Lilanga, George (1934–2005)
George Lilanga was a contemporary Tanzanian artist best known for his colorful paintings and sculptures of mashetani, or devils in Kiswahili, and transforming a Makonde…
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Beier, Georgina (1938--)
Georgina Beier, née Betts, was born in London in 1938. At age sixteen she enrolled in the Kingston Art School; however, she dropped out after…
Butler, Frederick Guy (1918–2001)
Guy Butler, poet, playwright, director, historian, autobiographer, essayist, academic and public intellectual, was born and raised in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. He began…
Bruce Onobrakpeya (1932--)
Printmaker, sculptor, painter and inventor of new techniques, Bruce Onobrakpeya was one of the major figures to emerge from the Zaria Arts Society in Nigeria…
Nnaggenda, Francis (1936--)
From an early age, Francis Nnaggenda knew he wanted to be an artist. Born in 1936, Nnaggenda was raised in rural Uganda where he became…
Mede, Cuthy (1949--)
Born in Zimbabwe in 1949 to Malawian parents, Cuthbert (Cuthy) Mede grew up on Likoma Island, Lake Malawi. Internationally, Mede is considered the most well…
Enwonwu, Ben C. (1917–1994)
Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu was a pioneer African modernist and the first African transnational artist to gain global visibility, having had his art exhibited in Europe,…
Casablanca School
The École des Beaux-Arts of Casablanca was founded in 1950 by the French, during the protectorate era in Morocco (1912–1956). It has stayed open constantly…
Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove
The Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove is part of the story of Nigerian Modernism. Situated on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo in Southwest Nigeria,…
Okundaye, Nike (1951--)
Chief (Mrs.) Oyenike Monica Okundaye, better known as Nike, is a painter and textile artist who has had a profound impact on the preservation and…
Groupe Bogolan Kasobané
The Groupe Bogolan Kasobané is an association of six artists from Mali, West Africa: Kandioura Coulibaly, Klètigui Dembélé, Boubacar Doumbia, Souleymane Goro, Baba Fallo Keita,…
African Hip-Hop
There are several features that distinguish African Hip-Hop music from the genre’s American origins. Principal targets of its social critique such as disenfranchisement and social…
Afrocubanismo in Music
Afrocubanismo was an esthetic trend in art music during the first half of the twentieth century focusing on African cultural features in Cuban society. The…
Afrocubanismo
Afrocubanismo constitutes an ideological shift in the valuation of Afro-Cuban forms of cultural expression and their acceptance on a national scale. From about 1927 through…
Millin, Sarah Gertrude (1888–1968)
Born of Lithuanian Jewish parentage, author Sarah Gertrude Millin grew up amongst the diamond diggings in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Beginning with…
Brutus, Dennis (1924–2009)
Dennis Brutus was an author born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). He was raised in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He was classified as a…
Ben Abdallah, Jellal (1921--)
Jellal Ben Abdallah is a Tunisian artist and illustrator based in Sidi Bou Saïd. He studied at the Lycée Carnot in Tunis. His early drawings…
Okeke, Uche (1933--)
Born as Christopher Uchefuna Okeke in Anambra State, Nigeria in 1933, Uche Okeke is a founding father of Nigerian Modern Art. As one of the…
Samb, Mamadou Pape (1951–2014)
Mamadou Pape Samb, better known as Papisto Boy, was a Senegalese street artist celebrated locally and internationally. He moved to Dakar as an orphan of…
Nwoko, Demas (1935--)
Across the spectrum of fine art and design, Demas Nwanna Nwoko has made his mark as a central contributor to a neo-traditionalist philosophy at the…
Kumalo, Sydney (1935–1988)
Sydney Kumalo (1935–1988) was an important early black modernist working primarily in cast metal sculpture and drawing. As an artist and educator, Kumalo’s contributions were…
Acogny, Germaine (1944--)
In a career that has spanned over forty years, Germaine Acogny has contributed to modernism in dance by merging culturally situated West African dances from…
Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian movement practice that has been categorized as national sport, folklore, martial art, and dance. Although capoeira has been considered a game…
Van Wyk, Christopher (1957–2014)
Born in Baragwanath, Soweto, Chris van Wyk proved an influential figure on the South African literary scene. Associated with the Black Consciousness movement, his volume…
Ngwenya, Malangatana (1936–2011)
Malangatana Ngwenya was born in 1936 in Matalana, in what was then the Portuguese colony of Mozambique. He is Mozambique’s most important artist and one…