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Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon – New Release by Frank Njugi in English and German
Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon by Frank Njugi In modern times, much has been said of how genre feels increasingly irrelevant to the way we think about, create, and consume art. In terms of music, American music journalist, Amanda Petrusich, once explained that few contemporary music stars pride themselves on a pure or traditional approach to form, and most pull purposefully from assorted histories and practices. But sometimes, there comes along an artist who picks up a recognised style/genre and vigorously defends its superiority through a prowess that intermingles with their identities. South Africa’s Pop and RnB artist, Shekhinah Thandi Donnell, mononymously known as Shekhinah, is a prime example of an African act that has displayed superiority in the era of cross-genre pollination, where most music feels and sounds like a hybrid. Modern R&B has morphed into a style of music…
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Aus der Dunkelheit ins Licht: Priya Hein and Riambel: Discovering the dark history of Mauritius
“Writing is a powerful tool that allows us to break existing norms, long standing hierarchical structures and to challenge traditional narratives often told from one point of view. Fiction provides a safe space for writers to use their pen to air grievances, amplify marginalized voices, raise awareness about societal issues that are often taboo, challenge oppressive regimes, advocate for gender and racial equality and more. Over the centuries, literature has not only acted as a catalyst forsocial change but has played a major role in shaping history as well as her story. “
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The Writing And Literary Philosophy Of Mauritian Author Sabah Carrim_by Frank Njugi__English and German
Sabah Carrim is a writer who initially as a young writer was against the idea of entering writing competitions. She shared the non-mainstream belief that organizing competitions, and in the process, setting down rules about winning entries, was a sure means of standardizing the stories that were produced. Her ideal was to resist the established order of promoting politically correct literature which was subject to self-censorship, shun writing that said and did nothing, and produce something unique and different that did not serve the limited perspectives and morality of the time. “Instead, the aspiration was to move beyond the particular and attain the universal. Big words. Big thoughts”, she tells me in an exclusive correspondence with her.
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Casablanca Art School: Progressive African Post-Colonialism in Art //Exhibition in Frankfurt/Germany_deutsch/english
Big Art show in Frankfurt/Germany: Schirn Kunsthalle shows art works from an influential art movement in Morocco: The Casablanca Art School. History is often made when the right people end up in the right place at the right time. That fateful alchemy defines the story of the trailblazing artists who revolutionised modern art in post-colonial Morocco. The locus of this movement was the Casablanca Art School (CAS), which underwent radical changes after artist Farid Belkahia took on the school's directorship in 1962 at age 28, six years after Morocco gained independence from French rule.
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The Continuing Rise Of Kenyan Songstress Nikita Kering by Frank Njugi_ english/german
When Kenyan musician and songstress, Nikita Kering, released her project The Other Side — a 7 track extended play — on November 11, 2022 ( under Universal Music, South Africa ), the EP struck a primal chord in anyone who has had to relive struggles of trauma. At twenty years old during its release, The Other Side, was a sequel to a 2021 debut project, A side of me – another 7 track EP that had been deluged with exploration of love, relationships and all its entails. The Other Side and A side of me, established Nikita as an artist whose blueprint is using mesmerizing vocals to synthesize self– disclosure, in both romantic and relationships with oneself, as something humans should embrace. By Frank Njugi
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Violence: Gewalterfahrung in Simbabwe: Die Schwere des Seins edited by Tsistsi Dangarembga deutsch/english
Es ist ein hartes Buch, ein zuweilen brutales Stück Literatur. Ganz und gar keine leichte Kost: “Die Schwere des Seins – Postkoloniale Erzählungen aus Simbabwe” ist, anders als der Titel vielleicht vermuten lässt, kein melancholischer Bericht. FOR ENGLISH VERSION SCROLL DOWN Es versammelt sieben Erzählungen von simbabwischen AutorInnen, die auf wahren Begebenheiten beruhen. Es handelt sich meist um Gewalterfahrungen. Die Erzählungen entstammen einem literarischen Workshop, der 2012 unter Leitung von Tsitsi Dangarembga, Madeleine Thien und Ignatius Tirivangani Mabasa in Simbabwes Hauptstadt Harare stattfand. Einem Aufruf folgend, wurde die 60 eingesandten Schriftstücke – basierend auf Zeugenaussagen, Geständnissen, Erinnerungen, Bekenntnissen – von den AutorInnen diskutiert und in literarische Geschichten verarbeitet. Madeleine Thien, die das Vorwort geschrieben hat, beschreibt es so: “Briefe aus ganz Simbabwe. In den Schreiben ist jede Form des Ausdrucks zu hören: Schreie, Geflüster, Weinen. manche Stimmen sind sachlich, manche stehen noch unter Schock.…
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The Brothers, Number One and A Weekend Special : An Odyssey into Modern South African Politics_english/deutsch
As a production, it is ambitious in scope in how it attempts to uncover what was not known but also condense what was public sphere into a dramatic narrative. The title The Brothers, Number One and A Weekend Special references well-known political and business figures who played key roles in the goings-on and merry-g-round shenanigans which characterised South Africa’s halls of power at that time.
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Colombia is reconnecting with Africa through Dancing – Sankofa Danzafro in South Africa
For Sankofa Danzafro and their members, the mission of connecting to and with Africa and vice-versa through spreading a message of self-awareness, self-knowledge, the important of knowing and acknowledging one’s roots and positivity to the world through dance is one which they will continue to champion because it is also about education and educating African peoples on the continent.
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Johannesburg Musical Smash Hit “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf”” engl/ger
The South African adaptation of the world acclaimed musical production, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf” was both powerful and refreshing. Featuring a stellar cast of theatre veterans and relative newbies in what most thought was a risky move, that risk if we are to call it that seems to have paid off as there was a perfect balance of calm experience and brashness which comes with not being constrained by tired theatre conventions.
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Trauma and Resilience – 30 Years after the Genocide in Ruanda – deutsch/english
„Die Wunde muss tief gepresst werden, damit sie heilen kann“ Trauma and Resilience – 30 Years after the Genocide in Ruanda von Hans Hofele FOR ENGLISH VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Papaoutai? -Papa wo bist du? Der Pop-Hit des belgischen Musikers Stromae mit ruandischen Wurzeln, machte 2013 auf den schmerzlichen Verlust des beim Genozid getöteten Vaters aufmerksam. Wie er leiden bis heute tausende Angehörige von Opfern an den Folgen eines des ungeheuerlichsten Verbrechens des 20.Jahrhunderts.Väter, aber auch Frauen, Kinder, ganze Familien wurden in dem 100 Tage dauernden Gemetzel, den Hutu-Milizen an der Tutsi-Minderheit verübt haben, zum Opfer. Auch 30 Jahre danach müssen die Überlebenden und deren Kinder, aber auch die Täter und ihre Angehörigen mit dem Trauma leben: Nachbarn und Freunde wurden zu Mördern, Familienväter oder Söhne verwandelten sich in gnadenlose Massenmörder. Auch heute leben wieder beide Bevölkerungsgruppen neben-und miteinander. Trauma-Verarbeitung und juristische Aufarbeitung sind…
