How visual arts in Kenya capture the state of the country
In the hills just outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, lies the home of visual artist Evanson Kangethe, along a dirt road. Born in 1961,...
The bookseller in the frontline
The girls from Butere Secondary School were overwhelmed by a choking haze of tear gas. It happened in early April in the town of...
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: one of Africa’s greatest writers has gone
By Peter Kimani He understood the politics of his time Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is regarded as one of Africa’s greatest writers of all time. He grew...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new book Dream Count explores love in all its complicated messiness
By Daria Tunca What’s the story about? Dream Count tells the intersecting stories of four African women. The novel recounts the characters’ hopes, dreams and struggles,...
Amadou Bagayoko is dead. He was part of “the blind couple of Bamako”
Introduction: With their conviction, talent, strong melodies and good production, Amadou & Mariam became hugely successful. They made lovely music that makes you happy. On...
By Alaba Ilesanmi Rikki Stein, born into a regular, middle-class home in the UK, has had what must have seemed an unlikely career. As a...
Kenyan artists reflect Gen Z hopes and frustrations in new exhibition
By Anne Mwiti In the Absence seeks to trigger thoughts and pose questions about Kenya as a nation. Is Kenya really free from its colonial...
Fela Kuti is more famous today than ever – what’s behind his global power
By Alaba Ilesanmi Almost three decades after his passing in 1997, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and activist who created the Afrobeat music movement, remains the subject of...
