by Thokozani Mhlambi We have lot of artist-as-loner myths, that seem to imply that the best art is one in which the artist places themselves in isolation, only to emerge after sometime with a masterful musical score or canvass. But that is not the case in the real world. As a classically-trained musician who finds […]
Discovering the value of Creative Collaborations Read More »
Technologically Savvy Communication For the past six years Afropolitan Explosiv has created artistic events that bring change to emergent communities of African people who find themselves confronted with new challenges post-liberation in South Africa. But since 2015 we have placed a great deal of emphasis in using technology as a means of fostering this interaction,
Pan-Africanism & Technology Read More »
As early as the 19th century, Africa already had intellectuals who also excelled as composers of music. They took what was a western education and music training and made something of their own. The Early African Intellectuals as Composers of Music project puts a spotlight on this cultural renaissance. Tiyo Soga, who was the first
An Early Music Revival: African Intellectuals as Composers Read More »
“When the colonised intellectual writing for his people uses history, he must do so with the intention of opening up the future.” Dr Thokozani Mhlambi opened the conversation by quoting these immortal words by Frantz Fanon. This was at a gathering of cultural innovators that was held at the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, South Africa
Creating Our Own Myths: A Public Conversation Read More »
Gerald Machona, artist, thinker and DJ, is a fascinating creative generator: manly in his avowel of lobola tradition, gentle in his love for pretty things like flowers and decorated vases, which are some of the artefacts of his latest exhibition. The work, titled Greener Pastures, is a biographical sketch of the experience of being home
Exhibition puts Spotlight on Lobola Read More »
Few today can imagine that when Shakespeare was writing in English during his time, it was not fashionable to do so. During the 1500s educated English people wrote and read Latin. French was used for legal matters, while Latin was used to write science, philosophy and theology. That is what they learnt. They did not
The Intellectual Practice of Mazisi Kunene & African Languages in the Future Read More »
Afropolitan Explosiv’s Creative Director, Dr Thokozani Mhlambi, reflects on the ‘Music and the African Archive’ event, which took place in Cape Town in August. On the 22nd of August, a seminar took place at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town. Convened by the Black Archives & Intellectual Histories Seminar Series, a
Music & the African Archive Read More »
Kholeka Shange discusses the tradition of photography in relation to local ways of knowing in isiZulu. The nexus between photography and ukuthakatha is power. In isiZulu, the term “ukuthwebula” has multiple meanings. Amongst isiZulu speakers, this expression refers to a ritual where umthakathi (a noun that has meanings that go beyond witchcraft) uses umlingo to
Ukuthwebula and the Photographic Image Read More »
Nanu Mabaso writes for us about film culture in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This is following the shooting of a new movie, called Uncovered, which was shot in Newcastle. by Nanu Mabaso “What a time to be alive in Africa!” I often wondered how it feels like to say this. I must admit, it came to
Film Culture in KZN gets a Boost Read More »
Afropolitan Explosiv joined South Africans, as they marched along the streets on the 1st of August 2018, as part of Women’s Month. A campaign called #TotalShutDown, womxn are saying no to gender violence. Singer and womxn/LGBT+ sensation Thandiswa Mazwai, announced the program for the campaign on her Instagram: Marches were held in Pretoria, Newcastle, Cape
#TotalShutDown In Madadeni, KZN & Womxn’s Activism Today Read More »
Well it seems like President Buhari of Nigeria is really doing it. He is winning the war against corruption in the West African country. The Nigerian government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been granted permission by the federal high court in Lagos to forfeit funds held by the former petroleum minister,
Buhari Wins War on Corruption? Stolen Money in Nigeria Read More »
“One of the things I think I can bring to the Presidency is to make government & public sector cool again” Barack Obama Today’s public sector leaders face critical challenges such as moral regeneration, building a sense of unity in diversity, principled and value based politics, a commitment to national imperatives, and responsibility for a
Leading the Future Public Sector Read More »
“The education struggle was firstly a matter of trying to bridge the language gap and then trying to bridge the content gap,” writes Khaya S Sithole , Chartered Accountant & Speaker. Orignally from Empangeni (KZN), Khaya now lives in Johannesburg. He is also a motivator of rural communities and youth to pursue accounting as a
Equal Opportunity: On the question of Language Read More »
The main challenge we face as leaders is that we remain in-tune with the pulse of the communities we serve. We therefore must not build ourselves fortresses on the high mountains that make us inaccessible. We must not seek praise all the time. Instead we have to have the courage to make unpopular decisions today.
