Since Zimbabwe’s transition into a migratory nation, many Zimbabwean authors have dealt with the migrant question, Brian Chikwava’s Harare North and Sue Nyathi’s Gold Diggers being two stellar examples. Andrew Chatora’s debut novel Diaspora Dreams navigates new identities that Zimbabweans living in the diaspora are forced to assume and new challenges they must overcome to survive.
Arts, Culture and Sport
Arts, Culture and Sport Andrew Chatora’s debut novella Diaspora Dreams stares back at the White gaze
Zimbabwean writer Andrew Chatora stares back at the white gaze and immigrant alienation in his debut novella, Diaspora Dreams. The English-teacher narrator is increasingly alone between a host country that cannot validate him and a home country that is too damaged for rear-view dreams.
Arts, Culture and Sport Nigerian icon Fela is long overdue for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Fela’s nomination and possible induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will come at a cost.
Arts, Culture and Sport KwaChirere previews Diaspora Dreams, a novel by Andrew Chatora
Memory Chirere, a writer and literature lecturer with the University of Zimbabwe previews Diaspora Dreams, Andrew Chatora’s debut novel. It’s not the usual tale about a young Zimbabwean coming to the UK because of the crisis back home. Chatora rather “takes a very courageous and startling detour with this new book”.
Arts, Culture and Sport How Nollywood filmmakers are coping with the pandemic
When restrictions were introduced in Nigeria, Nollywood filmmakers bore the brunt. Filming stopped and Africa’s biggest movie industry ground to a painfully slow halt. We spoke to some creatives in the industry to discuss how the pandemic has affected their work.
Arts, Culture and Sport Afrojazz innovator meditates mortality and pandemic creativity
Vital Signs, the critically acclaimed pandemic album by Zimbabwean jazz innovator Vee Mukarati, masterfully negotiates the lockdown dilemma of being relevant to your time while staying true to your art. Mukarati swings, meditates and sings on mortality, precarity and alienation on an album that is, at once, deeply personal, richly Zimbabwean and unmistakably global. The Switzerland-based artist discusses navigating the challenges of lockdown creativity in this exclusive interview with This Is Africa.
Arts, Culture and Sport Is’xaxa: How to do it for the culture — while trying to stay alive
How a collaborative music project spanning three countries over two continents was made in the depths of a global pandemic.
Arts, Culture and Sport A fight against HIV hindered by a global pandemic
A decade ago, Zimbabwean sports administrator Chris Sambo founded Positive Women League, a thriving social football league for women living with HIV, and those at risk of contracting the virus. For a year now, the initiative has been halted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sambo himself died of COVID-19 in July 2020.
Arts, Culture and Sport Making music in northern Nigeria during a pandemic
As the cultural landscape rapidly changes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, musicians and producers across northern Nigeria have creatively employed various strategies to continue making music. With little government support, musicians have had to creatively adapt and embrace new digital opportunities to survive.