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30 Aug 2022 ///
Interviews /// Art /// Community

Storytelling for the contemporary human experience with Moveee Magazine founder Tope Akintayo

It’s rare that I get to speak to a fellow writer – least not one outside of South Africa. Tope Akintayo is an arts & culture reporter, poet and anthologist, and the founder of one of the most riveting independent publications on the continent. Emanating out of his home city Lagos, Nigeria – Tope founded Moveee Magazine as a space to connect, report and reflect on creativity occurring in Africa, and what began as a digital platform dedicated to telling stories & news, has since manifested in its first issue (available both digitally and print) – titled, “The Conscious Art Issue”. Moveee’s launch issue is a dream to discover; thoughtfully curated by Tope alongside his collaborators – as stated so beautifully, ‘’We’ll like to see this issue lead you into a meditation about the beauty of art, and beyond that, into the realisation of the significance of art in its many forms as an instrument of change, a megaphone heralding the realities and echoing both the vices and virtues of human society.” With a central focus on African creative and artistic narratives, works, and primarily focused on the Black experience and it’s multi-dimensional, profound unfolding among post-colonial, globalised generations; Moveee is a channel for story-telling, preservation, inquiry – healing – and growth; and for us at CEC in sleepy sea-side Cape Town, a thorough reminder of just how critical it is to nurture the independent media ecosystem, everywhere.

On what led to creating Moveee, Tope reflects on his own background as a creative, “I’m not a visual artist in the traditional sense – I’m a writer and a poet. I think my artistic practice comes in being able to see and talk about different aspects that make up creativity. Moveee Magazine is my approach to spotlighting African, diasporic, and Black creatives in their journey and contribution to the landscape of creativity. We want to be able to cover our own stories – and we understand that many international media spaces are not covering quite the amount of what’s going on the continent and across the diaspora. There’s an abundance of creativity, and the coverage just isn’t enough to truly capture it. Moveee is our way of igniting this conversation and personal agency for Africans, by Africans, in the realm of creativity.” Starting a publication is no easy feat – and for Tope, the journey of Moveee began earlier this year – and rather spontaneously, “I’ve started other magazines before, and I’ve stopped them – it’s not the most financially rewarding business, even if it’s what I am most passionate about doing, especially the writing. Despite that, I found myself creating a magazine – again. This time, focused on creativity – and it seemed to be exactly the theme or subject that has shown promise. Since 2020, and the pandemic, it feels like creativity in Africa has exploded. I can’t figure out if it’s increased, or if I’m only just noticing it – but it’s skyrocketed. I kept speaking to different friends and creatives who said they had started in 2020 – it seemed that most people had a choice in the pandemic, to go for what they love, and finally do it in a serious way.”

With publishing calling Tope back to it over and over again – the first issue of Moveee consolidates the best of what Tope has learned prior; particularly in focusing the edition on a particular aspect of creativity that is both broad, and dynamic – yet tight enough to remain cohesive in its content. The title ‘The Conscious Art Issue’ is Tope’s, and the artists featured in it, way of drawing the term “conscious” from the grip of sustainability or environmental issues, as it exclusively has been used in recent years, and back into its use for the awareness of the human experience; and the many complex threads of consciousness that unify the socio-cultural landscape of Africa and its diaspora. On this, Tope says “We wanted to bring that term back into the context of visual art, and see how it could serve art being created that reflects the contemporary human experience. More than ever, art is a vehicle to discuss issues that we face as human beings – so issues of identity, gender inequality, mental health, political issues and the effects of colonialism that have had generational effects. So this issue is very much about what we face as humans – personally or collectively. When an artist tells their story through their work, it can express to anyone viewing it their own story back to them.” For Tope, there is a microcosmic & macrocosmic reflection in the word ‘conscious’ – and that for many of the contributors, their personal experiences and inquiries of Self, act as potently as anything that might occur on the collective consciousness scale. Many of the contributors Tope found on social media – artists he had found and whose work he felt would align beautifully with the vision of Moveee. One such artist, Ademola Ojo, Tope explains, “his work speaks to the identity of Yoruba people here in Nigeria. Using symbols and tribal marks infused into his work – Ademola explained to me that he does this to ensure that the Yoruba people remain for a long time. A lot of cultures are still being erased even in a ‘post-colonial’ time frame; we need artists like Ademola to preserve culture through their art – future generations will be able to trace the original culture of Yoruba people.” Powerful and critical – I am deeply inspired by Tope, and by the space that Moveee is creating – with plans for future issues to range from literature, to dance – this creativity led publication has an immensely important future.
/// Content Overview from Moveee Magazine: 

Conscious Art features work by artists Matthew Eguavoen and Johnson Ocheja, who recently exhibited their artworks at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Paris. Mathew and Johnson explore issues like mental health, identity, and society. Other artists include Mofoluso Eludire, whose work explores real human experiences of self-image, self-acceptance, and reflection. Julius Agbaje infuses humour and metaphors to represent the interconnectedness of humans and human activities. Ademola Ojo, whose works tell deep stories about inner community, digital artist Amanda Kandawire-Khoza, concepts photographer Harry Odunze, Xaadim Bamba-Mbow, and Obibini Kobby.

To purchase Moveee Magazine (made to order) in print or view it digitally, please go here.

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

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