South Africa, the rainbow nation. A place of dazzling sun, incredible wildlife, rugged coasts, and tabletop mountains, with a people as diverse and creative as the landscape. The country’s art scene too is in rude health, one of the most forward thinking on the continent. But South Africa as a place of space, of technology, of the future? It’s not where your mind immediately goes.
Today, the country’s creatives are not remaining stuck in tradition. Take one look at South Africa’s best young artists, especially those in the vibrant city of Johannesburg, and you’ll notice a theme. They’re all following a code, an aesthetic, known as Afrofuturism. It’s an artistic concept which places people of the African diaspora in the future.
But why are South African musicians, writers, and artists looking forward not back? To space not the earth? How did apartheid cause utopian visions of the future? What links ancient African mythology with Black Panther? This week on Passport, we’re headed to Johannesburg to meet the South African afrofuturists to find out.
For more, including links to the things we talked about, and the places we visited, plus a full transcript, visit: https://www.frequencymachine.com/passport)
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