Recently launched by the Goethe Institute, The House of African Feminisms (HoAF) is a platform for feminist discourse, resources and enlightenment. The project aims at highlighting the works of various African feminist scholars, artists and thinkers around the world as well as providing a resource on African feminisms. To mark the launch, the HoAF invited…
What liberating effects does writing have?
I spoke to the Institute of Arts and Ideas about the below key themes in Sensuous Knowledge. What is sensuous knowledge compared to euro-patriarchal knowledge? How can black feminism provide a critique of euro-patriarchal knowledge? How is joy inherently political for black women, and how does it arise? Can euro-patriarchal knowledge be changed within the…
The question of blackness in writing
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…
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.
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…
African cultural symposium and black radicalism events in London
I have a few events coming up in London, which I wanted to let you know about. I’m pretty excited about these because although I have spoken at many platforms this year including a series of talks about gender equality in Bermuda, and keynotes about women, feminism and inclusion in Lagos and Brussels, as well…
The invisibility of poverty in Black Panther’s Wakanda, and why it matters
This article contains spoilers, so proceed at your own risk! Since you are still reading, I assume that you have watched Black Panther and I can therefore share some of my thoughts with you. Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the film a lot – I especially loved the storytelling, the acting, the…
A book about beauty, power, gender, globalisation, science and sexuality that is rooted in black feminism…
A book about beauty, power, gender, globalisation, science and sexuality that is rooted in black and African feminism… Does that sound like a book you would like to read? Because I am so excited to share the news that I am writing precisely such a book! It is titled Sensuous Knowledge: A Radical Black Feminist…
Human auctions in Libya and the patriarchal, imperialist system that enables them
Last week a CNN report containing footage of African migrants being sold in human auctions in Libya was published. In the footage, we see young men being sold to buyers for about at $400 to undisclosed buyers. Here are the videos: I have been terribly busy and unable to blog in a few weeks but I could…
We should distinguish between globalisation and Patriarchal Imperialist Expansion (PIE)
Globalisation is an especially hot topic at the moment. After the election of Donald Trump, Brexit, and the rise of ultra-right parties in Europe, it is particularly popular to speak of globalisation’s demise. For example, the Financial Times recently published an article titled “Globalisation in retreat”, the Guardian published “Globalisation: the rise and fall of…