Tag: African identity

Event: Africa to Brooklyn

This should be a good show for anyone in the NYC area this thursday.

Chosan performs Blood Diamond from Bling is Dead

A few months ago some New York-based artists and arts organizations organized a concert to benefit Nah We Yone, a grassroots nonprofit organization that helps rebuild the shattered lives of refugees, asylees and asylum seekers from the African diaspora who have fled to the New York Metropolitan area due to ongoing political instability throughout the…
Read more

Maasai herdsman/model talks Gisele Bundchen, American Express, and maintaining maasai culture

<img id=”image289″ src=”http://annansi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/amex_red_ad.jpg” alt=”Amex RED ad” align=center”/> In the news this week were features on the previously unknown Maasai herdsman who appeared with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen in this ad for American Express’ new card for the much-criticized RED campaign. Having seen the ad quite a few times in fashion magazines such as Vogue, I…
Read more

Selling African culture Bollywood-style

Reading this article about Bollywood and the brand new Kenyan film commission has me thinking about the African film industry and how it can grow. As some of you might already know, for the past year I’ve been consulting with the African Film Commission in developing and promoting the African film industry. This article about…
Read more

Akon, Vibe and the new urban standard

With two singles in the #2 and #3 spots (Akon “Don’t Matter” and Gwen Stefani Featuring Akon “The Sweet Escape”), a new album, Konvicted, holding the #3 spot on the Billboard charts, and a starring role in a new Verizon commercial, Akon is hot right now. Now Senegal’s son graces the cover of the new…
Read more

Whitaker wins one for African film industry

By now you’ve all heard that Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. While this is another big boost for Black actors in general, it is more of a validation of African film. Before the awards I was speaking to my partner at the film commission about…
Read more

Malian director puts globalization on trial

I made note earlier of the movie Bamako, but it certainly deserves more than a side-note. Co-produced by Danny Glover, the movie Bamako has been taking the film critics by storm. Directed by Mauritanian-Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako Bamako is a fictional story of a trial where ordinary Malians hold international financial institutions (World Bank, IMF)…
Read more

Summer reading list

The great (for winter anyway) weather in New York has gotten me thinking about spring and summer. I know it might be a little early for some of you but here’s a great list to help you prepare for your summer reading. The list of Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century was put…
Read more

Making a model living

Back in my fashion week round-up post, I mentioned the lack of black/african models on the runways this season. While it was a passing comment the topic holds great weight with many Africans trying to build a career in the modeling industry. While many of us take them for granted and often trivialize the idea…
Read more

Is identity holding Africans back?

I got into a debate about African identity last night. The debate brought about two specific issues. Do individual African nations have to create their own identity first before subscribing to an African identity? also what part does identity play in resolving Africa’s issues? What are your thoughts?