Lifestyle - Communities
While digital streaming remains the go-to option for most people when it comes to consuming media, a shift is underway as streaming fatigue, social media communities, and socioeconomic uncertainty are leading to the resurgence of physical media.
Black and African-owned brands took center stage at Berlin Fashion Week: redefining fashion and using it as a tool for resistance, sustainability, and storytelling. From Buzigahill’s powerful Return To Sender show to NOMMO’s visionary platform and AZEA ZALEA’s deeply personal debut, these creatives are shifting the industry’s focus toward justice, heritage, and innovation. This isn’t just fashion — it’s a movement.
While the fashion industry likes to perform diversity, it still lacks true inclusivity and accessibility on many levels. Not only is there a lack of disabled models on the runway or in front of the camera, but mainstream brands are missing awareness and consideration for the clothing needs of disabled individuals. Learn more about five adaptive fashion brands that are challenging outdated stereotypes about disability and are transforming the fashion industry one garment at a time.
“A Fidai Film" (2024) is Kamal Al Jafari’s act of cinematic resistance. Through the reworking of looted footage, he poses a counter-archive sabotaging the colonial gaze through the camera of the dispossessed.
As corporate Pride campaigns dwindle and queer visibility fades from the mainstream, it’s essential to reflect on fashion’s deep-rooted indebtedness to LGBTQIA+ creativity—particularly that of Black queer pioneers. From André Leon Talley and Edward Enninful to the rise of a new generation of visionaries, we explore how queerness has always been at the heart of fashion—even when the industry tries to forget it.
In this intimate conversation with artist and author Monilola Olayemi Ilupeju, we explore the emotional landscapes of arrival, memory, and intergenerational connection. Speaking from her exhibition Musafiri – Of Travellers and Guests at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Ilupeju reflects on the quiet rituals that shape her practice, the tension between displacement and belonging, and how painting becomes an act of care, vulnerability, and ancestral remembrance.
The 16th Arab Film Festival Berlin (ALFILM) casts a daring gaze into the past and future with its spotlight on "Canceled Futures, Endless Pasts"—a theme that unearths archival ghosts and imagines alternative realities through speculative fiction. With a compelling lineup that includes To a Land Unknown and The Village Next to Paradise, this year’s festival bridges personal memory and political struggle, offering cinematic stories from across the Arab world that challenge dominant narratives and invite audiences to rethink what could have been.
Language is power. In the month of International Women’s Day, we celebrate the voices that speak for intersectional feminism and sacred rebellion. Céline Semaan’s “A Woman is a School”, published by The Slow Factory, reclaims language and the body as sacred vessels for eco-liberation and justice. Her words call us to action: it's time to stand together in solidarity for justice and collective healing. A reminder of the power of language to emancipate us in times of struggle. None of us is free, until all of us are free.
Tasneem Elnayal’s artistic practice is rooted in our shared histories and the visceral nature of personal experience. In this conversation, the London-based Sudanese artist and art director explores the influence of Sudan's political landscape, her journey through grief and hope, and the power of memory in creating space for new experiences.
Art is often seen as a universal language—but is it really accessible to everyone? Still perceived as a playground for the wealthy, the art world continues to exclude marginalized communities. From street art to institutional shifts, how can we reclaim space and open the conversation?
