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❶ The Team
❷ Contributors
❸ Partners
❹ How To Get Involved?
Our Contributors
Writers
Adeline Chum is the Assistant Director of the Center for Spatial Research at Columbia University, where she leads multiple research projects, including the mapping of migration across African cities.
Afra Foli is an urban geographer currently affiliated with the University of Amsterdam who has published on how infrastructure mediates political authority.
Barbara Bompani’s work focuses on the intersection between religion, politics and development in Africa. She is a Reader in Africa and International Development at the Centre of African Studies (CAS) at the University of Edinburgh and a Research Associate at the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Brittany Birberick is a trained sociocultural anthropologist, a writer, and a lecturer at University of California San Diego. Her research is positioned at the intersection of anthropology, the study of racial capitalism, histories of urban planning, and visual studies.
Carina Tenewaa Kanbi, an ARUA Fellow and Mobility Governance Researcher, she's pursuing a PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand, studying the lifeworlds and mobility of West African creatives in Accra and Lagos. She co-founded Aya Editions and Edan and is active in the Where Are the Womxn Collective based ib Accra.
Caroline Wanjiku Kihato is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of International Development (ODID) at Oxford University and a Research Associate at the African Centre for Migration in Society (ACMS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She is the founder of Frame45, which uses storytelling to connect research and social justice.
Elizabeth Iams Wellman is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. Her research explores how international migration is reshaping electoral politics and citizenship practices, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa
Heather Mason is an American writer, photographer, and blogger based in Johannesburg. She runs a travel blog 2summers.net, which is focused on storytelling about South Africa. She is also a communications consultant for Khulisa Management Services.
Helidah Ogude-Chambert is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersection of migration/mobility studies, decolonial feminist thought, discourse, visuality, affect studies, and race-critical theories. She is a Departmental Lecturer at Oxford University.
Huda Tayob is a South African architect, architectural historian, and theorist. Her research focuses on minor, migrant and subaltern architectures.
Jeffrey W. Paller is an Associate Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco and a Researcher in the Department of Government at Uppsala University in Sweden. His research examines civic engagement, democratic accountability, and sustainable development in African cities.
Kabiri Bule is a Researcher at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Her research interests include spatial analysis and mapping, geospatial data science, and using these technologies to understand diverse African urban communities.
Kuukuwa Manful is an architect and researcher who creates, studies, teaches, and documents the history, theories, and the politics of architecture in Africa. She is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan.
Loren B Landau is a Professor of Migration and Development at the University of Oxford and a Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS). His interdisciplinary scholarship explores knowledge generation, mobility, and the transformation of socio-political community across the Global South.
Margarida Waco is an architect whose practice mobilizes architecture, ecology, and politics. She is an Associate Lecturer and MA Studio Lead at the Royal College of Art in the U.K. and an Editorial Advisor to The Funambulist.
Mwangi Mwaura is an MSc student in the Geography and the Environment Department at the University of Oxford. His interests are in southern urbanism, decolonial knowledge production, and urban infrastructures.
Isaac Mwaura is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh's MSc Africa and International Development programme. Based in Nairobi, Isaac is a researcher and community organiser interested in African queer, geographies, and livability.
Tracy Haggai is a Research Specialist with the Mixed Migration Centre Eastern and Southern Africa, Egypt, and Yemen. She is based in Nairobi.
Neo Sinoxolo Musangi is a queer feminist living in Olkejuado, Kenya who works in art and academia. They are a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Art, Design and Social Research (CAD+SR) in Boston, Massachusetts, a founding member of the Black Planetary Futures Collective, and teacher of Gender and Sexuality Studies at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York and American University in Washington, DC.
Nicole Stremlau is Head of the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and a Research Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Johannesburg.
Ragi Bashonga is a storytelling academic and lover of poetry. Her interests are in identities, migration, gender, and ways of knowing. She is a Lecturer in the University of Johannesburg’s Sociology Department.
Thomas Asher is a researcher of urban politics and design, working on sites ranging from Mumbai to New York City and Nairobi. He recently served in the Biden Administration, leading a government process to amplify community engagement in policymaking.
Wangui Kimari is an urban anthropologist based in Nairobi and an Editorial Board Member of Africa is a Country. Her work draws on local histories and interdisciplinary theoretical approaches to urban spatial management.
Will Cao was a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center of Spatial Research while completing an MArch and MS in Urban Planning from Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University in New York City. He has worked as an analyst and designer for public realm, transportation, and education projects on the East Coast of the US and internationally.
Artist Bios
Accra
Alice Raymond’s works interpret the processes of observation and adaptation to a place, opening a dialogue on the relationships between art and society.
