SOS: We are living through a Climate Emergency
4 African creatives address the urgency of the climate crisis.
By African Leadership Academy
Curated by: Rayhana Mouaouia
A city running dry by Nana Kwadwo KoduaAfrican Leadership Academy
1. A City Running Dry
Ghanaian artist Nana Kwadwo's artwork highlights the dangers of poor water management and how it is causing so much uncertainty. His piece serves as a constant reminder of the tenuous state of access to basic needs.
Nana Kwadwo is an 18 year old digital photo manipulation artist from Ghana, Accra. His work is mainly centered around the expression of development in the Black experience and empowering African Culture. His pieces are intended to put forward the message of creating brighter futures and realities where Africans thrive. This helps give his artwork in itself an identity. Nana’s aim is to disseminate Africa as a young artist and send a message of our culture and our future to the diaspora.
The Dangers of Global Warming by Cedric ChopbukunedAfrican Leadership Academy
2. The Dangers of Global Warming
The health hazards humanity has been facing due to global warming are becoming increasingly concerning. Cameroonian artist Cedric Chopbukuned's drawing underscores the dangers of extreme weather events, increased hunger and poor nutrition on the African continent.
Cedric Chopbukuned is a hyper-realistic pencil artist. He uses his artwork as a medium to speak the voiceless in his community. He won the Africa Art Celebrity Awards and Drawing of the Year Awards 2022 by Archisource for Artistic excellence, leadership, and innovation.
He is the founder of OD_Arts (Open Dreams Arts), which aims to assist talented people in leveraging their creativity through the use of social media and networking.
Belated Haze by Bereket TadesseAfrican Leadership Academy
3. Belated Haze
Echoing similar concerns all the way from Ethiopia, artist Bereket Tadesse uses his craft to raise more awareness around climate change across the continent.
His piece, Belated Haze, urges us to treat our environment the way we treat our eyes. The use of the organ's complex anatomy represents the complexity of our eco-systems and the various factors which contribute to climate change.
It is mandatory to care for our Africa like our essential sense organ. To save our continent from the belated haze of climate change, we need to take immediate action and our leaders should implement climate change policies on the ground before it is too late. — Bereket Tadesse
Tadesse's piece reminds us of how fragile our lives have become after being exposed to the dangers of climate change. Inspired by Greta Thunberg's words at The U.N. Climate Action Summit 2019, Tadesse asks us How dare we put our lives in danger?
Meet Bereket Tadesse!
Bereket Tadesse is a recent graduate of ALA class of 2020, originally from Ethiopia. Bereket is a person who keeps trying to intersect STEM and the arts. His artwork is inspired by the work of climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Fossils of Civilizations by ShorouqAfrican Leadership Academy
4. BURDEN: A series
BURDEN: A Series is a chain of short poems telling the realities of climate change; it is a collaborative work between spoken word artist Sabiqah and photographer Shorouq. You can watch Sabiqah's performance below and read the full-length piece here.
BURDEN: the performance by Sabiqah BelloAfrican Leadership Academy
The piece is a reflection, a warning, a call to action.
Who is Sabiqah Bello?
Sabiqah Bello is a writer, spoken word artist, and Certified Youth Trainer. Her work is a journey of healing, learning, and dreaming and her writing is more than metaphors of her thoughts or experiences, but a reflection of the societal truths that that stare back at us.
