Vanilla’s Remarkable African Chapter
Vanilla may be one of perfumery’s most familiar notes, but its cultivation across the Indian Ocean owes much to Edmond Albius, an enslaved twelve-year-old on Réunion whose hand-pollination technique remains central to natural vanilla production today.
Some cultures wrote their histories in stone. Others carved them into flesh. On scarification and permanent body adornment across African traditions.
An African Woman’s Hair Is Never Just Hair
From the salon chair to TikTok, African women's hair has always been asked to explain itself. A look at the politics of choice, the weight of the gaze, and the artists refusing the verdict.
The Building Knows Where It Is
For a long time, modern African ambition has looked like concrete, glass and air conditioning. But across the continent, a different architectural conversation is taking shape — one rooted in soil, shade, climate, memory and buildings that know where they are.