African Liberation Day

Bayanda Khathini is a designer who values craftsmanship and specialises in couture and bridal gowns. He translates the visual heritage of Zulu communities into contemporary forms in lavish dresses in satin, tulle or lace. Colours can be bright blue or candy cane pink, or like this brown dress made for the exhibition. The beadwork is derived from traditional Zulu beadwork. The Zulu hat, the isicholo, is a sign of a woman's married status. Each unique piece takes about 3-5 months to make and each piece contains more than 200,000 beads sewn on by hand. Khathini toyed with design making as a young boy. He studied Fashion Design at Tshwane University of Technology, won several awards and featured in South Africa Fashion Week, for the first time in 2017. Apart from wedding dresses, Khathini makes couture for various celebrities and politicians. For instance, award-winning presenter Nonkanyiso Conco, @Laconco, wore a dress similar to this one.

Bayanda: ‘To me, freedom as an artist means expressing myself, my opinions, and views through art without fear. It's about creative autonomy and sharing my truth unapologetically. Though I don't usually celebrate Liberation Day, I appreciate its significance and the sacrifices made for African liberation. These efforts have allowed us to connect with our culture, history, and identity.’

Now on display at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, exhibition Say Yes

Artist Lina Iris Victor often creates striking portraits of powerful women. She finds her inspiration in the history of Central and West African kingdoms, mathematics and astrology. She combines deep black with an ancient gilding technique using 24-carat gold. ‘Nowadays, gold has been devalued to a commodity, but in the past it was praised for its spiritual value’ says the artist. Victor brings the precious metal back to these sacred roots to bring ancient traditions back to the present. Materia Prima represents the origin of life. The deep black refers to the trials of alchemists, scientists who tried to make gold, and at the same time it is a positive interpretation of blackness.

Now on display at Wereldmuseum Leiden, exhibition  Enchanted by Gold  

This embroidered tapestry draws from archival images of King Prempeh II and his court, embodying the visual language of power through the rich colors and symbolism of the Ashanti Kingdom and Ghana. At the same time, it reflects the spirit of liberation that King Prempeh II himself represented. Rita Mawuena Benissan is the first artist in residence at Wereldlab, the experimental division of the Wereldmuseum with the purpose to develop a new museum in the centre of Nijmegen.

Rita: ‘Freedom, to me, means the ability to define ourselves on our own terms. It is the ability to reclaim our histories, protect our heritage, and make room for our stories to be seen, heard, and valued. Freedom is more than just movement; it also includes memory, ownership, and the right to shape our cultural future without being erased. My work is rooted in reclaiming power—both within the Ghanaian context and across the African continent. By archiving and reimagining traditions such as chieftaincy and symbolism, I explore how cultural memory becomes a force for pride, resistance, and liberation. I don’t formally celebrate African Liberation Day, but knowing about the holiday invites me to reflect on the deeper meanings of freedom, preservation, and storytelling. It reminds me that acts of cultural memory, archiving, honoring ancestors, and reclaiming our narratives, are themselves forms of liberation.

This artwork is part of a series of works focusing on the return of the spirits of deported enslaved people. The drawing offers a see-through from the outside of a ship built for enslaved people, a “ghost ship” rendered in monochrome ink. It offers a see-through not to an interior but to the sky where masts and bows of other ships can be seen. In the centre of the ship are brightly coloured figures. These are “egungun”, ancestor spirits as performed in masquerades of the Fon and Yoruba. Deceased people pass into the spirit world. Ancestor spirits (egun) continue to connect with the world of the living. At certain events (such as annual rituals and funerals), the egungun dancers perform, and the living can communicate with ancestors. In doing so, direct contact would be dangerous, so the naked man with stick is guarding the separation between the two worlds. In Sinzogan's works, the spirits of the enslaved return to the coast of Benin, formerly called the “Slave Coast”.

Sinzogan's “ghost ships” travel the so-called middle passage back, from the Americas and the Caribbean back to Africa. The title refers to the Gate of No Return, name of a monument in Ouidah, Benin, symbol of Africans being enslaved and taken away from their homes. So in Sinzogan's vision, they do return, in spiritual form. 

Now on display at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, exhibition Our colonial inheritance.