story set in Nigeria. Benson is only the second African to win in his category after Trevor Noah’s 2014 win. Just weeks after Benson took home the Emmy, he won Best African Feature at the 2025 Encounters International Documentary Festival in South Africa for "Mothers of Chibok," a documentary film that returns to the Chibok community with a deeper lens, not just on grief, but on resilience, memory, and the long arc of healing. It is a follow-up to "Daughters…
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TikTok users in Ghana and Zimbabwe enjoy making fun of government – why it can have a downside

TikTok users in Ghana and Zimbabwe enjoy making fun of government – why it can have a downside

BROWSE the internet or turn on the global news, and chances are the coverage of Africa you find is about war, coups, displaced populations and disease. Generally, the West and its media are blamed for this negative, Afropessimistic portrayal of the continent. Africans have taken strategic steps to repair this negative narrative. An example is the Africa Rising campaign. It was launched in 2000 by a coalition of African activists and organisations. Its objective was to highlight the role of Africa in global development and encourage Africans at home and the diaspora to contribute positively. Social media platforms played a…
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bird Interview: In conversation with Sudanese filmmaker Yasir Faiz on storytelling, survival, and rebuilding from exile

bird Interview: In conversation with Sudanese filmmaker Yasir Faiz on storytelling, survival, and rebuilding from exile

WHEN the war in Sudan broke out in 2023, Yasir Faiz had already spent over a decade nurturing stories through the lens of journalism, film, and cultural activism. But as bullets tore through his Khartoum neighbourhood, he and his family were forced to flee, eventually making their way to Kenya. Now based in Nairobi, Faiz is rebuilding, personally and professionally. He is working on a new film, co-producing with Kenyan creatives, and imagining how displaced Sudanese artists can help shape a broader cultural ecosystem across Africa. For Faiz, filmmaking is not just an art form; it’s a tool for survival,…
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