Building Africa's creative industries
Greetings
I know we have been quite over the last few months. We have been revisiting our approach to spotlighting interesting, design focused stories on African current affairs, culture, business and design from all over the continent.
As a result, we migrated the newsletter to Substack and we hope that you will continue to support and engage our mission of building ‘a community for African innovation in design, enterprise and current affairs.’
Substack gives us the opportunity to more engaged with you and to expand the community. We will continue to create the monthly newsletter as well as to “growing progressive design thinking on the continent by creating and sharing constructive stories.”
If you have written or come across stories that you feel have a place on Ogojiii, please continue to share those directly with us either via email or, if you have a Substack, on here. We endeavour to share those with the broader community.
Now for this month’s newsletter.
Popularised in the late 1970s by American political scientist Joseph Nye, Oxford Language Dictionary defines soft power as "a persuasive approach to international relations, typically involving the use of economic or cultural influence."
Culture in a Box, by David Adeleke, is an interesting perspective on how African countries are lagging behind when it comes to soft power and what could be done better.
Photographer Chase Jarvis is quoted as having said, “the best camera is the one that’s with you.” This has become a rallying cry of sorts for the smartphone camera. The democratisation of photography, like so many other forms/mediums, has resulted in an identity crisis of sorts, with debates about where this fits into the ‘professional/artist’ worlds of photography.
Photographer and founder of Insigna Media Production Limited Kola Oshalusi established the Business of Photography Conference in 2018. The last one was held in 2022 with the next one coming in 2025. In this article from FashionEvo, he gives context to the conference, the state of ‘photography entrepreneurship and his journey.
Sadly, Africa continues to be a dumping ground for companies and countries, particularly from what is now called the ‘Global North’. At the same time, according to African Clean Cities Platform, “More than 90% of waste generated in Africa is disposed at uncontrolled dumpsites and landfills, often with associated open burning.”
The ‘Waste To Wear’ Project, initiated by Heineken South Africa, has partnered with two South African designers to create “limited-edition wearable and homeware items made from recycled bottles.” It is part of
I can’t help but think that the investment in waste management and recycling could both transform our collective environment but also provide ‘raw materials’ for a multitude of sectors including design, construction, etc.
Africa’s creative industries are as diverse and disparate as the continent itself. There have been various initiatives over the years to create coherency and collaboration with varying degrees of success. The Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) has recently been established as “a vibrant community of creatives, key actors, and enablers of the cultural and creative industries, committed to positioning Africa as a significant contributor to the global creative economy.“
With partners including the African Union, UN-Habitat and British Council, it is going to be interesting to watch how the Alliance unfolds and I do hope that they will be able to do what many others have tried to do.
In the podcasting and voice space, there’s the Association of African Podcasters and Voice Artists (APVA), of which I am a member, that has been doing a lot to support these areas across the continent, including their annual APVA Awards. The 2024 edition of the Awards take place at the end of September.
As the tools to self-publish became increasingly accessible, it feels like there has been an increase the numbers of books published across the continent. But, the reality is, even for those published by traditional publishers, the market seems to be diminishing. At the same time, being able to access broader markets is challenging considering the sheer volume of books that are published globally. In South Africa, SA Books Online (disclaimer: I do some work with them) seeks to both support and provide greater reach to self-published authors and independent publishers.
We would be curious to hear about other literature and publishing initiatives from across the continent. Even if we are increasingly telling our own stories, if those stories end up drowning in the noise and are not heard, it results in the same thing we have always struggled with - our stories, our perspectives not making it out into the world.
If you enjoyed this edition of the Ogojiii newsletter, please do share with others who you feel would enjoy it as well. We look forward to your comments, input and contributions. The power of Substack is as space for dialogue and collaboration.
Till next time
Kojo