What does it mean to forgive? A play asks, 30 years after the TRC
Drawing from archives and lived experience, the international production probes the emotional and political complexities of reconciliation in a fractured world
History
Sue Williamson’s retrospective: Art as witness to history
Her work confronts South Africa’s past, blending art, activism and memory
Joburg libraries are a place where books go to die
The closure of the city’s biggest library is a loss to the public, and some of the other libraries are also battling to keep the culture of books alive
The long and short of a 50-year artistic career
Sue Williamson’s new show opens in Joburg and a retrospective is coming soon
Marcus de Jong: The legacy of a bookshop pioneer and champion of progressive thought
From banned books to political activism, Marcus de Jong’s life was a testament to the power of ideas and the human spirit
Pop the cork to 364 years of South African wine
South African wine celebrates winemaking mastery
A war has raged in Great Lakes region for decades and we can no longer ignore
The M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have expanded their attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Africa’s forgotten colony in the Sahara
Rich in resources but largely unrecognised, those in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic eke out a livelihood under harsh conditions.
10 things you probably didn’t know about Notre Dame
As a new film attempts to explain the events of the 2019 blaze that damaged parts of Notre Dame, Bongeka Gumede looks into the building’s history
What is the meaning of heritage on Heritage Day?
With so much attention given to heritage this month, why are South Africans generally not very interested in debates concerning what should be commemorated
Mad Woman: The story of a fearless journalist
Life inside a mental asylum can be pretty mad. But for female journalist Nellie Bly, it’s a reflection of her inner world
Exhibitions in three Johannesburg buildings give historical context to city life
Three buildings in the inner city, now transformed into affordable housing units, commemorate their history
Clare: The terror of the mundane
Christopher Clark’s debut book, Clare: The killing of a gentle activist’ explores the context of the murder of an activist in KwaZulu-Natal
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The West is experiencing a contraction of its power, not necessarily its decline
The war in Ukraine is accelerating its contraction and history shows that irreversible decline often follows
The role of capitalism in the war in Ukraine
Ukraine, per se, is not the issue. It is tragically a war-ravaged pawn in a much larger conflict: the decline of one capitalist empire and the rise of yet another.
Ukraine: A conflict soaked in contradictions
There are wars in Africa and Asia and some are rarely commented on in the media, so why is Ukraine different?
The American political process is disconnected from economic reality
While the Democrats and Republicans use an outdated political playbook, people need protection from the capitalist system itself
Morocco drives a war in Western Sahara for its phosphates
Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara is about the presence of resources, especially phosphates that make up 72% of the world’s reserves. Phosphate is used in fertiliser, a key element in agriculture, giving Morocco a tight grip over world food production.
Xiomara Castro’s win in Honduras could address the country’s endemic corruption and violence
After more than a decade of violent repression and undemocratic rule that emerged after the 2009 ouster of Manuel Zelaya, a new leader takes the reins of the Central American nation
Excavating the role of Africans in the creation of the modern world
Europe would have been a marginal player in world history without the continent’s natural resources and centuries of cheap African labour
Hier kom Lister! On the ‘Comrade Editor’s’ lifelong commitment to activism and journalism
Gwen Lister’s book, ‘Comrade Editor’, weaves together a narrative from the strands of her own life, her journalism, and the wider context of Namibia’s struggle for independence
Review: Mahmood Mamdani on the ‘non-national’ state
Mahmood Mamdani’s latest book, ‘Neither Settler nor Native’ asks a political question: Rights for whom?
Human history on the verge of being wiped out by climate change
Cave drawings dating back more than 45 000 years are slowly eroding as temperatures and humidity fluctuate
An outsider’s perspective of South Africa’s revolutionary democracy
As Freedom Day approaches, an American reflects on how our history has become his too
Maths and physical science pass rates show a decline, even after leaked papers
Home languages have remained steady, with a 90% pass mark, but other critical subjects have declined slightly
The Portfolio: Tshepiso Mazibuko
Photographer Tshepiso Mazibuko says she is an artist at heart, and lets her imagination take control
Niger museum is eclectic national ‘mirror’
It has displays covering art, history, dinosaurs, nuclear energy, craftwork and music as well as live animals, for it is also a zoo
Maaza Mengiste: ‘We are now catching up with the past’
As war drums beat again in Ethiopia, author Maaza Mengiste finds new language to memorialise the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
The Portfolio: Saaiqa
Photographer Saaiqa shares the story of how she captured this picture that reflects both the socioeconomic realities of our country and simple companionship
Black futures in the age of apocalypse
Curating the End of the World deploys Afrofuturism to respond to Covid-19, anti-black violence and capitalism
Reframing women in Namibia’s early history of photography
Women photographers, and black African women photographers in particular, are largely absent from early histories of the medium. This is slowly changing
Omar Badsha: Recording the roles of the ordinary
Saho’s Omar Badsha believes in the power of people telling their own stories, but more funding to support this practice is crucial
