IShowSpeed Brings Ghana to the Big Screen, F1 Returns to Africa, 1-54 Turns to the Modernists

Welcome to Vol 208 of the Spread!

Hello and welcome back to the Spread, your weekly edit of all the best stories and global news about Africans shaping mainstream culture.

I've been thinking a lot about the joy of learning something new, especially when you're making something. One minute you're calling a friend for advice, the next you're texting a complete stranger, and suddenly you're 15 YouTube tutorials deep, learning something you didn't even know existed last month. It's humbling, but I think that's what makes creating so special. All the questions, mistakes, discoveries and people you meet along the way.

Meanwhile, London has been having quite the African art week. Frieze and 1-54 landed within days of each other, and at 1-54, African modernists including Gerard Sekoto, Ibrahim El-Salahi and Uzo Egonu got their own spotlight in an exhibition named after a Miriam Makeba song. Next up is Film Africa, opening on 23 October with a programme celebrating African women filmmakers. If you read our guide to women directors a few weeks ago, consider this your homework.

And a quick hello to everyone who's joined us recently! The Collective has been growing since 2019, and there are now over 5,900 of you here. That number still makes me smile every time I check. Thank you for being part of this little corner of the internet. 🧡

I hope your week is off to a good start. There is a lot to get into: a documentary about Ghanaian film history is heading to cinemas with some very unexpected producers attached, Formula 1 is finally coming home to Africa, FOLA put Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's voice on his new album, and four young artists picked up Absa L'Atelier awards in South Africa.

Omotola x

Now on to the real peel 👇