Mark Mpundu on Nshima, the Zambezi and Going Where the Locals Go
Mark Mpundu started out streaming video games from places you would not expect to find a console, and turned that instinct into a running record of Zambia in short form. Known online as @honeymarku5, he documents the places, events and everyday moments of contemporary Zambian life across Instagram and TikTok, moving between travel, lifestyle, conferences […]
The Art of African Braiding, Through the Eyes of Gen Z
In many African cultures, hair can carry stories from one generation to another. Through braiding and threading techniques, a simple change in appearance can become meaningful, representing different statuses and stages across an individual’s lifespan. Hair traditions were therefore fundamental to a community’s identity, often signifying the crown of its kinship and the core of […]
If This. Then That: Cardigans — Missoni → MaXhosa Africa
If Missoni’s zigzag is what draws you to a cardigan, look closely at MaXhosa’s MLC17. IF YOU LIKE MISSONI Rosita and Ottavio Missoni founded their knitwear business in Gallarate in 1953. The zigzag became a signature in the 1960s. On this lamé viscose cardigan, bands of chevrons run across the body and sleeves, framed by […]
North African Women Wore the Future First
When Jacqueline West, the costume designer behind the Dune series, began creating Lady Jessica Atreides’s wardrobe, she drew from a striking mix of historical and cultural references. Her designs combined medieval European religious imagery with Middle Eastern and North African dress, making Jessica appear at once regal, mysterious and otherworldly. This borrowing is not unique […]
The Brutal History of African Architecture
A cylindrical tower and a stepped concrete pyramid impose themselves on the skylines of Nairobi and Abidjan. Built in the years after independence, both were enlisted to project progress and permanence, giving physical shape to the ambitions of newly sovereign nations. Half a century on, one still hosts the political life of a capital. The […]
Before Arthur Ashe Was a Stadium, He Was a Problem for Apartheid
Every late August in New York, Arthur Ashe becomes a place. More than 23,000 people fill the stadium carrying his name. Players walk through its tunnels, and commentators use the name as geography: Night session at Ashe. Meet me outside Ashe. Fifty-three years ago, another country was trying to keep Arthur Ashe out. South Africa […]
If This. Then That: Chairs – Pierre Jeanneret → Jomo Tariku
If you understand why Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh chair commands the saleroom, you’ll recognize what Jomo Tariku’s Nyala was built to change. IF YOU LIKE PIERRE JEANNERET Civic equipment that became a saleroom fixture. Teak and hand-woven cane, compass legs, Chandigarh, c. 1955. Batch-made, discarded, rediscovered. The appeal is modernism with a paper trail: the […]
In Côte d’Ivoire, a New Generation Learns to Read the Waves
Along the Ivorian coastline, the ocean has never been a playground. It feeds families, holds spirits and commands a caution passed down through generations. For most of the country’s history, almost nobody looked at those waves and imagined riding them. The Rising Dawn, a feature documentary by Ivorian filmmakers Nadi Saddy and Nuits Balnéaires, is […]
Akin Faminu on Style, Taste and the Things He Returns To
Akin Faminu can spend one evening watching a 1999 Dolce & Gabbana show and another reading an anatomy textbook from cover to cover. The medical doctor and fashion creator has built a public life around style, but his tastes extend well beyond clothes. For this edition of Word of Mouth, Faminu talks about the designers […]
Before the Album, Rapsody Went to Ghana
Rapsody did not come to Ghana for a show. There was no tour routing to explain the visit, no announced album cycle. She came to walk the country, and she came with questions about where she was from. Amino’s 2025 film, “Rapsody in Ghana, A Conversation With Joseph Amino,” follows those questions through markets and […]