Leading Today for Tomorrow: a lesson from Shaka Read More »
I never understood why internships don’t pay or pay too little. Until I was an intern and later had my own intern(s) to mentor that I realized why this is the case. The fact is, when you are a fresh graduate entering the work place, you have little to no exposure that is practical to
Internships: Career Advancement or Exploitation? Read More »
Delani Mthembu Facilitator | Dynamic Leader | Reverend Managing Director of Landelahni Leadership Development Life is by nature an art and a science influenced by intuition, relationships and the mastery of socio-political context. The rise and fall of a professional is dependent on the ability to dance with a diversity of emotions, relationships and connections.
Building Legacies: How Passion meets Skill & Talent Read More »
Our universities are in crisis – here’s why Minister Blade Nzimande should do absolutely nothing about it. 20 years ago, Marguerite Poland began her seminal work – Shades – with the following words: “There is an odd sense of predestination. It is strange how strongly I feel it. But I shall leave before it
Universities in Crisis: Why Minister should do Nothing about it Read More »
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin, whose latest album Losing My Religion was released in November 2015 in South Africa, has been criticized for collaborating with Kanye West in his new album, The Life of Pablo. The Life of Pablo was previewed early in February on livestream on Tidal, with over 20 million viewers. The album has
Kanye West & Kirk Franklin Collaborate: Losing Religion? Read More »
For two days we had no running water. I had lived in my community of Madadeni for 6 months now. I knew some of the guys on the street, and waved at a few neighbours passing by. I certainly knew all the curious kids. My assumption was that everyone would say if something strange was
Jaded Comrades/ Ineffective Citizen : communities beyond our present state Read More »
In his 2005 book and a more recent article, former official in the Presidency in South Africa and now academic Alan Hirsch justifies neoliberal compromises on the grounds that the new government was “constrained by concerns for economic stability”. Yet weren’t government’s deals the main cause of subsequent economic instability, including the half-dozen currency crashes
12 Plagues from Mandela’s Economic Legacy Read More »
I’m generally individualistic, however I’m not oblivious to our political engagements or predicaments. Being non affiliated to a party, I’m happy that I can become one of the so called ‘analysts’ that I also tend to despise. I’m not convinced that our voting system for a party as opposed to a constituency is most preferable.
Post-colonial Teething Problems Read More »
Citizen-Comrade: a term made up, recognizes a dual imperative: Comrade recalls a shared past, and the brotherhood we formed in defying the oppression of apartheid. Citizen recognizes the new role we now play, as no longer victims of an external force, but as human beings with certain responsibilities. The burden of responsibility is simply not
Citizen-Comrade: An Open Letter to the People Read More »
Your life’s purpose is revealed in your struggle. The areas that have presented the greatest of challenges in your life are the areas where your life’s purpose lies. Just like a match, when it hits a rock it ignites to produce light, your actions to overcome these challenges are the match, your soul is the
Purpose is Revealed in your Struggle Read More »
This is a question asked by Prof. Premesh Lalu, as he challenges us to look at universities as spaces for inventing the unprecedented, by fashioning communities that are open to the future. Prof. Premesh Lalu, Director Centre for Humanities Research University of Western Cape Something, I believe, needs to be said about the appropriation of
What is the University for? Read More »
The following characteristics are observable in some of the world’s most dynamic leaders of our time, our hope is that you would grow in the leadership role that has been laid up for you. And that your confidence in the key messages of Afropolitan Explosiv may give you the courage to step up in this
4 Character Traits Every Leader Must Have Read More »
When old friends resolve their differences and restore their relationship, reconciliation has occurred. Once this has happened they do not go back and count one anothers’ faults and weaknesses. They cease to describe their world, which they must both co-habit by reasons of history, using the same short-hand formulas they once used to refer
Future Generations, Conflicted Pasts Read More »
The South African gender pay gap is estimated, on average, to be between 15%-17%. This implies that a South African woman would need to work two months more than a man to earn the equivalent salary that he would earn in a year. If the gap persists, a South African woman would never catch up
Why Women Earn less than Men Read More »
It may help just for second to imagine a landscape where singing softly sung love songs were not possible. This was the moment when Princess Magogo Buthelezi lived, the life which she knew. Mangosuthu Buthelezi describes her mother as a political force of her time—a musician and singer whose life story was turned into an
Forgive Her Because She Cannot Stop Singing Read More »
At the end of an evening with friends, my husband and I showed a bioscope of pictures to our guests. Pictures of places unrecognizable that at some point in the series became recognizable as outer and inner parts of the township where all in the room currently lived appeared. At the end of the series
