Glocal Citizens - Episodes Tagged with “Artist”

Episode 312: World Making Art, Science and Practice with San’aa Njeeri

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

This week our Women’s Herstory Month series takes us back to Kenya--to a place called Area Nyaga. Our guide is futurist, artist, and creative synthesist reimagining African futures, San’aa Njeeri. Distilling over a decade of global interdisciplinary practice, she positions art as a tool for education, translating complex ideas into accessible experiences that advance African storytelling while progressing digital ecosystems and financial literacy within the context of emerging technologies.

Through Area Nyaga, her world building framework informed by the Maasci Return saga and her seminal MaaSci series, she situates Indigenous African identities within expansive futuristic landscapes through her signature visual language, A.EYE (African Eye). Working across speculative art, immersive environments, and narrative design, she develops cultural and digital infrastructures that expand how futures can be imagined, understood, and built.

Her work is guided by a defining inquiry: What becomes possible when cultural heritage informs the futures we shape and the narratives we carry forward? In this conversation we explore this question and find ourselves in depth with San’aa getting to know more about how from childhood, her Kenya has grounded the mission and vision that focus her world, and at times, interstellar view.

Where to find San’aa?
On LinkedIn
In Instagram
On Substack

What’s San’aa watching?
After Skool

Other topics of interest:
Baraza Media Lab
San People of Southern Africa
About Murang'a, Kenya
Kiambu County
Where is Kirinyaga?
Mount Kenya and Batian Peak
Other Futures Festival
Who is Blinky Bill?
Black Rhino Studios
Old Town Lamu
About my broadcast debut on the Super Six School News

Special Guest: San'aa Njeeri.

Episode 276: On Visual Storytelling as a Language for Activism with Michael Soi

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings from East Africa Glocal Citizens!

Well, kind of…this conversation was recorded last weekend from Nairobi on the eve of Father’s Day and a day after the opening of my guest, Michael Soi’s current group exhibition, The Print Press, an exhibit of woodcut prints by various Nairobi based artist at the Alliance Française de Nairobi 13th - 29th of June. I met Michael in his studio at The Go Down Art Centre when I first visited Kenya in February and after an inspired conversation I wanted to be sure to share his story here. As you’ll hear, he has been working in Nairobi since 1995 after completion of his fine art and art history studies. His distinctive work is inspired by contemporary life in Nairobi providing a photographic diary of Nairobi. It is also a satirical commentary of social, economic and political trends. His work explores relationships – intergenerational, interracial or generally what he calls the economics of love, commercial sex work and popular culture within the context of globalization and consumerism. A wonderful aspect of Michael’s visual storytelling craft is that he’s figured out the hacks that make his art accessible on many levels from the curious observer to the serious collector. Listen and learn more!

Where to find Michael?
On Artsy
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Michael watching?
About Planetary Parades or Syzygy

Other topics of interest:
About Machakos, Kenya
About Ancent Soi and the 1972 Munich Olympics
About the Kuona Trust Residencies
National Museums of Kenya
About Kenya’s second President Daniel arap Moi

Special Guest: Michael Soi.

Episode 227: The Artist and the Designer with Elike Nkansa Part 2

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

I met Elike Kofi Nkansa, a multifaceted creative with a background in literature and art with a keen interest in fine detailng, one afternoon at a place called the Green Butterfly Market in Accra. He was seated in front of a beautiful portrait tapestry which I eventually purchased after visiting his flagship boutique and seeing a sampling of his portfolio. He trained as an architect and is the designer for his fashion brand, Elike Clothing which has become a household name, particularly in Ghana, and he has clothed many eminent personalites. He is currently costumier for three-time Grammy nominated artiste Rocky Dawuni.
Elike was selected amongst 14 other garment manufacturers in Ghana to spearhead an effort in mass production under AGOA--African Growth and Opportunities Act, through which his enterprise gained the requisite training to engage in mass apparel and textile production. His brand is minimalist afrocentric and heavily inclined in technically and functionally artistic design.
He mentors young artisans in the fashion industry helping to release fresh creativity into the fashion space. Through his art he hopes to forge closer bonds of peace and kinship between peoples wilst empowering women and youth.

