LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Jan

25

2024

Life on an African island can be great when you’re part of the gig economy – just ask this woman photographer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MONICA Marura spent several years managing her family’s cyber café in Mombasa, along the coast of Kenya. All the while she knew she wanted more out of life. In 2020, Marura met her husband, Robert Mwangi, a professional photographer. This meeting helped Marura discover a talent and passion for telling stories through the camera. Her life changed when the couple was given the chance to move to Lamu Island. Although her first thought was, “Wait, what part of Kenya is Lamu?” Not long after arriving, Mwangi heard about clients seeking a woman to photograph a Muslim bridal celebration. As per…

Jan

23

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African creativity radiates excellence on the international stage

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE global stage has become a platform where African creatives are increasingly gaining recognition, showcasing their exceptional talents, and receiving accolades that underscore the continent's rich creative value. News of Trevor Noah bagging an Emmy award in the Outstanding Talk Series category is the latest recognition of African creativity being appreciated by global audiences. The South African comedian, who hosted The Daily Show until September 2022, also won the 2017 Emmys in the Outstanding Short Form Variety Series. According to the Emmys website, Noah has been nominated 18 times and won two awards. "It's amazing that I get to be…

Jan

23

2024

By ANN MBUTHIA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Her passion for dance transformed Moesha Tajiri’s life. Now she’s changing the lives of hundreds of children

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

ON any given day, Moesha Kibibi Tajiri's house, located in the heart of scenic Madaraka Estate in Nairobi, can be home to as many as 30 children, all eager to welcome visitors with the greeting, “feel at home.” It may be a crowd, Tajiri is quick to explain, but these are just some of the over a thousand she has "adopted", country-wide. “I have four types of kids: orphans, children from mentally unstable parents, special needs children and those coming from vulnerable spaces. I pay rent to 14 different houses in different ghettos in the country. And despite all challenges,…

Jan

20

2024

By The African Mirror

Soul Brothers: the story of a band that revolutionised South African music

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BIOGRAPHIES of important South African musicians often fall into two categories: they either emerge from PhD or other university-based research or are the fruit of dedicated digging by a fan or family member. The first kind benefits from institutional resources and support; the second from community knowledge of personal details that may be documented nowhere else. GWEN ANSELL, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria Because of that very scarcity of a public record, the first kind might miss many parts of the story that can’t be checked in formal records and archives. The second risks…

Jan

20

2024

By Mpho Rantao

Excitement mounts for the sixth Jo’burg Film Festival

NEWS, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, WHAT'S HAPPENING

THE vibrant city of Johannesburg is gearing up to welcome film lovers to the Jo'burg Film Festival, set to take place from Tuesday, February 27th, to Sunday, March 3rd. One of Africa's most popular film screening events, this much-anticipated annual celebration of cinema brings together a diverse community of filmmakers, industry professionals, and cinema enthusiasts for a week-long extravaganza dedicated to the art of storytelling through film. https://twitter.com/JoburgFilmFest/status/1740038632218730953?s=20 One of the highlights of this year's festival is the Youth and Audience Development Programme, which has just unveiled its schedule and venues. As part of the festival's commitment to nurturing young…

Jan

18

2024

By MMAPULA MOLAPONG, BIRD STORY AGENCY

She’s tapping traditional food culture to grow business for herself and her country

FOOD

"MY memories of food are very powerful. My earliest memory dates back to when I was about eight years old. I absolutely adored going to the farm with my grandmother, we used to get up really early in the morning on weekends to harvest vegetables, sorghum and maize,” said Ompelege Moreosele, who is better known both in Botswana and South Africa as a food entrepreneur and author, Chef Cathy. So powerful were those memories that finding herself working as a receptionist after studying advertising, she chose to quit and start again, this time following her passion. Today, gathering ingredients from…

Jan

18

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird TenX: Africa’s 10 ‘most open’ countries for travel

TRAVEL

IN the past eight years, 35 countries have improved their visa policies and, since 2016, five countries have abolished all visa requirements for African travellers. As a result, citizens of at least five countries can now enjoy visa-free travel in 42 different countries, compared to just three in 2020. According to the Africa Development Bank's Africa Visa Openness Report 2023, most countries are making progress towards simplifying entry processes and dropping restrictions for other nations. The report also indicates that the free movement of people has advanced within Africa’s regional economic blocs. In the past year, six of the eight…

Jan

14

2024

By ELISA ANZOLIN and MIMOSA SPENCER

Gucci opens Milan Fashion Week with De Sarno’s dressy looks for men

BEAUTY AND FASHION

GUCCI creative director Sabato De Sarno kicked off Milan Fashion Week with a lineup of refined tailoring for men, adding touches of sparkle to a sombre colour palette for his aesthetic reset of the Kering-owned label. Models strode down a sparse, concrete runway on chunky-soled loafers, parading floor-sweeping overcoats with long slits up the back, double-breasted suit jackets stripped of buttons and trousers cut above the ankles. Accessories included shiny Jackie handbags in burgundy, beige or pea green -- often clutched with matching gloves -- and chunky jewellery worn over bare chests. De Sarno's second catwalk outing comes as products from…

Jan

11

2024

By LISA RICHWINE

Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks accept honorary Oscars at Hollywood gala

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ACTOR Angela Bassett was celebrated for a lifetime of memorable roles from Tina Turner to the Queen of Wakanda as Hollywood's film academy handed out honorary Oscars. Comedian Mel Brooks also received a golden statuette at the annual Governors Awards in front of a crowd of top stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper and Natalie Portman. On stage accepting her trophy, Bassett paid tribute to the 10 Black women who have won Academy Awards - naming each one - and said she hoped the film industry would provide more opportunities for people of colour. "My prayer is that we leave…

Jan

09

2024

By The African Mirror

Five years on the road in Africa: how Lerato Mogoatlhe became a travel writer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SOUTH African journalist Lerato Mogoatlhe set off for three months in West Africa. She ended up drifting across the continent for five years. In 2019 she wrote a book about her travels, called Vagabond: Wandering Through Africa on Faith. As a scholar of, among other areas, African travel writing and mobility, I chatted to Mogoatlhe about travelling solo, queer and black. JANET REMMINGTON, Research Associate, Humanities Research Centre (and African Literature Department, University of the Witwatersrand), University of York Janet Remmington: In reflecting on the book, you write that your first encounters with countries that would become the story of…