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.
Onai Stanely Mushava
Politics and Society The ideological faultlines of vaccine procurement
Nationalisation and liberalisation are false opposites in the ongoing vaccine rollout. Procurement disparities under both regimes show the need to move beyond the classic coordinates of ideology. In our seamless global order, disease outbreaks, displacement and climate change no longer respect race or class, argues Onai Mushava.
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 Protest music, state violence and power of people platforms
Burna Boy’s critical single “20 10 20” highlights the emancipatory triad of protest art, people power movements and social media. Young African protesters are using their own platforms to undermine the coordinated abuses of state violence and censorship.
African identities Pan-Africanism under spotlight at the African Crossroads 2020 Hybrid Edition
New directions for Pan-Africanism, lockdown wellness, adaptive technologies and resistance music came under spotlight at the 2020 hybrid event of African Crossroads. The event merged immersive playlists with engaging, decolonial discussions.
Arts, Culture and Sport Connected states of Africa – Creatives look beyond national lockdowns
The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted dynamic Pan-African movements and efforts but artists are regrouping to pursue new opportunities enabled by the internet. Digitally and financially inclusive models are the next step to empower citizens and creatives, circumventing various existing restrictions.
Arts, Culture and Sport “African leaders are not thinking right” – Thomas Mapfumo
The 2020 African Crossroads headliner Thomas Mapfumo addressed African unity and decolonial sonics in a stellar musical performance largely drawn from his wide and high-octane collection.
Arts, Culture and Sport How to be Oliver Mtukudzi
Oliver Mtukudzi is dead but the world has hardly begun to skim the surface of his greatness. In this tribute, Stan Mushava flips through the African superstar’s catalogue, looking at how conscientiousness, attachment to heritage and artistic integrity were not only central to the making of the legend but are also the universal mainstays of art.
Lifestyle Dorothy Masuka and the problem of the state
Following the death of legendary singer-songwriter Dorothy Masuka at 83, Stan Mushava reflects on how she was denied a place both in Rhodesia and South Africa. Similar post-colonial experiences of artists, journalists and activists support the argument that ultimately it must be the role of the African Union and sub-regional bodies to protect free expression, because individual states have narrower minds and temporary interests.