Where to find Elike?
www.elikeclothing.com
On Facebook
What’s Elike reading?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Works by Robert Greene

What’s Elike watching?
Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner
Kramer vs. Kramer

Other topics of interest:
Leklebi Dafor
Coffee and Togo
About the game Chaskele
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana Institute of Architects
About technical pens
About the Peugot 504
About Ricci Osei and son, Reggie Rockstone
About UT Bank’s Kofi Amoabeng
William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper
About Ambassador D.K Osei

Special Guest: Elike Nkansa.

Episode 226: The Artist and the Designer with Elike Nkansa Part 1

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

Where to find Elike?
www.elikeclothing.com
On Facebook
What’s Elike reading?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Works by Robert Greene

What’s Elike watching?
Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner
Kramer vs. Kramer

Special Guest: Elike Nkansa.

Episode 163: Black History, Black Presence, Black Progress with Dr. T.J Desch-Obi, Dr. Bhekinkosi Moyo, Bara Diokhane, Mustapha Njie, and Elizabeth Rollins-Moskowitz

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

As February comes to a close, and with it the annual call to attention, remembrance, and action that is Black History Month in North America, I decided to curate a Black Progress episode drawing on the research of Dr. T.J Desch-Obi in the historical ethnography of pre-colonial Africa and the African Diaspora and Dr. Bhekinkosi Moyo in African Philanthropy, snapshots of pre- and post-colonial Senegal with Bara Diokhane, evolving systems and training leaders with Mustapha Njie and the lived experience of Elizabeth Rollins-Moskowitz, as a creative, as a woman, as Black American navigating career, marriage, and self-discovery in parallel with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Each week here on the podcast we’re doing our part to share stories of Black presence that are indeed manifesting a new world so I hope this compilation of Dynamic Diasporans making local and global impact will inspire you, your presence, your progress, and your passion.

Where to find this week's guests?
Dr. T.J Desch-Obi
Bara Diokhane
Dr. Bhekinkosi Moyo
Mustapha Njie
Elizabeth Rollins-Moskowitz

Cover art:
https://akoncity.com/

Special Guests: Bara Diokhané , Bhekinkosi Moyo, Elizabeth Rollins-Moskowitz, Mustapha Njie, and T.J. Desch-Obi.

Episode 156: On Soft Landings and Star Gazing with Robertson Ahomka-Lindsay Part 2

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 07:00:00 -0500

Holiday greetings Glocal Citizens!
This week on the podcast is the first of a two part conversations with architect, artist and multi-faceted creative, Robertson Ahomka-Lindsay. Until returning back to Ghana in 2020, Robertson spent the majority of his life in the UK where he practiced architecture and explored his many other talents. He is the CEO and founder of Vivarco Studio, a multimedia and architectural design studio specializing in Tropical Modernism embracing eco and sustainable technologies. His interest in tropical modernism embraces the concept of using traditional Ghanaian creative heritage and materials to influence one’s creative approach and execution of design.

After years in the making, in 2019 Ghana emerge as the official return destination, not only for African Diasporans, also for Ghanaians as well. This conversation is a reality check of sorts spotlighting how to manage the start-up and sustaining a life lived in Africa. As 2023 starts, surely this week and next are a great resource for introspection and exploration of what could be for a life abroad.

Where to find Robertson:
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Robertson reading?
Dear Nana: A Letter to My Ancestor by Peter Sarpong
Fear No Man: Living Without Compromise in an Intimidating World by George Reed and David Hunt

Other topics of interest:
Paradigm Network
Clifton College, Bristol UK
Ignatius Acheampong
Nkrumahism
Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana's National Cathedral Project
About Kwesi Kwarteng

Episode 155: On Soft Landings and Star Gazing with Robertson Ahomka-Lindsay Part 1

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 05:30:00 -0500

After years in the making, in 2019 Ghana emerge as the official return destination, not only for African Diasporans, also for Ghanaians as well. This conversation is a reality check of sorts spotlighting how to manage the start-up and sustaining a life lived in Africa. As 2023 approaches, surely this week and next are a great resource for introspection and exploration of what could be for a life abroad.

