Africa.Now – Exploring Africa’s Creative Community With Design Indaba
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPkwUBfKyhA]
Having spent the last seven years bringing you some of the names, designs, and services that have shaped the emergence and development of the creative industries across Africa one cannot help but be inspired by the energy surrounding what is happening; that feeling that anything is possible. Something that can at times be hard to articulate in a post when experiencing it in person can be so much more impactful. And this is the premise of Design Indaba’s Africa.Now initiative and video series, which brings you closer to the action through on-screen interviews with those who are an active part of shaping the story, and at the same time giving you a window into what is happening on the ground through the video’s electric montage of music events, fashion shows, street festivals workshops and more.
This introductory Africa.Now video zooms in on the wave of optimism that is sweeping the African continent and how the creative community has latched onto it, using it to fuel the outpouring of creative expression that for me has been and is a privilege to witness. A sentiment that is touched upon by Ugandan fashion designer Edward Sempa who in the video voices what many see as Africa being the last frontier, a place offering up a lot of opportunities that the world’s decision-makers are paying close attention to and in the process trying “…to grab a piece of Africa anyway that they can.” This latter observation makes it important for Africa’s creative community to work together to be in control of shaping a future that benefits all economically and socially.
“…what we really want to do is have an economic impact” Mamadou Wane, fashion and jewellery designer, Senegal
Taking us through the continent’s diverse countries starting with Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, The Ivory Coast, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Morocco the Africa.Now series is a journey of discovery introducing us to hi and lo-tech innovations and the real-life solutions that reflect a rapidly changing continent, “one, which is redefining the traditional exchange between the so-called first and third worlds.” An exchange that is driven by a need to change the historical portrayals of Africa to those that speak of the vibrant cultures, visuals, and dynamism that Africans are so proud of.
“With technology not just VR, we need to be critical about all the different implications that arise from it open a doorway to a whole different future.” – Jonathan Dotse, social entrepreneur, Ghana
This introductory video is just a taster to what promises to be an eye-opening journey into the dynamic and exciting world of a creative Africa that is not a wishful imagining but of an Africa that is, and I look forward to bring you more.
– Tapiwa Matsinde
Additional details:
To find out more about Design Indaba: www.designindaba.com
[Image credits: The images shown are stills from the Africa.Now video and belong to Design Indaba. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]