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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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Successful this time! International German Film Festival Berlinale 2024 and Africa deutsch-english
Which Way Africa? is the title of a film by Congolese director David-Pierre Fila, which is screening at the Berlinale. The 74th edition of the Berlin Film Festival started this year under the chairmanship of Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o. This remarkable decision to choose Nyong'o as jury president gives us a glimpse of the presence of African actors and especially African productions. The Berlinale, as the festival is called, is, it should be noted, a European festival. In the past, African productions have played a rather minor role. In the wake of outstanding productions from the continent, the growing attention for actors, producers, musicians and directors from Africa, also involved in international co-productions, Africa can simply no longer be…
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African Publishers on the Book Fair in Frankfurt: And The Story Goes On english/deutsch
It was another real book fair in Frankfurt. One with lots of visitors, almost like before the pandemic. The last three years were empty, the book fair only took place online once, the two years after that it was a very limited event. But even during this time, when visitors were rather rare, smaller publishers from the continent also showed up at the fair at the invitation of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Invitation Program https://www.buchmesse.de/en/fellowship-and-grant-programmes/frankfurt-invitation-programmes, cultureafrica.net reported on this. So this year it was once again a crowd-puller. And in Hall 6, where the publishers and networks from Africa were to be found, there was also a lot going on again. This is the 75th edition of this huge…
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African Book Festival in Berlin – Three Days of Literature and Pleasure – deutsch-english
Once again, the large number of visitors to the ABF, most of them young people, gives one hope that African literature can be very much alive. Whoever gets involved in this festival for three days can get very close to African literature. All authors are present for the whole three days, they are not flown in for a short time but spend the days at the festival. And if you want, you can get very close to them. You can sit down with them and talk.
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African Book Festival Berlin 2023: Boost for African Literature in Germany. Interview mit/with Co-Organizer Venice Trommer
This year, the African Book Festival in Berlin will take place for the fifth time. In recent years, it has developed into one of the most important festivals for African literature in Germany and Europe. It is a public festival in the classical sense. And it has successfully survived the restrictions of the pandemic years. The appetite for African literature is greater than ever. One feature of the ABF is that the program is designed by African curators. The organizer, InterKontinental e.V., selects a literary personality each year. This curatorial principle, which has characterized the last editions, was cancelled this year with a bang. Shortly after the announcement of this year's curator, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a storm of indignation…
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2022: The Fascination is back//ger_engl
The most recent Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022 lasted just under six days. It was the first face-to-face event in three years. Cultureafrica was at the fair. Talked to African exhibitors, was at readings, discussions and events around the book fair. It was full, it was exhausting, it was: great class! That's how you could describe the exciting days in October, because no matter if it was worth it for each individual. Almost everyone agreed on one thing: The Frankfurt Book Fair is alive!
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Diversity in Germany: Raus aus den Schubladen! Florence Brokowski-Shekete Book Review ger/engl
“Raus aus den Schubladen! Meine Gespräche mit Schwarzen Deutschen” von Florence Brokowski-Shekete ist das zweite Buch der Autorin, die mit dem autobiografischen Band “Mist, die versteht mich Ja!” einen überraschenden Erfolg hatte. In ihrem neuen Buch portraitiert sie zwölf Schwarze Deutsche, die in meist gewöhnlichen Berufen arbeiten. Von Hans Hofele FOR THE ENGLISH VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Das mag auf den ersten Blick nicht sehr spannend sein, ist aber genau das Gegenteil davon. Es wäre natürlich einfacher, Musiker:innen, Sportler:innen, Schauspieler:innen nach ihrem aufregenden Leben zu fragen. Über sie wird in den Medien auch häufiger berichtet. Schon in der Einleitung macht Florence Brokowski-Shekete an einem Beispiel deutlich, was von Schwarzen Deutschen erwartet wird, wenn sie sich unter das von weißem…
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Could This Be Love? Essays about Interracial Relations – Interview with Editor Stefanie Hirsbrunner – ger/engl
Im ersten Teil der dreiteiligen Büchervorstellung zum Thema Diversity in Germany geht es um den Essayband Kann das denn Liebe sein. Could This Be Love? Der Band versammelt fünfzehn Essays von verschiedenen Autor:innen aus Deutschland und Afrikanischen Ländern. Allen ist eines gemeinsam: Es geht um die Probleme, Hürden und Chancen von Interracial Relations. Privat, berührend, unterhaltsam, erschütternd . Das Buch ist im August 2022 beim Verlag InterKontinental erschienen und auf dem African Book Festival in Berlin auf zwei Podien vorgestellt worden. Im Interview sprach ich mit der Herausgeberin Stefanie Hirsbrunner, die gleichzeitig auch Teil des InterKontinental Verlags und des African Book Festivals in Berlin ist. The first part of the three-part book presentation on the topic of diversity in…
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African Book Festival in Berlin 2022. A Report. engl/ger
Yesterday.Today.Tomorrow. That was the leitmotif of this year’s African Book Festival in Berlin. Finally without any restrictions, finally everything live and on the spot. The joy about this could be felt everywhere when you were out and about at the festival. Cultureafrica was media partner this year, but this should not distort the view when reporting about this event. By Hans Hofele/cultureafrica.net FÜR DEUTSCHE VERSION NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN But: Where does one start to report? About a literary event that is more than the sum of its events? Even in retrospect, it was a very intense long weekend. If you count the launch of InterKontinental on Thursday evening, it was four days in which you could get involved with…
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African Book Festival Berlin: Interview with South African curator Lidudumalingani_engl/ger
This year’s edition of the African Book Festival Berlin has an impressive list of authors who will take part in the festival. Margaret Busby will be there, Igoni Barrett, JJ Bola, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and many more. Lidudumalingani Mqombothi is this year’s curator of the festival, which takes place from August 26th to 28th in Berlin. The native South African sees himself as a multimedia artist. Writing, photography, filmmaking. In 2016 he won the renowned Caine Prize for African Writing with the short story “Memories We Lost”. Two months before the festival, Hans Hofele didn’t just talk to him about literature. FÜr DEUTSCHE VERSION NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN HH: You once said “photography is like poetry in a picture”. You…