Where to find Robertson:
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Robertson reading?
Dear Nana: A Letter to My Ancestor by Peter Sarpong
Fear No Man: Living Without Compromise in an Intimidating World by George Reed and David Hunt

Other topics of interest:
Paradigm Network
Clifton College, Bristol UK
Ignatius Acheampong
Nkrumahism
Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana's National Cathedral Project
About Kwesi Kwarteng

Episode 129: The Art of the Return with Bara Diokhané

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week the podcast is coming to you from my recent trip to the Dakar Biennale where I met my guest, Bara Diokhané, thanks to Muhammida El Muhajir from EP27 (https://glocalcitizens.fireside.fm/27). Bara was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal. In 2018 he returned after an interesting career journey in New York. A lawyer by training, Bara Diokhané, started creating works of art at the start of the the 21st century, while living in Harlem, New York as an immigrant. In 2002 he was a participating artist to the MagnetDiaspora exhibit hosted during the 2002 Dakar Biennale by Yassine Arts Gallery. His first exhibition in New York City was hosted in 2003 by Steve Cannon's Tribes Gallery in Manhattan's Lower East Side. In 2004 he designed the backdrop for the scene of the Afropop music festival at Virginia University. In 2005 he was selected at the Diversity Project, curated by Danny Simmons and Rush Arts, which was an event showcasing the works of 200 New York artists in 16 different galleries. In 2006, I showed 10 paintings at the Dakar Off Biennale where most of the show was sold out. He has also showed at the State Black Archives Museum, in Huntsville, Alabama; Kiaca Gallery, in Columbus, Ohio; Columbia University; and the Schomburg Center for research in black culture. In 2007, he was selected for the Black Madonna Millenium exhibit hosted at the Museum for Contemporary African and Diaspora Art (MOCADA) in Brooklyn. That year, he also showed at Princeton University's Rockefeller Art Gallery. In 2010 Bara was invited to select one artwork from the collection of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and couple it with one of his own works to make a pair during the "African Rythms, American Echoes" exhibit.
Bara is presently writing a script about an African human experience of 50 years of arts, politics and academics.

Where to find Bara?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter
On Facebook

What's Bara reading?
The African Origin of Civilization by Cheikh Anta Diop

Other topics of interest:
Mor Faye
KoToa Coffee in Dakar
Doudou N'Diaye Rose
On Senegal's BDS party
First World Festival of Negro Arts
Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

Special Guest: Bara Diokhané .

Episode 12: Art, Architecture and Affirmations with Asare Adjei - Part 2

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 02:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to the Glocal Citizens Podcast. We'll be spending the next two episodes with interdisciplinary artist, photographer, and architect--Asare Adjei. Asare is a Ghanaian-British living and working between London (UK) and Accra (Ghana). Asare’s work captures an essence of humanity and the duality of existence by the juxtaposing of various visual elements, materials and symbology to create a unique new style. He creates vibrant artworks by the blending, shaping and merging of myriad African visual textures with cosmology and architectural influences. He utilizes his art to explore his Ghanaian heritage and what it means for him to be an African; his work is a love letter to Africa and an appreciation for its movement towards the future. Asare studied Architecture at East London University and worked as an Architect for 12 years prior to pursuing his passion for Fine Art and Photography. He has worked most notably with the prestigious architect Sir David Adjaye. Asare has had his photography works published in The Guardian Newspaper, and has exhibited artworks in group exhibitions at Rebecca Hossack Gallery (Mayfair/UK), Level 39 (Canary Wharf/UK), The Black and White building (Shoreditch/UK) and MeWe360 (Soho/UK). He has also exhibited in a number of pop-up galleries in Accra (Ghana/Africa) and has been shortlisted for a variety of art awards including Art Gemini Prize, Creativepool Annual/etc.

In Part 2, we talk global citizenship, migration and Asare's sonic inspirations.

Links of Interest
www.asareadjei.com
@asareadjei on IG
Printful
Ghana at the Venice Biennale
What the wahala?
What's Asare listening to?
Michael Kiwanuka
@IbeyiOfficial on Twitter
Solange
Lianne La Havas
Lizzo Music

Special Guest: Asare Adjei.

Episode 11: Art, Architecture and Affirmations with Asare Adjei - Part 1

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 02:00:00 -0500

In Part 2, we talk global citizenship, migration and Asare's sonic inspirations.

Special Guest: Asare Adjei.