I’m thrilled to read a piece about Zambia that isn’t on politics or its usual variations — economic development, self-help advice, business schemes, or big-name biographies. When politics does appear here, it serves to enrich the piece, adding flavor rather than being the through line.
This is the kind of writing I want to read more of about Zambia. I found the prose engrossing, and it covers ideas we should be spending more time reading, thinking about, and discussing. Ali A. Mazrui once spoke of a "triple heritage" in his excellent TV series The Africans — African roots, Western influence, and Islamic tradition. Unlike Mazrui’s East Africa, Zambia is shaped primarily by the first two. Ours is more a dual heritage, and your piece explores it with grace, insight and sensitivity.
I think these are the kind of ideas foundational to a culture that we should spend more time consuming and thinking about in Zambia. All the other wonderful things — building a country we can be proud of and that others can look to with respect — flow from a shared cultural identity. One we believe in, protect, and thoughtfully adapt. That work begins with curating our history, understanding it, and allowing it to guide how we move forward as a nation.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and engage with the piece—your words are incredibly generous. It's been such a pleasure to encounter how rich and powerful our history is, and I hope to keep sharing more of it. I hope you get the chance to see the exhibition in Lusaka; it's such an important and inspiring space to have in the city.
My previous article on the Lawrence Chikwa exhibition has similar themes and is also on the work of a Zambian (conceptual) artist. I enjoyed learning about how his practice over the years has evolved and seeing the work through his eyes within the wider conversation he hopes to spark with his work. https://artgallivant.substack.com/p/lawrence-chikwa?r=1jp2dp
I’m thrilled to read a piece about Zambia that isn’t on politics or its usual variations — economic development, self-help advice, business schemes, or big-name biographies. When politics does appear here, it serves to enrich the piece, adding flavor rather than being the through line.
This is the kind of writing I want to read more of about Zambia. I found the prose engrossing, and it covers ideas we should be spending more time reading, thinking about, and discussing. Ali A. Mazrui once spoke of a "triple heritage" in his excellent TV series The Africans — African roots, Western influence, and Islamic tradition. Unlike Mazrui’s East Africa, Zambia is shaped primarily by the first two. Ours is more a dual heritage, and your piece explores it with grace, insight and sensitivity.
I think these are the kind of ideas foundational to a culture that we should spend more time consuming and thinking about in Zambia. All the other wonderful things — building a country we can be proud of and that others can look to with respect — flow from a shared cultural identity. One we believe in, protect, and thoughtfully adapt. That work begins with curating our history, understanding it, and allowing it to guide how we move forward as a nation.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and engage with the piece—your words are incredibly generous. It's been such a pleasure to encounter how rich and powerful our history is, and I hope to keep sharing more of it. I hope you get the chance to see the exhibition in Lusaka; it's such an important and inspiring space to have in the city.
My previous article on the Lawrence Chikwa exhibition has similar themes and is also on the work of a Zambian (conceptual) artist. I enjoyed learning about how his practice over the years has evolved and seeing the work through his eyes within the wider conversation he hopes to spark with his work. https://artgallivant.substack.com/p/lawrence-chikwa?r=1jp2dp