The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember

Join us tomorrow, 18 April, for an “open house” to hear the library’s vinyl collection, shaped by the perspectives of writers, artists, and cultural workers. Come through over the course of the day and lounge with us, as Maneo Mohale, Lynnée Denise, Vusi Metalo and Livhuwani Ramalivhana share what they found digging through the library’s archive. #recordstoreday #zimbabweindependenceday

VINYL SPOTLIGHT DOCTEUR NICO: KASSANDA WA MIKALAY (1982) Born Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay in 1939 in the Belgian Congo, Dr. Nico picked up a guitar as a teenager and at 14, he was already the featured guitarist on one of the biggest hits in the Congo. When Jimi Hendrix passed through Paris, one of the musicians he made a point to seek out was Dr. Nico. His ascent as a musician came alongside a historic moment on the African continent. In 1960, as Congo won its independence from Belgian colonial rule, Dr. Nico was an important contributor to the soundtrack of liberation; playing lead guitar on Independence Cha Cha, a song that became an anthem for a newly liberated people. Nico, then 20, and his brother Charles Mwamba, called “Dechaud”, had been invited to perform in Brussels during the very negotiations that would determine the Congo’s post-colonial future. The music and the movement were inseparable. Beyond a single song, Dr. Nico was among the architects of the genres that came to define Congolese music, pioneering the style that would shaped rumba and its descendants, soukous, kwasa kwasa and zouk. He passed away in 1985, at 46.   Track: Vempol

Presenting sonic lecture about the important role of jazz and musicians during apartheid through listening, today in Joburg - something I've written on and worked on for years - but there is still so much to learn and dig into and unearth... Always in the process of studying. Big thanks to the @blackfuturewa , @omonblanks , @el_metalo and the @thelibraryo for hosting. . . . 📸 @itsibitsikitsi

Hope to meet you on Saturday & together we share our stories & journeys through art, dialogue and music. Please RSVP on the Link in Bio or DM for more details. Together with Thobani K, we're presenting a dialogue-driven exploration of our evolving practices, rooted in themes of collaboration, memory, water apartheid, music, and cultural reclamation.

My book has finally arrived Home 🇿🇦! Available soon in South African bookstores and archives. Further information regarding the release book launch dates will follow: Cape Town – Khayelitsha Library – Chimurenga Library – UCT Hiddingh Hall Library – A4 Arts Foundation – Clarks Books – The Book Lounge Eastern Cape – East London Museum – Stutterheim Main Library – University of Fort Hare Library - National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre Johannesburg – The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember – Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts – Bridge Books – Johannesburg Main Library (Michaelis Art collection) Please pre-order by emailing your nearest library/bookstore. Camagu 2025 Makube chosi kube hele!! 🙏🏿 #Books #AfricanArtist #HomeComing #TimeAndSpace #ArtisticResearchWork SouthAfricanBookstores SenseOfSpace-PrepositionOfPlace

Nyami-Nyami – A sculptural installation and sound performance by The Zebra Collective Nyami-Nyami is an immersive multimedia installation and performance by the renowned artist duo Masimba Hwati and Michael Gould, AKA the Zebra Collective. This gripping work reimagines the cultural and ecological trauma caused by the colonial construction of the Kariba Dam in the then-Rhodesia in the 1950s, and its lasting impact on the Tonga people. In this video, Lebohang Mojapelo talks to the artists about their creative process. Nyami-Nyami was presented in 2025 by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme in collaboration with VIAD Research Centre’s Bioart+Design Africa Research Programme, Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember and 44 Stanley, and supported by the National Research Foundation. Nyami-Nyami was presented in 2025 by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme in collaboration with VIAD Research Centre’s Bioart+Design Africa Research Programme, Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember and 44 Stanley, and supported by the National Research Foundation and the Aria Grant (Arts, Research, Incubation and Acceleration), University of Michigan. #transcending #nyaminyami #soundperformance #alternateuniverse #sculpturalinstallation #soundart

