LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Mar

03

2023

Burkina’s film festival in full swing despite fighting on its doorstep

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, soldiers give directions to movie-goers and journalists attending the continent's premier film festival that is going ahead this year despite the violent insurgency gripping many of its regions. Since the biannual Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) was last held in 2021 the West African country has had to deal with the political fallout from two coups within eight months and spiralling violence driven by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The festival's delegate-general, Alex Moussa Sawadogo, said Burkina Faso had been dealing with the insecurity for several years, but it…

Mar

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Pretty Yende, a South African opera star with a voice that shatters glass ceilings

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IT'S been announced that South African opera star Pretty Yende will sing at King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May in Westminster Abbey, London. The 37-year-old soprano was elated. The invitation is reminiscent of when Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales were married in 1981. For this occasion, the New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa’s beautiful voice beguiled the royal couple. Te Kanawa, being Maori, represented her indigenous community who were the victims of imperialism and colonialism. Author WAYNE MULLER, Publications Editor / Research Fellow (Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation), Stellenbosch University Te Kanawa was…

Feb

14

2023

By The African Mirror

VIDEO: Director Steve Mugo fires up East Africa’s music scene

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WHEN Steve Maingi Mugo is on set, nothing is left to chance. Every few minutes, he calls for a change of scene or gives new instructions. The crew, actors and dancers swiftly respond; after all, the director is perfection personified. According to Mugo, every second of filming is high stakes. A tiny mistake could translate to unending repeat shots. But every second of filming is also an opportunity to showcase Africa. “African directors are really doing a good job, and we have very beautiful colours in our videos, we have beautiful people in our videos. We are showing the natural…

Feb

08

2023

By The African Mirror

The incredible story of how East African culture shaped the music of a state in India

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE term Siddi refers to Afro-Indians – Africans who mixed with Indians through marriage and relationships. Africans crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived in India during the 1200s, 1300s and 1400s. They were transported by Islamic invaders and Portuguese colonisers as enslaved people, palace guards, army chiefs, harem keepers, spiritual leaders, Sufi singers, dancers and treasurers. Author SAYAN DEY, Postdoctoral Fellow at Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand Today, the majority of Siddis are found in the west and south-west of India, in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana states. As they settled, they preserved and practised their…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Lights, camera, action: Idris Elba boost to Swahili film industry

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

DAR ES SALAAM (BIRD STORY AGENCY) - British actor Idris Elba plans to open a major film studio in Tanzania after holding initial talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Tanzanian's Director of Presidential Communications, Zuhura Yunus, recently made this announcement during a media briefing session on the outcome of President Hassan's trip to the 53rd World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The president met with Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina, and they are keen to invest in a film studio in Tanzania," said Yunus. "Discussions on the project have just begun, and if successful, the project will help not…

Feb

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Travelling while black: 7 South African travelogues you should read

LITERATURE

TRAVEL writing in Africa is often associated with colonial ventures of the past or white adventure pursuits of today. But Africans themselves have long produced captivating travel texts in oral and written forms. We need to look beyond narrowly western or white accounts as travel writing is produced across the world by an extensive range of writers. Literary ezines (electronic magazines on the internet) dedicated to diverse travel writing are thriving. Author JANET REMMINGTON, Research Associate, Humanities Research Centre (and African Literature Department, University of the Witwatersrand), University of York That said, the cultures and literatures of travel from Africa…

Feb

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Angelique Kidjo in line for a record sixth Grammy Award

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ANGELIQUE Kidjo, the energetic singer-songwriter and activist from the Republic of Benin, represents a rare African phenomenon. In many respects, she belongs to the illustrious musical lineage of “Mama Africas” – the likes of South Africa’s Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Cape Verde’s Cesaria Evora and Mali’s Oumou Sangare. Author SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town These powerful maternal personages are distinctive for their regal bearing, a grand sense of responsibility in sharing Africa’s cultural heritage, and protecting the dignity of the African woman. They may not always articulate…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Eco-friendly Nigerian artist turns plastic flip-flops into portraits

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

EUGENE Komboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent. What started as an assignment in a college in 2017, has become a full-time job for Komboye, whose studio in the city of Abeokuta in the southwest state of Ogun now trains aspiring artists who want to follow in his footsteps and create flip-flop portraits. According to government figures, Nigeria produces at least 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with some of it finding its way into the…

Jan

31

2023

By The African Mirror

A major new exhibition in Nairobi reveals the history of east African art traditions

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MWILI, Akili na Roho (Body, Mind and Spirit) – on in Nairobi, Kenya – is a major international exhibition presenting east African painters who are key players in the modernist art of the region. Modernism in the fine arts refers to a period of experimentation from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, a break from the realism of the past and a search for new forms of expression. Author ANNE MWITI, Lecturer, Kenyatta University The exhibition features a group of artists from different generations who vary in backgrounds, as well as in the themes and forms of their art. They…

Jan

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Stella Chiweshe: Zimbabwe’s mbira queen, rebel music star and pioneer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

GIBSON NCUBE STELLA Rambisai Chiweshe, affectionately known in Zimbabwe as “the queen of mbira” or “Ambuya (grandmother) Chiweshe”, passed away on 20 January 2023. Through Mbira/Anhrefn Records Chiweshe was born in July 1946 in the rural area of Mhondoro in the Mashonaland province of northern Zimbabwe. She began playing the mbira, an ancient thumb piano, in the early 1960s. At the time she was reproached by both men and women because she had dared to play an instrument that was ordinarily played by men. Chiweshe was not only a singer, songwriter and musician who performed extensively across Africa, Europe and…