An integral aspect of changing stereotypes, storytelling is an inherent way of life for Africans. Everybody has a tale to tell and everybody tells it in different ways. As Gcina Mhlophe points out:
Stories are our friends, our counsellors and our teachers. They are a means of nurturing a moral culture in the hearts and minds of people. They stir the imagination, they bring together people and they break down barriers. It is a tradition we must never lose in the rush to the cities.
In no particular order, below are 11 Africans telling their stories and others in multiple formats. They all are doing amazing things, making great strides at home and abroad.
Content Creation
1. Nosa Garrick: Garrick directs and executive produces My Africa Is, a documentary series that showcases African realities. Since four years ago, the show has so far chronicled Nairobi, Dakar, Lagos, and Ghana. Garrick uses her platform to highlight the untapped potential and the necessity of empowering Africa’s youth.
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2. Teddy Goitom: a Swedish-Ethiopian/Eritrean content producer, Goitom founded Stocktown in 1998. He also directed Afripedia, a documentary series on Angolan, Kenyan, South African, Senegalese, and Ghanaian creatives. Afripedia serves as a visual guide to art, film, photography, fashion, design, music, and contemporary culture.
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3. Damilare Sonoiki: a writer for ABC’s Black-ish, Sonoiki wrote and directed his own comedy pilot called African Booty Scratcher. The project, about an immigrant Nigerian family in America, successfully raised its target of $30k on Kickstarter. He studied economics at Harvard, worked on Wall Street, and then moved to LA to embark on his TV writing career.
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
4. Nnedi Okorafor: a Nigerian-American science fiction and fantasy author, Okorafor published Who Fears Death, which won the World Fantasy Best Novel Award; Akata Witch, an Amazon Best Book of the Year; and Zahrah the Windseeker, which won the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature. She and Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu were selected by Triggerfish Animation Studios in Dec. 2015 to develop their animated feature film “The Camel Racer” for its inaugural Story Lab.
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5. Wanuri Kahiu: Kenyan film director Kahiu has received multiple awards and nominations for her films. In 2009, she bagged a total of twelve nominations and earned five awards for From a Whisper at the 2009 AMAA. According to CNN, she is “one of Africa’s most aspirant directors, being part of a new, vibrant crop of talents representing contemporary African culture.” She also directed Pumzi and Homecoming.
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6. Aina Fadina: Fadina executive produces and hosts web-series I of Africa. The web-series celebrates innovative thinkers and tells African inspirational stories. She so far has featured guests from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, United States, England, France, and Germany. CNN named her series one of the top 8 African web-series to watch. She started the show after realizing that no one was telling the stories of Africans doing compelling things.
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Comics
7. Loyiso Mkize: visual artist Mkize publishes South African superhero comic Kwezi. He previously worked as an illustrator for the SupaStrikas comic. He devotes his life to showcasing his “African heritage, centralizing its aesthetic and sharing it with the rest of the world.” He also paints. His debut solo exhibition, Reflections of Inner Truth, was in 2011. His second solo exhibition, Pulse, was shown in 2012. His third solo exhibition, Reflections eternal, was displayed in 2013. While his recent solo exhibition, Reflections, was part of the Art Week Joburg 2015.
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8. Roye Okupe: creative director Okupe founded YouNeek Studios in 2012. In 2015, he Kickstarted a campaign for E.X.O: The Legend of Wale Williams. E.X.O is a 130-page full-color graphic novel about a futuristic Lagos superhero set in the year 2025. For Okupe, the lure of providing people with a different side of Nigeria is what drives his vision. According to him, “our booming tech industry, amazing city architecture, unique culture, African humor, Afrofuturism … [is] a side that is not regularly shown in mainstream media.” His next project is Malika: Warrior Queen, who reminds us of Queen Amina of Zaria.
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9. Jide Martin: CEO of Comic Republic Dreams, Martin founded the company in 2013. The Comic Republic is a startup based in Lagos that creates free comics with African characters such as Guardian Prime, Ireti, Eru, Aje, etc. Martin created the company because “there was a moral vacuum in the present generation, a general lack of icons.“
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Media
10. Stephanie Busari: Busari heads CNN’s ‘Digital-first’ operation. CNN in 2016 launched a multi-platform operation in Lagos, Nigeria. The Lagos operation is designed to provide CNN with a “nimble, broad-based, Digital-first presence in Africa’s most populous country.” She is also the founder of TEDxBrixton.
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Art
11. Laolu Senbanjo: born and raised in Ilorin, Nigeria, Senbanjo creates Afromysterics art. According to him, “the Sacred Art of the Ori is a spiritually intimate experience.” By painting his muses’ spirit and soul, he breathes life into himself and his muses. His “Sacred Art of the Ori” was recently featured in Beyoncé’s Lemonade. As one of Nike’s Masters of Air, he currently collaborates with Nike on a limited shoe collection edition.
On June 24, 2016, his work was shown at the Grammy Museum + BET International “Sounds of Africa” Los Angeles exhibit. The exhibit will run through fall. The exhibit also features handwritten lyrics, costumes, and rare instruments from Angélique Kidjo, Salif Keïta, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Tabu Ley Rochereau, 2face Idibia, Ice Prince, among others.
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Author: TSSF
The Single Story Foundation is a nonprofit organization which provides storytelling opportunities for Africans at home and in diaspora.
We seek to change the stereotype through visual art, literature, and performing art. At The Single Story Foundation, we believe that storytelling is one of the ways we can fix the damage caused by Western storytelling.
Great article!
Joyce Sarpong, Founder of AfricaOracle (Celebrating & Connecting Africa & its Diaspora – changing the narrative & perception of Africa)
Thanks.