Nyami-Nyami – A sculptural installation and sound performance by The Zebra Collective Nyami-Nyami is an immersive multimedia installation and performance by the renowned artist duo Masimba Hwati and Michael Gould, AKA the Zebra Collective. This gripping work reimagines the cultural and ecological trauma caused by the colonial construction of the Kariba Dam in the then-Rhodesia in the 1950s, and its lasting impact on the Tonga people. In this video, Lebohang Mojapelo talks to the artists about their creative process. Nyami-Nyami was presented in 2025 by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme in collaboration with VIAD Research Centre’s Bioart+Design Africa Research Programme, Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember and 44 Stanley, and supported by the National Research Foundation. Nyami-Nyami was presented in 2025 by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme in collaboration with VIAD Research Centre’s Bioart+Design Africa Research Programme, Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember and 44 Stanley, and supported by the National Research Foundation and the Aria Grant (Arts, Research, Incubation and Acceleration), University of Michigan. #transcending #nyaminyami #soundperformance #alternateuniverse #sculpturalinstallation #soundart

Nyami-Nyami – A sculptural installation and sound performance by The Zebra Collective For the exhibition Re:Fuse-Ability, the Zebra Collective reworked the audio from their performance into an sound work that imparts the Zambezi River god Nyami-Nyami's trauma and resistance to the building of the Kariba Dam. This music video shows photographs from the performance set to the sound work. Nyami-Nyami was presented in 2025 by the University of Johannesburg’s Artists In Residence Programme in collaboration with VIAD Research Centre’s Bioart+Design Africa Research Programme, Kudzanai Chiurai’s The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember and 44 Stanley, and supported by the National Research Foundation. Watch the full video on our YouTube! Link in Bio.

Our hearts are full after Threads of Renewal II at @thelibraryo for @twygmag Johannesburg edition of @africatextiletalks Thank you to everyone who came through to experience, listen, feel and share in this space of memory, making and renewal. Deep gratitude to the incredible artists whose works wove stories of lineage, repair and transformation. Shout out to Mark and Question for handling the installation with such care. A special thank you to my right hand, curatorial assistant @luh.ra for your heart, vision and support in bringing this together. So much love and respect to @designweeksouthafrica for such an enriching and inspiring week, @44_stanleyavenue for all the support and @starlavida from @vandawatershed for believing in the importance of Africa Textile Talks and making it all possible. Here's to the threads that connect us, and to weaving new ones, together. Video by @tiisetsokhaudimoreki

Threads of Renewal II opening at Library of Things We Forgot to Remember @44_stanleyavenue Curated by @themetastylist assisted by @luh.ra for @africatextiletalks Thank you @vandawatershed @44_stanleyavenue and @designweeksouthafrica for supporting us in Johannesburg.ur a we

SNIPPET Threads of Renewal II is open for 4 days only 9-12 October 2025 Curated by @themetastylist Assisted by @luh.ra Threads of Renewal II unfolds within Kudzanai Chiurai’s sonic archive of African cultural memory @thelibraryo . This exhibition explores two interconnected themes - Memory & Ancestry and Healing & Resistance - transforming fabric into a vessel for remembrance, care, and renewal. Sam Nthlengethwa Bulumko Mbete Yonela Makoba Sibabalwe Ndlwana Onesimo Bam x Uno July Nwabisa Ntlokwana Ditiro Mashigo The Herd x Liz Maelane Maria Caley Come explore the full exhibition and space in person @44_stanleyavenue brought to you by @twygmag and @africatextiletalks family, in partnership with @vandawatershed @44_stanleyavenue @designweeksouthafrica and the incredible artists on show.

Threads of Renewal II opens today, 9 October 2025 Curated by @themetastylist Assisted by @luh.ra Threads of Renewal II unfolds within Kudzanai Chiurai’s sonic archive of African cultural memory. This exhibition explores two interconnected themes — Memory & Ancestry and Healing & Resistance — transforming fabric into a vessel for remembrance, care, and renewal. Sam Nthlengethwa The Ninevites Bulumko Mbete Yonela Makoba Sibabalwe Ndlwana Onesimo Bam x Uno July Nwabisa Ntlokwana Ditiro Mashigo The Herd x Liz Maelane Maria Caley Special thanks to @twygmag and @africatextiletalks family, the partners who have helped bring this vision to life @vandawatershed @44_stanleyavenue @designweeksouthafrica and the incredible artists on show