By
Jonathan Shia

AFRIPEDIA LAUNCH EVENT

Most of the news coming out of Africa depicts a continent riven with troubles—civil war, disease, poverty, terrorism—but even in the face of these difficulties, there is much to be optimistic about, including a burgeoning cultural scene that reflects vast diversity and creativity a world apart from the traditional capitals of Europe and America. Africa’s innovative, original creators are the focus for Senay Berhe and Teddy Goitom, the founders of Afripedia, a new platform meant to build a network for the continent’s creative talents—from musicians and artists to filmmakers and trick bikers—to expand their reach both within Africa and throughout the wider world at large.

Berhe and Goitom started last year with a series of five short documentaries, focusing on the creative scenes in Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, and Angola, two of which will be screened as part of Afripedia’s launch event at National Sawdust in Brooklyn tomorrow evening. The Kenya screening will be followed by a performance by featured musician Blinky Bill, while the Ghana episode will lead into a set from Accra’s Jojo Abot. “After our series, we decided that we wanted to expand the films by actually creating a platform so people can get to know more about other talent that is out there,” explains Goitom. “Today, it’s scattered everywhere and there’s very little information on what’s going on in contemporary culture, or there’s a lot of information but people don’t know where to find it, so we decided to start sharing our network and let the network share their contacts and build this talent database.”

For more information, please visit Afripedia.com. Tickets for tomorrow’s launch event are available here.

By
Jonathan Shia
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