How do contemporary African artists, curators and writers deal with the question of blackness in our work? How does blackness inform the creative process? I’m really looking forward to sharing these discussions in an event titled “Blackness in Contemporary Art Practice” taking place online at the Tate Modern on Tuesday, 2 June. Join us as…
A Black Feminist Approach to Life
I had a fun book event at Columbia University last week titled “A Black Feminist Approach to Life” where I spoke to the lovely Abigail Ony Nwaohuocha about Sensuous Knowledge and SO much more. You can catch the talk on Vimeo or watch it below.
Without feeling, knowledge becomes stale. Without reason, it becomes indelicate.
I grew up in Lagos in Nigeria, in a multifaith household, where I lived with my parents and my extended family. Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city, drawing in many different ethnicities of Nigeria, but also from Africa and around the world. My mother was Finnish, and my father is Nigerian Yoruba. He is a…
What I’m reading now
I am drawn to books that are imaginative, playful, and passionate. I am drawn to books that are insightful and eye-opening. I am drawn to books that remind me why I love words and writing, but also why I love reinventing and fighting. I am drawn to books that don’t only stimulate the mind, but…
MsAfropolitan curates “Oya’s Daughters: Connecting Black African Feminisms Around the World”
I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the Africa Centre in New York on an event titled Oya’s Daughters: Connecting Black African Feminisms Around the World. Although there are many important Black feminists conversations taking place in Africa, in the UK, in the US, in Latin America and the Caribbean, I have long craved more cross-regional…
De-centring whiteness in black liberation
Most eras end imperceptibly – and most eras also end abruptly. It may seem a contradiction that social change is both barely noticeable and drastic, but history teaches us that this frequently is the case. All of a sudden there is a shift, and long-held cultural symbols, social patterns, or value systems are no longer…
Reflections of desire in lockdown
A friend called me the other day overstrung. She was worried because I’m alone in lockdown. I’m concerned and acclimatising to the new normal but I’m otherwise well, I assured her. It had not occurred to me that being alone during the lockdown was a worry in itself. Aloneness is never a problem for me…
Sensuous Knowledge audiobook narrated by Robin Miles
I’m thrilled to share that actor Robin Miles is the narrator of Sensuous Knowledge. Robin is a multiple-award-winning, grammy finalist whose impressive list of book performances include N.K. Jemisin’s “Broken Earth” trilogy, Aminatta Forna’s “Happiness”, Chimamanda Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun”, several bell hooks books, Maaza Mengiste’s “The Shadow King” and Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti”….
Sensuous Knowledge – launching a book in a pandemic
It is almost exactly one week since the World Health organisation declared a coronavirus pandemic. It’s as though we are living in a World War. This feeling hit me strongly when Nigeria closed its borders to UK flights, which was well overdue, but nevertheless left me with a piercing sense of estrangement. Certainly, these are…
Blackness as a character in Queen & Slim
Steamy sex and clashing protests. Is the overlapping of a sex scene and a protest scene halfway through Melina Matsoukas’s film Queen & Slim morally correct? Unimpressed reviewers don’t seem to think so. The connecting thread in critical pieces about the movie, some deeply engaging, is the view that juxtaposing these two particular scenes was…
Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone – Cover Reveal
In Sensuous Knowledge, Minna Salami draws on Africa-centric, feminist-first and artistic traditions to help us rediscover inclusive and invigorating ways of experiencing the world afresh.
Reclaiming Eros in patriarchy
I recently did an interview with the Demented Goddess magazine, a polysexual and multi-ethnic magazine dedicated to the untamed feminine. The feature is titled Unspeakable Joy – an erotic conversation with Minna Salami and I’m reposting it below. It is sort of part II to one of the most popular posts on Ms Afropolitan titled,…
Stereotypical portrayals of African women in the media
My TEDx Talk has become a book! It’s only available in Spanish for now with a foreword by Raquel Lainde. As I revisited the talk, it occurred to me that I’ve not published it here on the blog by which it is inspired. The talk conceptualised three key stereotypical and limiting representations of African women…
Why I’m hosting a new philosophy book club at Waterstones
In March 2015, I wrote an article for the Guardian titled “Philosophy has to be about more than white men” in which I argued that the white-western-male bias in philosophical studies in the UK was detrimental to the study of philosophy, which should investigate all human experience. “We should not dismiss white, western, or male…
Blue is a feminine colour in Africa
“Blue is a Feminine Color in Africa” From the myth of the goddess Asi of Liberia to women’s ritualistic use of the blue gemstone Lapis Lazuli in Kemet (Ancient Egypt) and the indigo blue Adire of Yorubaland, many historical African representations of the color blue as a powerful color are linked to the female sex….
The story behind African feminism posts rooted in critical theory, philosophy and mythology
A few weeks ago, I had a phone conversation with the founder of Òrò Àníké, an invigorating space dedicated to exploring pre-colonial African history in a holistic way. We spoke about Lagos life, feminine ancestry, Oyalogy, gender binaries, philosophy, Kemet, African feminist lineage, Afropolitanism.., all my favourite topics in other words. I really enjoyed the…
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