LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

May

27

2025

Lagos fashion: how designers make global trends uniquely Nigerian

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN fashion has flourished in terms of creativity and innovation in recent years, and is attracting global attention. Designers and labels are churning out garments that reflect African cities and how they interact with global trends. Think Nigeria’s Ejiro Amos Tafiri and Mai Atafo, Ghana’s Christie Brown and Larry Jay, Kenya’s Ikojn or South Africa’s Boyde. Cities like Lagos, Accra, Marrakesh, Nairobi and Johannesburg have become global fashion capitals. They’re fashion production hubs that are creating styles that mirror their cosmopolitanism, their vibrant mix of nationalities. In a recent study, I focus on how fashion in Lagos mirrors the bustling…

May

27

2025

By Mpho Rantao

FINAL CALL: Award-winning ‘Tsotsi’ star Presley Chweneyagae has died at aged 40

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AWARD-winning South African actor Presley Chweneyagae died on Tuesday morning, according to a statement released by the actor's talent agency, MLA. Chweneyagae rose to stardom in his breakout role as 'Tsotsi' in the titular film, where he played the lead, David/Tsotsi (meaning "criminal" in South African Tsotsitaal slang), a young street thug who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat. He starred alongside actress Terry Pheto, and the pair was praised for their roles in the film along with the director, Gavin Hood. The film won the Best International Feature Film at the 2006 Academy…

May

27

2025

By TSHEPO KOKA

“Miles Ahead: The Legacy of Miles Davis at 99”

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ON May 26, 2025, the world would have marked the 99th birthday of Miles Dewey Davis III - a man who redefined the very structure and soul of modern music. Born in Alton, Illinois, in 1926 and raised in East St. Louis, Davis was far more than a jazz trumpeter. He was a cultural icon, sonic philosopher, and the shapeshifter of the 20th century's musical identity. His story is not only that of an African American master but also of a global force - a voice that continues to echo in the hearts of generations from New York to Lagos,…

May

22

2025

By NEELIKA JAYAWARDANE

Lindokuhle Sobekwa’s powerful personal journey as a photographer in South Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SOUTH African photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa has won the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation prize for 2025. Born in Katlehong in 1995, Sobekwa began learning photography skills in 2012, through the Of Soul and Joy photography education programme in Thokoza township, where his family had moved. He knew, as a young boy, that he thought in images, visualising what he experienced. Encountering cameras, he realised there was equipment – a small machine, a perforated roll of clear plastic, and a chemical reaction – able to externalise his thought processes. Lindokuhle. Sobekwa. Photo source: X Thokoza, like many settlements on the outskirts…

May

17

2025

By GIBSON NCUBE and ANDY CAROLIN

7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion

LIFESTYLE

QUEER African creatives have been making their mark around the world through a range of forms – books, films, fashion, art, music. Their work wins awards, sets trends and is studied by scholars. Most research on African queerness, however, comes from outside the continent. University of Johannesburg So, we put together a special journal issue to celebrate some of these works that have appeared over the past decade or so. And also to create a space for African and Africa-based scholars to reflect on what’s happening on the continent. The contributors don’t only examine what these creative works reveal. They…

May

15

2025

By BARNABAS TICHA MUVHUT

Koyo Kouoh – tribute to a curator who fiercely promoted African art

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE sudden death of the Cameroon-born curator Koyo Kouoh, at the age of 57 and at the height of her career, has shaken the art world. Her passing has left a void in the African arts scene, one which extends far beyond the continent. Born in 1967 in Douala, she spent her teenage and early adult years in Zurich, Switzerland before returning to the continent and settling in Senegal. She lived in Cape Town, South Africa from 2019. There she was executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz MOCAA museum. It holds the continent’s largest collection of contemporary art.…

May

13

2025

By MURRAY LEIBBRANDT; ANDA DAVID; RAWANE YASSER and VIMAL RANCHHOD

What causes inequality in African countries? New book traces a vicious cycle

LITERATURE

INEQUALITY is a problem that exists in various forms in sub-Saharan Africa. Inequality is created by, among other factors, where you are born and live. Alongside this, income, assets, and access to education and healthcare differ among and between populations. These inequalities reinforce each other. The result is persistent poverty, lack of social mobility across generations, increased exposure to climate change, and a lack of inclusive economic growth. Our recently published book Inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Multidimensional Perspectives and Future Challenges presents an overview of the current situation. It identifies the key dimensions, challenges and causes of inequalities in the…

May

09

2025

By ERRIN HAINES

At the Met Gala, fashion on the frontlines of resistance

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. This column first appeared in The Amendment, a biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to her analysis. WHEN Black Dandyism was announced as this year’s theme for the Met Gala, expectation and anticipation was high for fashion’s biggest stage to also be its Blackest and boldest ever. The stakes were raised Monday night at an event that has always been about statements, where the sartorial has often met the political.…

May

03

2025

By ABAYOMI AWELEWA

Mabel Segun: Nigerian children’s writer, poet and broadcaster

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MABEL Dorothy Okanima Segun, who passed away on 6 March 2025, at 95, was a prominent figure in Nigerian literature. Her life was an extraordinary mix of broadcasting, children’s storytelling, poetry, playwriting, and sport. She captured human experience through the eyes of the young, as seen in her timeless work My Father’s Daughter (1965). In the book, she writes, “I wanted to be like my father, strong and wise, but I learned that strength comes in many forms, even in the quiet courage of a child.” As a poet, her lyrical finesse shone in Conflict and Other Poems, where lines…

Apr

26

2025

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Podcasts are powering a shift in Africa’s reproductive health dialogue

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WOMEN-FOCUSED podcasts are gaining ground across Africa, emerging as powerful platforms to share knowledge and challenge sexual and reproductive health taboos. Once niche and overlooked, podcasts by African women are now confronting the continent’s most sensitive issues — menstrual health, contraception, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, and mental health — through raw and relatable storytelling. “Digital platforms, especially podcasts, are opening up new spaces where African women can finally hear honest, relatable conversations on their terms,” Hope Simiyu, a medical doctor and sex and reproductive health (SRH) advocate, told bird story agency. Simiyu, who hosts 'A Dose of Health – The…