Away from Africa

Please join us for the New York book launch of De La Case A La Villa,  June 26, 2014 from 6 pm to 8 pm. Epee Ellong will present the book in French and in English. There will be wine... and free bookmarks! 529 West 20th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10011 Tel. : (212) 352-8058 https://www.google.com/maps/ place/Skoto+Gallery/@40. 746539,-74.006785,17z/data=! 4m2!3m1!1s0x0: 0xb881f9d37b3cdff1

The Musée Dapper in Paris, located in the Embassy neighborhood in the 16th arrondissement, at 35 rue Paul Valery, is a wonderful hidden gem, mainly known to specialists of art from Africa and its diaspora, including the Caribbean. The difference between the Musée Dapper and many other French museums is that the Musée Dapper is a nonprofit organization, whereas many French museums are run by the French government. In the United States, it is the opposite: most museums are nonprofits/public-private partnerships, including the Smithsonian Institution , which I thought was a Federal institution. Samir Bitar, Director of the Office of Visitor Services , provided explanations on this subject. (however, Smithsonian museums are housed in GSA buildings .) The museum opened in 1986, after the Olfert Dapper Foundation was created in 1983 in Amsterdam by Michel Leveau (1930-2012). Why Olfert Dapper? He had written a “Description of Africa” in 1668, an encyclopedia-style book, where...

Akenataa Hammagaadji, the person behind the online African music radio program, First World Music, was born in Monrovia, Liberia. His mother had immigrated to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and sent for her children when Akenataa was 12 years old. Later they moved to the continental United States. After attending college, he hosted an African music program for 12 years on Columbia University's WKCR station. Nine years ago he started working on his current  show  on WVKR, showcasing musicians from the entire African continent, known and unknown. What keeps him going? There is much negative news out of Africa, and much of it is nor untrue; but his goal is to highlight the positive & beautiful: "Something from our heritage. Melodies, lyrics & instruments that are our own intellectual property." As per his website, among the goals of the radio program is: "to promote African artists to that they can be rewarded for the music (...). We hope that by airing mus...

The book " De La Case A La Villa " is a reality... and will be presented at the Paris Salon du Livre on March 22, 2014, at 6pm, along with Samuel Mbajum's book:  “Les combattants africains, dits « Tirailleurs Sénégalais » au secours de la France. 1857-1945” about African soldiers pulled into not always voluntary service in European wars. Our publishing house is Riveneuve Editions . Samuel Mbajum is also originally from Cameroon, like Epee Ellong, and we look forward to meeting him!

By Wendy Lee Since I left Cameroon at the end of my Peace Corps service in 2010, I return to the continent for the first time. At the end of 2010, I did  take a trip to Tunisia , which is technically in Africa. Though this time, nearly 4 years later, I feel like I’ve returned home. I took Qatar Airways & Emirates from Shanghai via Doha, Dubai, and finally to Addis Ababa, Ethiopian’s capital city. If anyone has a chance to fly Qatar or Emirates, do it! These airlines put US operated airlines to total shame. There is a meal for even a 90 min flight. Flight attendants greet you with warm towelettes as you situate into your seat. With the right airline, flying can be luxurious! A good friend of mine from grad school is living and working in Addis, and I took the opportunity to visit. I always prefer to visit a new place that has friends who can play your guide. If for nothing else, that very expensive graduate degree from Columbia/LSE has resulted in a global network of places ...

Twitter is different for different people who use it. For some, it is a pure source of information; they rarely participate in the conversation. For me, Twitter resembles a big cocktail party, where you enter and exit at will, and meet interesting and wonderful people if you make an effort. TMS Ruge One of the people I "tweet-met" is TMS Ruge (@TMSRuge). I had no idea who he was, except that he was from an African country and seemed interesting. I didn't even know what his real name was. In September 2013, I noticed that he appeared to be in New York City to speak at a couple of conferences--so I tweeted to him, and we were able to meet in person for a cup of coffee and some conversation.  Later I sent him a few questions, which he graciously responded to. TMS Ruge--also known as Teddy--was born in Uganda, and raised in Kenya and in the United States. He trained as a communications professional, and works in graphic design, photography and social media consulting. ...

My Twitter friend Yemmi Agbebi, originally from Nigeria and a long-time resident of the United Kingdom, recently founded a new company, Telegramwire. Below is the company's press release (with British spelling, of course!).  London, England - BBC Inspired News Broadcast, Inspires Telegramwire, A Worldwide Telegram Messaging Service And "Greeting Card Killer" which Launched December 16, 2013. A BBC News broadcast of the closure by India of it's 160 year old #Telegram service, was the inspiration behind a new Berkshire dot-com and start-up, #Telegramwire, which is based along UK's M4 Berkshire Corridor. #Telegramwire is a Worldwide, cloud based, Letter Telegram service, which gives control back to customers, to create and send, original and thoughtful contents in the form of telegram cards to friends, families and loved ones. Telegramwire's Letter Telegrams, are suitable for celebrating a range of special and exciting moments including birthdays, christe...