Ogojiii Newsletter #16
Greetings
I hope you are having a great start to a new year. While I have long shifted away from new year's resolutions, the hope for 2024 is to complete at least one creative project, which would probably be a book of sorts. I have long given up on the possibility of being able to focus on writing without worrying about how the day-to-day will be covered. This is why I strongly believe in tangible support being given to those entering art, design, etc fields, thereby giving them breathing room to find their voice within their chosen field.
dot.ateliers is an art space in Accra established, towards the end of 2022, by renowned Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo. An integral component of the dot.ateliers is their artist residency which is now going into its second year. It is great to see spaces doing more than exhibitions and providing artists with the space to develop and grow. Celebrating One Year of dot.ateliers. The Residency Unveils its Second Space and shares plans for the Future.
The hope is that we will start to see more initiatives, programmes and spaces on the continent, especially as the demand for African art grows internationally, which is happening, albeit slowly (in my opinion), as explored in Art collectors turn to contemporary African art as industry sees boom.
The African Design Centre, established in Rwanda in 2017 by MASS Design Group (Model of Architecture Serving Society), runs "classroom-based lectures and seminars with real-world research and a design-build project to train fellows in contextual learning, critical thinking, and design pedagogy."
Meanwhile, the Africa Design School, established in the same year in Benin, offers Bachelor programmes in Digital Design, Graphics and Space Design, a Product Design programme and a Master of Strategic Design. While the programmes are currently run in French, there are plans to launch an English-language programme later this year, as per The First Design School in West Africa.
Considered by many as 'the father of African cinema' Ousmane Sembène's work and approach to filmmaking continues to influence contemporary African filmmakers, as evidenced in Eight Filmmakers on the Legacy of Ousmane Sembène, a Hundred Years On.
The last couple of years have seen the major global video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon's Prime Video establish a presence on the African continent, including the funding of African productions. The industry was recently rocked by the announcement by Prime Video that they are cutting funding in Africa, Middle East in favour of focusing on European Originals. The reactions, particularly within the production space have been, needless to say, one's of alarm. Discussions have also turned to why local streaming services are struggling to gain traction, especially when it comes to sourcing local content. African streaming services are struggling to compete with Netflix and Amazon.
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.
Till next time.
Kojo