Angelina Hori recently completed the Graduate Diploma Programme in Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Her work involves re-contextualising colonial artefacts for local relevance and exploring the impact of their legacy on societies and individuals
Billie McTernan is an artist and writer whose work considers ways of spilling over the confines of what is generally considered to be writing; both as a process and as a discrete thing in and of itself.
ASK is a documentary lifestyle and creative director who takes pride in documenting daily life in Africa. Her work celebrates people and communities, which resonates globally.
Clifford Assiama Bright-Abu is a Ghanaian contemporary artist who lives and works in Accra. His artistic practice of reimagined renditions of ancient African architectural wonders, buildings, and culture stems from his background in Building Technology.
Nana Danso is a Ghanaian artist who is currently based in Accra. Nana’s art explores non-binary characters depicted in a faux naïve style, symbolizing the spirits and unseen forces that shape our world.
SEANOKKAI. is a street and documentary photographer born and raised in Melbourne, to an Australian mother and a Ghanaian father. Driven by a desire to increase visibility, highlight intersectionality and offer alternative representations of the people and cultures of Ghana, his work captures the essence of a complex and vibrant community.
Dela Anyah delves into the history and decay of discarded objects found in vulcaniser and vehicle repair shops, exploring themes of rebirth and identity through sculpture, installations, photography, painting, and film.
Joburg
Amy-Leigh Braaf, a South African artist, explores self-discovery and the complexities of love through her art, drawing from the nation's biodiversity.
Anastasia Pather’s work has been included in several collections, including the Spier Arts Trust and SA Art Bank, as well as solo exhibitions.
Boitumelo Motau, a multidisciplinary artist, lives and works in Johannesburg. His practice incorporates installation, drawing, and photography as tools to navigate and explore interests in subjective histories and collective memory.
Bongiwe Phakathi is a South African photographer and artist whose work explores themes of space and place, spatial navigation and organization, community, identity and belonging, and the human experience.
Candice Kramer’s body of work references people, historic family photos and antiquated maps within Johannesburg’s inner city. She is intrigued by the transience of being while buildings and cityscape last forever.
Dumisani Jere, known as Devolutionery, uses an illustration process that returns to the essence of space and time from his adolescence. His work is a culmination of introspection, cultural exploration, and a deep connection to the ever-evolving human experience.
Lebo Thoka is a South African-based visual artist. Through the mediums of textile (burlap and wool) and photography, Lebo’s work is influenced by feminist politics, African spirituality, and the human experience in relation to the self and one’s environment.
Wezile is a visual art practitioner whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses performance, video, installation, and mixed media as a tool for social change. His work confronts prejudices, advocates against social inequality, and creates a platform for critical self-reflexivity within unwelcoming spaces
Nairobi
Austine Adika is a visual artist based in Nairobi. His practice is primarily in sculpting and installations that use readily available materials to narrate different tales of the city.
Daniel Muchina is a film and video artist in Nairobi. He's the Co-founder and Director at Monsoons Studio, an independent film production company. Muchina is also the Artistic Director, Researcher, and Writer for Art & Science Films Afrika (ASFA), which investigates ritual practices in prehistoric Africa and art’s role in informing them.
Manjahi Njoroge is an interdisciplinary artist from Kenya with a creative core forged in photography. His creations not only act as portals for self-discovery but also invite viewers to explore new perspectives and reflections alongside him.
Onyis Martin, who lives Nairobi, works primarily between ink drawings, sculptures, video, and mixed media paintings, He engages with migration, exploring social political issues such as human trafficking, gender, race, collective memory, and institutional corruption.
Peterson Kamwathi explores physical presence, modes of behavior, embedded symbolisms, and latent meanings that are present in, and can be deduced from, human groupings, social customs and collective political/religious patterns.
Sebawali Sio’s is a Kenyan painter, sculptor, and printmaker based in Taita Taveta and Nairobi. Working in a naturalistic and self-expressionist manner, she employs visual symbolism, exploring different techniques, ideas, and materials to gain a better understanding of herself and the environment around her.Sio's recent artwork is inspired by nature and its movements, particularly water, the physarum polycephalum, and the Fibonacci sequence.
Wallace Juma’s work has been shown in exhibitions in Kenya, Nigeria, Germany, Belgium, the US, and Australia and features in numerous private collections and art publications. He’s currently a participant in the Sasa Nairobi Artist Fellowship at the Goethe-Institut.
Bosibori, a visionary artist, breathes life into her creations through a vibrant palette and storytelling. Inspired by African folklore, she infuses her work with the magic and wonder of Afritales, transporting viewers to enchanting realms where myths and reality entwine.
HOF Collective