I WISH YOU ALL A PEACEFUL, PRODUCTIVE, AND JOYFUL NEW YEAR !
Here are a few photographs from my walk in the Ndotos in Norther Kenya that made me wonder in front of nature.
My attention during the end of the year 2016 has been focused on the election and post election circus in the USA where I live. At times I fantasize moving away! Most of the times I feel it is time to get more involved here where I live and do my bit in “my backyard”.
On the Africa front, the last couple of years I have wondered if some readers may view my postings and my perspective with some skepticism as I am a white woman from New York city with a good knowledge of art but I am not a professional in the field of African art and I am not from African descent. This did not worry me much when I started the blog as so little was being written about African creativity and I felt that sharing my enthusiasm and encounters could only be positive. I was also quite clear that this blog was a personal undertaking and I often spoke of my experience as I encountered a different artistic approach to the one I was trained in. I acknowledged my perspective and spoke of how I navigated this difference that at times challenged my preconceived ideas. I loved the challenge, learned a lot from this process and became a better person for it. I learned to understand and respect and value another person’s perspective and experience while at the same time standing in my own shoes. More then anything I met wonderful people, shared unforgettable moments and had a lot of fun.
The context has changed today. There are many experts in African contemporary art based on the African continent or in the diaspora that are doing a fantastic job speaking, and writing about African art. The word is out: Africa is a continent rich in creative talent.
Going forward, I thought it would be useful to list here several web based platforms that speak of African contemporary topics such as art and culture, fashion, music, and current events. The emphasis of most of them are on latest trends in creativity in Africa and further illustrate its dynamic quality. Some of the sites are more focused on a young audience and aim to be “cool” , others provide more in depth analysis. Many of them were started about the same time I started my blog which is about 5 years ago with the same intent of changing the conversation around Africa. Most of the writers are from African descent or based in Africa. These platforms are a rich source of information and I highly recommend following them.
These two are the closest to my blog in their focus on art and culture.
This platform has a much longer history, a much broader mandate and excellent writing. It’s focus is on writing, media criticism, video and photography.
These two have been very successful in reaching a broad young African audience, the fastest growing demographic segment in Africa. They have a content that aims to be “cool” and covers the new trends in culture, art, music, fashion, sports, politics, tech innovations. They are a bit short in in-depth reporting.
This is the web version of the new art magazine IAM. It celebrates women in the fields of visual arts, fashion, design, and architecture in Africa ( mostly West Africa). The bilingual content is directed to readers who speak French or English.
With a singular focus on photography, these two sites provide valuable insight on the new developments in photography and video.
I hope you enjoy perusing them! I will not be posting as much on this website but you can follow my art adventures and explorations on instagram @isabelshappeningafrica. I have joined the Tate Modern Africa Acquisition committee so expect some good stuff!!!
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