Restitution: Is decolonisation well underway in European museums?

In Cape Town, South Africa, a major event took place highlighting the crucial developments in the field of restitution, and in some cases even the return, of ill-gotten African cultural property. Hundreds of thousands of African cultural objects, looted during the colonial period, have filled European museums for many decades. The “Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today / Tomorrow" conference held in mid-February marked a turning point in this field and also in the relations between France and South Africa.

Publications

Culture 7 December 2023

Togo All Stars on the road to conquering the European music scene

Togo All Stars is a musical group inspired by the voodoo convents of the West African sub-region. Made up of 10 members, they delight their audiences with original sounds and movements. The group has become a household name on the European music scene, and its audiences are seduced by the beats that take them almost to other rhythmic dimensions.

Culture 22 November 2023

The awakening of African animation

It's a love story that goes back to the 1950s. Africans have been interested in animation for decades. But it wasn't until the 2000s that filmmakers from the continent such as Nigeria's Adamu Waziri improved the quality of productions, with the first African animated feature "Bino and Fino".

Culture 8 September 2023

The revival of Ndop, a traditional Cameroonian textile

In Cameroon, Ndop was a textile traditionally reserved for kings and nobles. In recent times, its value has been eroded by cheap imitations. The association "Let's save the Ndop " encourages young people to work with qualified craftsmen to restore the Ndop to its rightful place as a sacred textile and preserve African traditions.

Culture 29 August 2023

Rabby Slo, founder of AfroTchink

Rabby Slo is a Beninese singer, songwriter, performer, producer and entrepreneur who has returned to his native country after 20 years in the United States to reclaim the Beninese music scene. AfroTchink is a style inspired by Benin's traditional rhythms and originates in Tchinkounmè.

Culture 23 June 2023

Serge Noukoué, Executive Director and co-founder of NollywoodWeek

Serge Noukoué is a Franco-Beninois, executive director and co-founder of the NollywoodWeek festival, which has become a reference point for Nigerian cinema in France and Europe. He is a cinema and media cultural attaché at the French Embassy in Kenya. Thanks to his commitment and vision, he is essential in promoting Nigerian cinema and creating lasting links between the African and French film industries. Passionate about African cinema, he has set the goal of changing the image of the seventh art on the continent, giving pride of place to the Nigerian film industry, renowned for its high productivity.

Culture 21 June 2023

Nollywood: the passion of Nigerian cinema in Paris

Originating in Lagos in the early '90s, Nollywood has evolved into the world's 2nd largest film industry, producing nearly 2,500 films annually. It has emerged as a major economic force in Africa, with its influence reaching far and wide. This year, the Nollywood 10th Anniversary celebration took place in Paris, entering a new era of cinematographic excellence. Over the past fifteen years, Nollywood has experienced a remarkable rise in quality, with increased resources, better production values, and exceptional performances.

Culture 9 June 2023

Interview with Mabinuori Kayodé Idowu in Paris at the Fela Kuti exhibition

Mabinuori Kayode Idowu, a close friend and manager of Fela Kuti at the start of his career, tells us about the exhibition based on his as-yet-unpublished book, "Fela Phenomenal Legacy". It is currently on show at the Philharmonie de Paris and retraces the musician's artistic life. In this interview, Mabinuori Kayode Idowu talks about Afro-music, the birth of Afro-beat, colonialism in Africa, the 'Gentleman' album and its cover, the famous Shrine club in Lagos, the Republic of Kalakuta and France as a host country.

Culture 28 April 2023

Samuel Nja Kwa, jazz captured in images

Samuel Nja Kwa is a unique French journalist and photographer of Cameroonian origin. In this interview, he talks about his latest publications, "Africa is music" and "Jazz on my Mind", which focus on his photographic and human encounters with music. From his childhood in France and his apprenticeship in photography to his discovery of jazz in Cameroon, he has never stopped pursuing musicians on all continents.

Culture 17 February 2023

Interview : Nigerian artist Bruce Onobrakpeya

Bruce Onobrakpeya is a printmaker, painter and sculptor. This remarkable Nigerian artist started drawing as a child and benefited from the creative boil of the independence years. After a sixty-year career, his art continues to appeal to an international and Nigerian buying public. Today, he has chosen to pass on his skills in Nigerian universities through art workshops. Find out all about his exceptional career in this interview conducted by our Lagos correspondent, Sharafa Abagun.