No Longer Beautiful Read More »
Thokozani Mhlambi Remember the days of Kool & the Gang in the 1970s? the slick outfits, the bell bottoms, oh and don’t forget the bracelets on the head, and the deep male voice bustin’ lyrics in spoken word (later called rap): Uh, get it Get down – get down Feel the funk y’all Let it
Consciousness Beyond Black Consciousness: Who’s afraid of the Jungle Boogie? Read More »
“I have a lot of talent and I know that whenever I set my mind on something I am going to accomplish it.” –Latasha Harlins Twenty three years ago, Los Angeles, California, the city that shaped my first breath, went up in flames. We danced. The National Guard stood at the entrance of my high school
America Eats its Young: Riots and the Funk of Rage Read More »
Each of us are called to influence, shape and impact whatever area of life we are involved in. We have heard it before there are those who build, there are those who think about the building (the engineers), and then those who are more concerned with what will happen when the inside is finished (interior
Sharpening your Edge for Influence, Achieve Maximum Results Read More »
“South Africans wanted freedom and all they got was democracy,” we are told by Sammy Mgijima. A visionary thinker on African post-liberation economics, Sammy is a qualified economist, who works at Old Mutual Corporate. “For the true fruits of freedom to be realized, the creation of a national identity, a common understanding of what it
Whites are the Biggest Winners in the South African Economy Read More »
“F**k the media,” says former star in Nelson Mandela movie, Morgan Freeman. After the wave of protest inspired by the death of African-American, Freddie Gray, while he was in police custody in a police station in Baltimore. Morgan Freeman–the famous actor who most people would love to have him narrate their lives, has slammed reporting
Morgan Freeman on Baltimore Coverage Read More »
Potential Future Architectural Visions for Nigeria You can change the person in power, but you can’t change the institutional mindset, unless everyone is willing to pay their price. That is the painful lesson Nigerian politics teaches us today, as told through the eyes of Adeyemi Elvis Asunbo, a Nigerian engineer, now doing his Master’s degree
Nigerian Politics & the Future of Africa Read More »
I’ve had access to a university education which my ancestors never had. I did not experience Bantu Education like my fathers and mothers. I live in places that were barred from me in apartheid. I can choose whatever job, profession, career I wish to go to. I can even choose to be an entrepreneur. NO
I am Not Oppressed Read More »
By Sicelo Fayo Taking on the news media on any of its activities or beliefs is always a bad idea at the best of times. SA News Media in particular is highly sensitive to criticism, just or not! However, to the extent that News Media essentially not only informs (a fairly broad and subjective term)
Is it really Xenophobia? Read More »
A Leader is raised up in the moment of crisis. Leaders arise because of a problem. They start with a problem. Without there being a problem there can be no leaders. Leaders are God’s emergency men and women in a time of crisis. When a person is called to lead, they start by seeing the
Four Things you Ought to Know about Leadership Read More »
In 1989 communism collapsed. We knew it was not sustainable. But the final demise was a moment for the West to say “we told you so”. Liberal democracy had gained a final win over Marxism-Leninism and moving with almost unquestionable consensus, the liberal democratic agenda was shoved down every country that was in the process
Here I begin where I ended with the last piece (see below): The trouble with a constitutional culture is that it is a problematizing culture. A kind of problematizing that is couched in the pretense of debate. Where constitutionality may be troubling is that it can sometimes be insensitive, without even seeing that it is
Freedom in the wrong places! Read More »
It has been a number of months since Brett Murray’s pornographic painting of President Zuma was exhibited at Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. Then there was a public outcry. After these remarkable events which left many South Africans divided on who is right and who is wrong, I would like to provide some thoughts on governance:
Raising the Standard of being human and coexisting Read More »
At our recent event held on the 3rd of March at Gallery MOMO in Parktown North, we as Afropolitan Explosiv, had the pleasure of hosting Robert “Bobby” Godsell as part of our panel that helped to guide the talk on: “Creativity as a way of building growth”. Below, are the reflections by Bobby on the
Reflections on a group of South Africans on the role of the arts in shaping our future Read More »
I feel that what defines a generation is both what they have learnt from predecessors as well as what they have added to it. Our generation is still grappling with the positioning and emancipation of the African continent as a whole, we are still grappling with leadership issues and as well as those of raising
Our Generation as seen by Linda Mabhena Read More »
There’s a time when each generation passed, has looked back at their life’s accomplishments with a sense of nostalgia and self-satisfaction. I picture an old couple sitting on the stoep on a rocking chair on an autumn afternoon, sipping on cool lemonade, each trying to piece together fragmented and hazy remembrances of a time long
What will our generation be remembered for? Read More »
