Browsing: African culture

Africa is poised to overtake highly populated continents like Asia in terms of population growth. Along with rapid urbanization, the burgeoning population creates an urgent need to find solutions for growing energy demands. As the population grows, demand for fuel and energy to power movement, urban lifestyles, cooking, heating, and refrigeration will catapult in tandem.

This positions the continent as a significant demand hub for energy solutions like gas, oil, and electricity, which has answered the needs and demands of home use. In addition to the demand for energy use in the home, there is a growing need for industrial and manufacturing energy solutions. The advent of Africa’s free trade area is set to propel industrial output by creating synergies and opening up the broader market.…

Despite the wealth and abundance of African stories, writers continue to encounter numerous obstacles, such as the diminishing of advances or the complete lack thereof, which discourage the writers, who want to pursue it on a full-time basis. Racism has greatly asphyxiated this budding industry, with priority being given to white as opposed to black writers.

Data from the New York Bestseller list, from 24 December 2017 to 8 June 2020, indicated that 69% of the bestseller titles, were from white authors, whilst 9%, from black. A social media campaign tagged #PublishingPaidMe created on June 6 2020, by urban fantasy writer L.L. Mckinney, as part of the ongoing conversations on racism in the US; revealed the disparity in book advances, between black and white authors, with the latter being paid more.  …

The African art market has been on an exponential upward growth trajectory prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but most recently is teetering on the brink of a precipice, thrusting many artists in a conundrum; the status quo, only to be likened to painting a hollow canvas. According to the Clare McAndrew’s report, ‘The Art Market 2020’,90% of art dealers had projected an increase in sales, heading into 2020, but the global pandemic has been diminishing this optimism and momentum. The latest Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, indicates that global art sales achieved a total of $64.1 billion in 2019, 5% decrease from the 67.4 billion of 2018.  

The African art scene has long remained unseen, but the last five years have been profoundly fundamental in the growth of this budding industry. It has brought about a renaissance; crossing over a …