A feast of creative triumphs

Main image: Members of the Ugandan dance group “the Ghetto Kids” pose for a group picture after a day’s rehearsal at their home in Nakawuka, Wakiso, Uganda, on May 25, 2026. The popular dance group is scheduled to perform alongside Colombian pop superstar Shakira at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final in New Jersey on July 19, 2026, putting them in the spotlight of one of the world’s most-watched events.

If Africa were a human body, culture would be its heart – a pulsing, life-affirming centre that gives life to the legacy of a continent. Africa has always given us culture steeped in tradition, from festivals, rituals and cuisine to art, song and dance. But over the past few decades there has been one big change – the rest of the world has embraced it. Culture roundup by Gail Collins.

Winning wordsmiths

African poets and creative writers have penned from the soul and been recognised. Nigerian poet, Iheoma J. Uzomba, was the proud recipient of the 2026 Evaristo Prize for her astute poetry collection, Father’s Love; and Nairobi’s Migwi Mwangi saw his debut poetry collection, Desire Path, honoured by the Poetry Society of America, garnering the 2026 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize.

In DCR, a surprised young man was pleased to discover he had won the 2026 Voix d’Afrique literature prize. Having submitted his first manuscript, Le nom de ma mere, only two weeks before the deadline, Pascal Boroto was elated to discover that the book, inspired by his journalist mother who died in 2018, attained the award, also making him a first-time winner for his country.

The Caine Prize for African Writing, the leading international literary prize for the best original short story by an African, has attracted a record number of submissions in its 26^th year.

An experienced and impressive line-up of judges that includes South African writer, editor and academic, Siphiwo Mahala and Nigerian renowned journalist, broadcaster and well-known voice on BBC World Service, Bolo Mosuro, has whittled 407 manuscripts down to a shortlist of five who eagerly await the winner to be announced in October.

Africa’s million-dollar artists

Nigerian-born artist Njideta Alsunyili relocated to the US’s sunny California at the age of 16 when her mother won the Green Card lottery for the family. Using mixed-media collages, her work is “my internal tension between my deep love for Nigeria, my country of birth, and my strong appreciation for Western culture, which has profoundly influenced both my life and my art,” she says.

With a back catalogue of international solo exhibitions under her belt, including the National Portrait Gallery in London alongside participation in the prestigious Istanbul and Venice Biennials, she has become eminently collectable, especially as her work is a slow process and does not come onto the market very often.

Her first piece sold in 2016 at Sotheby’s, New York, for $93,000. Two years later, the same auction house broke its own record when her Bush Babies work sold for nearly $3.4m.

In 2026, a reflective piece on the complexities of living between two continents, Grandmother’s Parlour, sold for $2.8m on the opening day of Frieze Los Angeles contemporary art fair, a record-breaking sum for the event that celebrates its fifth year.

Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui has reshaped the art of sculpture. Moving to Nigeria in 1975 to accept a post teaching at Nigeria University, his original works stemmed from the more traditional clay and wood materials, but in the late 90s he discovered the potential of discarded metal, particularly bottle tops.

His large-scale powerful pieces began to attract international attention with their unique combination of abstract and African tradition.

He has exhibited around the world, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and the Venice Biennale.

In 2026, his sculpture, LuwVor I, in trademark style often inspired by Ghanaian Kente cloth, sold for $2.2m at Frieze New York. A second piece, MicEvi III sold for $1.9m.

Food for thought

Migration has been the chief channel in introducing flavours of African food outside the continent. Today African fare has gained fans across the globe.

Massawa in New York, opened in the late 80s by Eritrean immigrant Almaz Ghebrezgabher, paved the way for African cuisine in America.

Chishuru, a tiny restaurant set up in Brixton, London, by late-to-the-table Nigerian chef Adejoke Bakare in 2022, was crowdfunded to new premises and promptly received a Michelin star for her impeccable West African cuisine, making her the first Black female Michelin-starred chef in the UK.

In Africa, there is an ever-growing resistance to industrial farming that uses large doses of chemical fertiliser, towards traditional food processing techniques. Top chefs such as DCR’s Dieuveil Malonga are leading the way to unite local ingredients and cooking traditions with world gastronomy and local initiatives.

