CULTURE & SOCIETY

The film industry in Africa is blossoming as more original stories emerge from the continent. If the packed theaters in Cologne are any indication, then the African film industry is on the rise. “Nollywood” in Nigeria has revolutionalized African storytelling through film and has inspired other countries to come up with their own industries such as “Riverwood” in Kenya and …

The outstanding feature of Ethiopian music is its use of a five-note pentatonic scale and its idiosyncratic love of irregular rhythms.

A welcome compilation of Nigeria’s golden musical past!

The fashion industry event, Africa Fashion Week Amsterdam (AFWA), took place on 25-27 August at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. Emerging fashion designers from 24 countries took part in the three-day event, celebrating African and African-inspired fashion, art and cultural heritage. AFWA is an event for designers and brands to showcase upcoming collections to press, media, stylists, buyers, fashion …

Public voting for the nominees in the different categories of the third edition of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) opened on 12 September and will end 5 November on the voting platform domiciled on www.afrima.org. The nomination categories of the awards, which will take place on 4-6 November 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria, include different music genres, as well as coveted categories of …

The 14th Afrika Film Festival in Cologne, the biggest of its kind in Germany, will present 83 films from 25 African countries and play host to 30 international filmmakers on 15-25 September. The theme of the biennial event this year is “Sisters in African Cinema” giving an insight into the current filmmaking exploits of women in 13 African countries and …

The German city of Frankfurt will again host the Nollywood Film Festival Germany (NFFG) and its sister event Nollywood Europe Golden Award (NEGA) on 9-10 September. The yearly event, organized by Ehizoya Golden Entertainment e.V., features Nigerian film screenings, seminars and a variety entertainment show, among other activities. A highlight of the festival this year is the première of a …

The first single to be released from Michael Kiwanuka’s new album ‘Love and Hate’ is ‘Black Man in a White World’ is now topping the UK chart. Kiwanuka wrote the song based on his experiences growing up in London: “I feel like, ‘Black Man In A White World’ seems to be resonating a bit. Obviously I wrote it for what’s …

This year’s Africa Fashion Week Amsterdam (AFWA) takes place from 25 to 27 August at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. Emerging fashion designers from 24 countries will take part in the three-day event, celebrating African and African-inspired fashion, art and cultural heritage. AFWA 2016 kicks off with a press conference on 24 August, providing an opportunity for the media …

A new charity album, Beating Heart-Malawi, is giving a new lease of life to decades’ old African music. The project began when Chris Pedley became aware that such an archive existed. “I got in touch with the International Library of African Music, which Hugh Tracey founded in 1954, and through the research I found out that he recorded over 250 …

The University of Frankfurt’s web-based library on sub-Saharan Africa ilissAfrica (www.ilissafrica.de) offers useful material on African history and culture, with special emphasis on the German colonial history in Africa. In an exclusive interview with our correspondent Muhammed Faisal Garba, the librarian of ilissAfrica, Nadia Cohen, talks about the objectives of the library and how scholars on Africa can profit from …

Tom Skye, a frequent visitor to Côte d’Ivoire and the author of a travel book on the country, writes on the evolution of Ivorian music, tracing the roots of its modern expression to its very distant past. Music is everywhere in Côte d’Ivoire. It’s played and performed on buses, trains, beaches and football pitches, and in bars, restaurants, workplaces and …

Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. He was the first African writer to be honoured with the prestigious prize. Alexander Macbeth on how Soyinka’s Nobel has influenced the development of African literature 30 years on. From Negritude to Afrofuturism (via Tigritude and Afrocentricity), the empire continues to write back. Africa is constantly reshaping her own …

2016 commemorates the 35th anniversary of Bob Marley’s death. Perhaps no other musician has had such a profound impact on how we see the world and our place in it as Marley, who died on 11 May 1981. He infused powerful social messages – of unity and strength in the face of oppression – in his music. German reggae enthusiast …

The World Best African Dance Championships took place recently in Berlin, parading some of the best Afro dancers in the world. The artists, from 12 countries, competed as soloists and crews in the categories 1vs1 Afro House, 1vs1 Coupé Décalé and 2vs2 Afro Fusion. There was no pre-qualification for the contest as the participants were able to register at the …

Angelique Kidjo, the Beninese-born singer and songwriter, received her third “Best World Music Album” Grammy Award for her 2015 release Sings in February. It’s the artist’s second consecutive win in that category: her 2014 album Eve, which paid tribute to African women, won last year.  Sings is a collaboration of Kidjo with the 110-piece Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg, led by …

From May to September, African festivals take place across Germany. From the southwestern city of Emmendingen (near Freiburg) to the federal capital and cultural metropolis of Berlin, events celebrating African music, arts and culture are being held. About 80,000 visitors made this year’s Africa Festival, which took place on 26-29 May in the Bavarian town of Würzburg, one of the …

Based in the Bavarian capital, he is omnipresent on the contemporary art scene. In 2011, Okwui Enwezor became the first non-European director of a German art institution. Since then, he has been successfully running Munich’s “Haus der Kunst” (House of Art).  Born in Nigeria in 1963, Enwezor studied literature and political science in New York. His breakthrough came in 1996 …

Kenneth Gbandi honoured, African Catholic Women in Germany meet in Frankfurt, Barrister Efosa Ogieriakhi is 50!

If music journalists from Europe or North America lack the words to express how much they love the music of an African reggae artist they have just stumbled upon, they are quick to talk about “Africa’s Bob Marley”. Lucky Dube, Alpha Blondy, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Rocky Dawuni and many others have been compared to the first superstar of the “Third …