ANF March Newsletter

Hello Reader, 

About March - it was another epic month in our world.

What's happening at Africa No Filter

1. We’re empowering and amplifying African women in media: We celebrated International Women’s Day with a Media Grant callout aimed exclusively at women and women-led media organisations in Africa and the diaspora. Women are a big demographic in terms of numbers, but their voices are missing in the media, and we want to change that. This grant is for journalists, podcasters, TikTokers, bloggers, and vloggers; and for media organisations that amplify women in media. Deadline: 11 April. More info.French and Arabic callouts.

2. How do you tell the story of six coups in Africa?: Start with nuance and context, two ingredients missing from stories reported by the Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, as Moky Makura opined. Both outlets featured stories about a growing trend on the continent; coups in Africa. But as data shows, the number of successful military coups on the continent has decreased from nine in 2013 to six between 2021 and February 2022. Read more.

3. We’re still unpacking The Business in Africa Narrative Report: So we invited an award-winning entrepreneur,  strategy and impact expert and a former trade and investment minister turned global economist to a webinar to discuss the report’s insights, why the current narrative is distorted and how to rewrite Africa’s story. Find out what Yasmin Kumi, Richard Addy and Bogolo Kenewendo said here.

4. Digital representation matters: Ivorian graphic designer and illustrator O'Plérou Grebet, a #NarrativeChampion, gained fame for his African emojis. And now two of them have been added to IOS 15.4.

5. Need a colouring book? #KekereChampion Uzoma Dunkwu published an interactive book with 30 drawings featuring traditional African attire from 15 tribes. It’s for kids, but everyone can enjoy it. Buy it here.

Meet our latest Narrative Champions

They’re taking storytelling in Africa to the next level with immersive technologies that content into a lived experience. Meet the six artists selected for the ANF x Meta Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds program.

Cameroonian multimedia artist Pierre-Christophe Gam’s hybrid art installation fuses VR, film, photography, and mixed-media sculpture to imagine Africa in 2070.

South African writer, performer and new media artist Xabiso Vili’s visual album is a speculative fiction piece that explores reconciliation and healing as a way to turn toxic masculinity into compassionate masculinity.

Nirma Madhoo is a fashion filmmaker, XR creator and PhD candidate from Mauritius. Her work explores African cultures as technologies, which she illustrates through ancient practices like cultural astronomy.

Kenyan film editor XR creator Michelle Angawa’s short tragicomedy explores desire and the complexities of Nairobian life by following a day in the life of a boda-boda rider.

Nigerian multimedia artist Malik Afegbua is curating a virtual heritage experience of the Kofar-Mata dye pit, a cultural and historical site in Kano, Nigeria.

Mozambican director and producer Lara Sousa uses the journey of Lemanjá, the Afro-Brazilian goddess of wisdom, to explore the ocean as a sacred site of spirituality.

Shifting Narratives
- documenting the narrative progress we’re seeing 

What does a celebrity reality show have to do with narrative? A lot, actually. Young, Famous and African on Netflix turns stereotypes about Africa, its youth and women on their heads. Here, we see Africa as the backdrop of luxury and aspiration. Khanyi Mbau and her motley crew of famous Africans – Diamond Platnumz, Andile Ncube, Zari Hassan, Annie Macaulay–Idibia, Nadia Nakai, Quinton Masina, and Jerry Khan  – represent everything we want to see more of in the media. Africa that’s a creative powerhouse, entrepreneurial, and women who are vocal about their agency.

Talk about impact that reverberates globally. Diébédo Francis Kéré made history by becoming the first Black man and African to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize since its inception in 1979. The Prize is the highest honour in architecture. Meanwhile, Architectural Digest named Nigerien Mariam Kamara among 10 Black women changing the architecture and design space.

It's fact that Afrobeats is one of the most influential sounds in global pop culture. The sound has been used by Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. It's about to become even more popular now that  Billboard Music charts is working with Afro Nation to launch America's first-ever Afrobeats chart.

As it goes with African narratives, stories and analysis of climate change often focuses on impending doom and gloom or how the Global North can help save Africa, so it’s always a pleasure to find a climate story that shows community action and successes, like this story about how the mining town of Anka, Nigeria wiped out lead poisoning. More here.

Amazon Prime Video is the latest global entertainment studio to turn to Nollywood for fresh and exciting content. The company recently signed exclusive streaming agreements with Inkblot Productions and Anthill Studios, meaning their movies will move onto Amazon prime after showing in cinemas. Amazon says the made the move because there’s a global market for “compelling, authentic, hyper-local and universally accessible stories”.

That’s it! Follow @Africanofilter on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok. Keep up with narrative shifting news with @BirdStoryAgency.

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