THE BRIGHT CONTINENT

thebrightc.com

Greetings, Afrika Moja family. Allow me to introduce our partner the Bright Continent! The Bright Continent is an organization dedicated to amplifying African voices and broadcast them on a global scale. They work with African artists, writers and photographers to give the inside scoop on Africa. To give you a feel for the Bright Continent we spoke to some of the people behind it, whose contributions help make it what it is.We interviewed Daaf Borren (the founder of the magazine), Sehin Tewabe (a photographer) and Miguel Kilezi (a photographer). Through their stories the spirit of the Bright Continent shines through, and perhaps you will understand why we’re so excited to be partnering with them.

Daaf Borren

Daaf grew up in the Netherlands, and as a wee person he wanted to help people and do good. Growing up, all he knew of Africa was that that was where people needed the most help, which brings us to an integral part of the story: the stereotypical portrayal of Africa as a monolith of suffering. This stereotype has roots in colonialism, with the colonial powers painting Africans as unable to improve themselves (to European standards), an image that has prevailed to this day. The more current iteration of the idea is Africa in need of patronage from the developed Western world. This was the Africa that Daaf was at first familiar with, but then he went to university. And from university he came to Africa. And the more he learned the more he saw that Africa was more than the stories that had been told about her for decades. As he points out, although every other part of the world has problems too, only Africa seems to be defined by its challenges. Daaf thinks of himself not as the one to tell the world about Africa but as a conduit for African stories to reach the rest of the world. He says, “I hope not to show the world my vision of Africa but let my African peers tell their side of the story,”. 

Sehin Tewabe

Sehin is Ethiopian and lives in Addis Ababa. As a photographer, she uses her work to showcase the beauty of Ethiopia. She photographs people at their most mundane: waiting at a bus stop, or walking down the street. Her photos are beautiful, and they feel universal in a way that makes one feel that at the core we are all just the same. Sehin would define herself as an African photographer; she is African, her photos are of Africa and she  believes it is her duty to show the world Africa as she sees it to combat the stereotypes. The path is not easy. NGOs and media organisations trying to engage with Africa often hire foreigners to write African stories, something that Daaf has also seen over his years of journalism. Nevertheless, one can’t help but feel that there is hope. African artists are gaining ground on their home turf. Sehin tells me that despite it being common for family albums to grace living rooms, people are nevertheless wary of photography as an artistic medium. But people are more accepting now than they were before. Sehin says the ‘seniors’ (older photographers) had a tougher time than she did. And she hopes that she will have had it tougher than the next generation. So it goes.

Miguel Kilezi

Miguel calls Lobito, Angola, home. He’s been taking photographs for about 2 years now with his pictures documenting the experiences of people in the places where he has lived. Growing up in Lobito, there weren’t any photographers to keep people’s memories alive. Armed with his camera, he returned to Lobito to preserve snapshots of his people’s lives and culture. He says that taking pictures of the children who play in Lobito’s streets today he feels like retroactively documenting his own childhood when he played the same games in the same streets. Despite his preference for Lobito, Miguel is a traveller and his photos capture the spirit of wherever he happens to be. Through his photography Miguel aims to show the world that although Angola has it's problems, happiness and light and joy blossom everywhere.

Art has the power to change the world. It sounds dramatic but it’s true. Anataban, an organization founded by South Sudanese artists, is using art to navigate delicate social issues. In Ethiopia, photographers’ continued creation of art and artistic spaces has helped make society more open to creativity and expression in its youth. Miguel, by engaging with and being inspired from other African photographers, has learned about the stories of other parts of the continent. Beyond Africa art on Africa by Africans is revealing what is often overlooked by foreigners; the diversity and complexity of the continent. Through our partnership with the Bright Continent we hope to get closer and closer to the day Africa will retake her own narrative.