The Ghana Food Movement, started in Accra two years ago, is a network of chefs, farmers, students and community members who are enthusiastic about redirecting Ghanaian food back to its native roots. The initiative has been recognised by the World’s 50 Best listing, winning the Champions of Change Award for advancing food sovereignty and climate-resilient supply chains.

Nigerian restaurateur, Hilda Baci, who had already hit the headlines with her record-breaking cook-a-thon in 2023, followed by teaming up with Nigerian food brand giant Gino in 2025 to break yet another record. She cooked up the largest quantity of Jollof rice at once, weighing an astonishing 8,780 kilogrammes (19,356 lb 9 oz).

In 2026, she became a Guinness World Record Icon for her massive global influence on culinary culture and, of course, record-breaking. She is the first Nigerian to receive this elite title.

Maria Bradford, Sierra Leonean chef and owner of Shwen Shwen restaurant in Kent, UK,  has recently won not one but two accolades at the British Restaurant Awards, taking home honours for Best Chef and Best International Cuisine, a huge step from the young girl who enjoyed cooking with her family in Freetown, but who has now brought that taste of home to a corner of south-east England.

Out of the ghetto

Whilst social media often gets a bad rap for its negative influences, sometimes it is the good guy behind remarkable success.

In 2014, a YouTube video presenting a group of underprivileged kids from the slums of Katwe, Kampala, in Uganda dancing to Eddy Kenzo’s Afropop hit, Sitya Loss, went viral, taking the talented youngsters on a journey from their local streets to a global audience.

Named the Ghetto Kids (formerly known as Triplets Ghetto Kids), the man behind their success is teacher Daudi Kavuma, a man who knows from personal experience what a difficult childhood means and grew up vowing to make a change. The viral video led to Kenzo inviting them to team up and dance on his official video. That was only the beginning.

Kavuma has been teaching them to dance for over a decade, overcoming obstacles and difficult times, particularly in 2015 when 14-year-old Alex, one of the original members of the group, died from a bicycle accident. The group may have faltered, but giving up was never going to be in their DNA, and since those early beginnings, they have danced in places they could only have dreamt of.

2023 was a big year for them; in January they travelled to Paris to dance during half-time in Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain’s home game and in April went on to appear in one of the UK’s largest entertainment franchises, Britain’s Got Talent, stealing the judges’ hearts along the way.

In 2026, they hit a truly global audience, performing with Shakira at the FIFA World Cup final half-time show in Jersey, USA.

Not only have they brought their joyful dancing to the world but have also used their platform to start a foundation, supporting the local community of Ugandan youth in education, health and a big dose of inspiration.

Milestone musicians

African musicians have been flaunting their talent for a while now – with old and new artistes dominating charts and streaming platforms around the world.

Burna Boy has been doing it since his breakthrough with Like to Party back in 2012. From a slew of historical firsts, he continues to dominate the Afrobeats music scene, winning Album of the Year with his eighth studio album, aptly named No Sign of Weakness at the 2026 All Africa Music Awards and a double whammy at the FIFA World Cup, performing in both the opening ceremony and half-time finals show. In October, he will continue his foray into sporting events, performing at the 2026 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers v New Orleans Saints in Paris.

Wizkid, Davido, Tyla, and Tems, to name but a few of Africa’s global stars, are now being followed by a new generation of up-and-comers.

SiiCie has started leading the pack in Ghana’s burgeoning Afrobeats and Highlife scene, starting with his 2024 release, Alhamdulillah. 2025 and 2026 have seen a stream of hit singles, with more to come.

Kenyan-born Elsy Wameyo is also putting her talents on the continent’s musical map with nominations in no less than six categories in the 2026 inaugural Diaspora Creative Awards, winners to be announced in November.

You can catch up on her soul-searching music, influenced by gospel, R&B, hip-hop and Afrobeats, on her 2026 self-released EP, Wamayo.

Look out for Ivorian rapper Himra, who sold out his concert at the beginning of the year at the Zenith Paris – La Villette and saw his 2026 album, Sorry I’m Bad, generate 19.8m streams on Spotify in its first eight days.

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