Nigeria’s Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun popularly known as Wizkid took home the BET Best International Act: Africa in a fiercely contested category. The 2017 BET Awards were held on June 25, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony celebrated and honoured achievements in entertainment music, sports, television, and movies released between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
Arts and Culture
Arts and Culture Greetings From The Lompoul Desert In Senegal
Greetings from the #Lompoul desert in #Senegal, a country known for its good security, quintessential ‘teranga’ (hospitality) wide beaches and clean ocean.
Arts and Culture Harassment of journalists across Africa a concern
The protection and safety of journalists continues to be a pressing issue across the continent. Within weeks of celebrating World Press Freedom Day commemorated on May 3, a number of cases of threats and attacks on journalists had already been reported in several African countries.
Arts and Culture Ghanaian, Ugandan and Kenyan tech-entrepreneurs receive King Baudouin Foundation Awards
The recent news of Ugandan innovator Kabwama Leonard Alvin who got a training opportunity at NASA has been followed with another positive story on the strides of African tech-entrepreneurs. Three African tech-entrepreneurs, Gerald Abila of BarefootLaw (Uganda), Alloysius Attah, founder of Farmerline (Ghana) and Tonee Ndungu of Kytabu (Kenya) have each been awarded €75,000 for the King Baudouin African Development Prize awards.
Arts and Culture The Accidental Director
In a chat in his studio, Niyi Akinmolayan, the visionary director who created Nollywood’s first sci-fi film, talks about how his singular vision is translating into a redefinition of the African market. He recounts his battle with depression, why film saved his life, and the importance of questioning everything.
Arts and Culture Greetings From the Serenity of São Tomé
São Tomé and Principe is Africa’s smallest state situated in the gulf of #Guinea in western #Africa. It could be the best beach holiday for lovers or anyone who wants serenity away from crowded beaches. Let’s enjoy the scenery in pictures.
Arts and Culture Nigeria’s #hallelujahchallenge and the challenges facing its people
When Nathaniel Bassey started the midnight praise challenge tagged #hallelujahchallenge he might not have expected over 62,000 views. The virtual worshipping challenge “is inspired by the biblical story of Paul and Silas”. The challenge has its supporters but it has also been heavily criticised. Some voices like that of Joy Isi Bewaji have called for more practical steps in changing the country instead of individual testimonies that won’t change the state of the nation.
Arts and Culture Zakifo Festival captured in pictures
The city of Durban hosted the third Zakifo Festival. The festival, which is organized by Jerome Galabert, had in attendance various artists like Ray Phiri, Jojo Abbot, and Damian Marley among others. The two day festival was captured in pictures by Tseliso Monaheng.
Arts and Culture Otieno Gomba Interview at Maasai Mbili Studio Kibera, Nairobi
Otieno Gomba is a visual artist whose practice is deeply informed by signwriting and the space in which he works and lives – Kibera, one of Kenya’s largest informal settlements, or slums. In 2001 he and fellow artist Otieno Kota founded the pioneering Maasai Mbili Art Centre – which serves as a studio cum gallery and a platform for many creatives from the area. Since then Gomba has developed his own distinctive style, referred to as ‘ghetto art’, and while painting is at the heart of his practice Gomba also ventures into community outreach projects, conceptual art, fashion, mixed media and music. In order to find out more about the artist, whose work has been exhibited widely both nationally and internally, I popped by the Maasai Mbili Art Centre to have chat with him.