Access this edition of our newsletter here.
It includes this message from Dr Kate Cowcher.
Welcome to the sixth ASAHH Newsletter. There are lot of exciting events and calls for the next month, all flagged below – from an Mbira music workshop to an Amazigh arts event. At St Andrews, we’re hosting Prof Antawan Byrd (Northwestern University) next Monday, who is making a short stop in Scotland ahead of travelling down to London to install Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Pan-Africa. The latter exhibition was critically acclaimed during its run in Chicago, and it will be wonderful to hear how the exhibition has been reconceived for its UK debut. Antawan’s talk is in person in St Andrews, however if any ASAHH Network members would like to join the lecture virtually vis MS Teams please do email [email protected] and we will share a link with you.
This month’s image is a print in the uMabatha series by South African master printmaker, Lucky Sibiya, made in response to the 1970 epic play of the same name (also known as the “Zulu Macbeth”) by Welcome Msomi. This print, Sangomas, depicts healers in the midst of a ceremony, and in Msomi’s play, these are the Zulu equivalent to the prophetic witches in Macbeth. The uMabatha print series are currently showcased in a new exhibition at the University of Pretoria, Hidden in Plain Sight: The Art, Legacy and Science of Lucky Sibiya, which runs until February 2027. This particular version of Sangomas, however, lives here in Scotland, in the Argyll Collection, and we are planning a conversation around this work, connections between Scotland and South Africa, and the significance of the Zulu Macbeth series later this year. This will provide an opportunity to build connections with colleagues in South Africa around printmaking, story-telling and the educational potential of Sibiya’s work. Watch this space!
Our next ASAHH Network Forum will feature some work of ECR members, Kendra Lyimo and Andre Ntagwabira. We hope you will join us for collegial conversation and to support our ECR colleages. Please also note below the special event we are hosting for Dr John Giblin, one of the founders of ASAHH Network, who will be departing Scotland for exciting new opportunities in Wales later this summer. John will be sharing some reflections on his time at NMS, and specifically his work with the Africa collections, with us on June 25th – this will be in person at St Andrews, with options to join remotely via MS Teams if you are able.
As always, be in touch with any research updates or calls for papers – we are happy to circulate with the network.
Very best wishes,
Dr Kate Cowcher, University of St Andrews
Image: Lucky Sibiya, Sangomas, wood cut, 1975.