ANF Newsletter January 2024

Hello Reader, 

Join our conversation about being African in the diaspora, meet Kekere Storytellers Champions and find out what CNN said about Prince Gyasi’s edition of the Pirelli calendar. 

What’s Happening at Africa No Filter

1. What’s it like being African in the diaspora? The Being African: How Africans Experience the Diaspora report investigated how young Africans experience their diaspora, how they define being African and the basis of their belonging. It also looked into how they negotiate relationships with other Africans and how the prevailing stereotypical narratives about Africa impact perceptions about the continent.  Read the report. Join the Africa No Filter Presents: A Conversation About Being African in the Diaspora webinar on Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 16:00 GMT to unpack findings from the report.  Register here. 

2. Our community is influencing how the world sees Africa: New African magazine kicked off the year by publishing their annual list of 100 Most Influential Africans, and it features  ANF narrative champions  and storytellers who include Marie Mbullu, Moses Kiboneka, Charity Ekezie, Tomiwa Aladekomo, Claude Grunitzky and Wode Maya.  Read. 

3. We had a meetup with Narrative Champions in Lagos: The Africa No Filter Lagos Meetup took place on 24 January 2024. It featured storytelling, networking, and spirited conversations about celebrating contemporary African stories. The meetup was attended by ANF Narrative Champions, ANF partners, and the ANF team. It was held at Turaka, at EbonyLife Place on Victoria Island.  See pictures. 

4. We amplified our call to action: Recently,  rapper Meek Mill asked a question that added more perspective to our advocacy. He tweeted: “Do a lot of people play my music in South Africa I remember having on big show their few years back… how do yall listen to our music in South Africa? On what platform or in Nigeria?”. The exaggerated sarcastic responses to his question ranged from “We use empty bottles to communicate with ancestors and your music starts playing from the clouds” to “We beg the one town crier to perform at regular town halls”. Share your story to get Africa better represented this year. Remember to tag @Africanofilter on all platforms with #BetterRepresentation and we’ll repost you. 

5. We’re at Royal Africa Society's Prospects and Forecasts 2024: An expert panel examined Africa's political, economic, climatic, and cultural outlook in the year ahead. Moky Makura joined the panel to talk about Africa’s soft power and how the continent’s food, music, film and art are changing the story of the continent from stereotypes of conflict and poverty, to the story of innovation and creativity. Watch what she says about what to expect from Africa’s creativity industry and storytellers in 2024. 

Keeping up with ANF Narrative Champions

Meet the latest content creators, wordsmiths, performance artists, visual artists and journalists who have been powered with microgrants worth between $500 and $2000 to work on content that represents Africa beyond stereotypes. We partnered with them through the Kekere Storytellers Fund.  

• Journalist Omose Ighodaro, founder of Afrovibes, will produce the next Influencers video/print series for the platform. 

• Edem Torkornoo’s Booksie is producing the stage adaptation of the children's book, Gizo-Gizo, a tale from the Zongo Lagoon. 

• Speculative fiction writer Ekari Chirombo is going to publish and promote her first full-length novel. 

•  Fanuel Leul’s Qedamawi Comics collective will amplify first issue of Bugnad through an app and work on the second issue of the comic. 

• Wendy Watta, a travel writer and digital content creator, is filming vlogs showcasing undiscovered places in 10 Kenyan counties. 

• Visual artist and author Fatoumata Kouyaté is producing an art exhibition themed Art, Identities and Cultures. 

• Weyra, a literary platform founded by Kalkidan Fessehaye and Hiwot Abebe showcases fiction and non-fiction writing from Ethiopia and East Africa. 

• Multidisciplinary artist Jessy Cannary Muyonjo is producing an audiovisual album called Abatuuze. It will be a virtual reality experience. 

• Poet, visual and performance artist, and storyteller David Odiase is working on a poetry and visual arts project that explores African art and restitution. 

• Dennis Mugaa is writing a novel called Other Time, Other Life. It amplifies stories about the years of repression in Kenya. 

• Fashion writer, sustainability advocate, and clothing history enthusiast Khensani Mohlatlole is producing a series of YouTube videos on the history of cloth, textiles and fabric in Southern Africa. 

• Best-selling author Richard Ali A Mutu Kahambo is developing a literary series on notable memorial sites in the DRC. 

• Richmond Setrana is producing YouTube and website content that highlights better stories across Africa. 

• Valerie Houndonougbo is a novelist, screenwriter, blogger, composer and fact-checker from Benin. She’s producing an anthology called Encyclopedia of Africa, which will highlight the uniqueness of each African country. 

• Angkush Poonye is writing a new collection of 10 - 15 poems that revolve around injustice, poverty and inequality to show a continent that has agency. 

• Arinze Obiezue’s grant will support the creation of the sixth issue of Kenga magazine. It will document the innovative ways African Gen Zs are building their financial futures. 

• Hlanganani Linton Nkambule is a 3D artist on a mission to use animation to tell better stories about Africa. His grant will be used to hire and train an emerging animator to create TikTok content for Khoth Ekhothayo. 

• Nangamso "Mkutaji" Gumbe is working on a blog and audio storytelling series exploring wellness in contemporary African communities. 

• Njeri Wangarĩ is producing the next series of an audio-only podcast featuring eight episodes of African stories for children to read. 

• Artist and content creator Sadiya Tahee is producing a vlog that will see her travel to Birnin Kudu, in Nigeria to profile cave paintings that are more than 2,000 years old.  

The 2024 edition of the Pirelli calendar, shot by Ghanaian photographer Prince Gyasi, is out. CNN called this edition - the first to be shot by a Black or African photographer - a “timeless show of Black excellence”. 

Oscar Award nominations were recently announced; and this year’s Best Documentary category includes The People’s President, about the Ugandan politician Bobi Wine’s fight for democracy in Uganda. 

Trevor Noah won an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Talk Series category for The Daily Show. He’s the African and Black person to win the award. 

Cameroon became the first country in the world to roll out the malaria vaccine in what has been called a “transformative chapter in Africa’s public health history”. 19 African countries are also expected to start rolling out the vaccine. 

Burna Boy’s African Giant was listed in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The list also features, 'Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti and Africa 70 and King Sunny Ade's The Best of the Classic Years. 

That’s it. Remember to follow us on social media at @Africanofilter.

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