INSIGHT, an online talk hosted by African Lens, Maona Art, and the Cambridge African Studies Library on Wednesday November 29th, was full of inspirational exchange. The panelists shared their insights on the African creative landscape, the challenges and opportunities they face, and the ways in which their work is shaping the global narrative about Africa.
Aaron Yeboah Jr. from African Lens convened the evening, and was supported by Tatenda Jamera from Maona Art, and Jenni Skinner from the African Studies Library. Each offered their excitement for the evening before we dove into the panels.
Kagho Idhebor started us off with his BURKINA BABES photo essay, followed by Jood Ahmed, showing off her War and Peace photographic series, and Ife Oluwamuyide & Claudia Owusu finished our evening explaining their recent short-film triumph, Ampe: Leap into the Sky, Black Girl.
In 2018 Kagho Idhebor went to Burkina Faso for a festival. He took loads of photographs, and a few years later, synthesized it into BURKINA BABES. He spoke about this photo essay with a passion for capturing the ordinary.
Stepping off the plane, Kagho noticed there were more bikes than cars and that they were being driven mostly by women (hence the name of the work). He stayed in Koudougou, and there felt strongly through his camera that “every photographer is a painter in their own right” and that “there are so many things you cannot re-create, you have to capture them”.
He spoke in particular about “Queen of the park” (seen in the thumbnail of the YouTube trailer), and that it reminds him of his childhood and being a little troublemaker.
The series challenges gender norms as motorcycles tend to be associated with masculinity in many parts of the world, but as Kagho’s lens found, this isn’t the case in Koudougou. Prompted by the audience, he hopes to share his work with different biker communities to curb this stereotype.
“Pictures are a gift to humanity” he left us with.
When conflict erupted in Sudan this year, Jood Ahmed wasn’t sure if she would ever return to Khartoum. She remembers the exact time it began – April 15th, 9am – a morning punctuated by gunshots.
This inspired her to create the War and Peace series, depicting everyday joy amidst uncertainty. From moments under the stars, to reading nooks, soaking in the riverside, to the mundane daily tasks, Jood skillfully and beautifully captures life in its rawest form.
As a young photographer she was asked what she might say to other young creatives keen to start their own projects: “Follow your instincts, do what you love, and invest time learning it”.
In response to our increasingly capitalistic and fast moving world where you’re forced to grow up and leave play behind, creatives Claudia Owusu & Ife Oluwamuyide conceived Ampe: Leap into the Sky, Black Girl. Set in the sister cities of Accra, Ghana and Columbus, Ohio, the short-film explores blackhood through the lens of young girls and play, particularly with AMPE.
AMPE is a game girls play in Ghana during their lunch break or after school. Two teams are formed, and they face off one on one in a dance battle of jumping and flailing arms and legs. Eliminating each other through a quasi-foot-based-rock-paper-scissors, the team who eliminates all opposing players first wins.
“It makes you feel powerful” and “like you don’t have a care in the world” some of the girls say about AMPE in the YouTube trailer.
The film has been a success at many recent festivals and you can read more about it here.
Follow Ampe’s Instagram page for updates on how you might watch the film soon!
A warm thank you to the panelists for making the time to share their experiences with the creative community.
Cambridge Centre of African Studies Library Blog 