Africa Basel Conversations — Listening to the Continent
With Africa Basel Conversations and Fountain Talks, two new editorial platforms dedicated to dialogue within and beyond the continent’s art ecosystem are established.
Africa Basel Conversations is a long-form interview series offering intimate, reflective encounters with artists, curators, collectors and thinkers whose work shapes the contemporary visual arts of Africa and its diaspora. Recorded between Basel and key cultural centres, each episode unfolds as an in-depth exchange — situating individual practices within wider conversations on history, materiality, ecology and identity. It seeks not to report on art, but to listen to it: to the processes, contexts and visions that define a rapidly evolving field.
Panel Discussion moderated by Jean-Sylvain Tshilumba Mukendi with Seloua Luste Boulbina, and Sammy Baloji. Recorded in June 2025 at Africa Basel’s Conversations.
Africa Basel Fountain Talks, by contrast, bring the immediacy of the fair to life through direct, one-on-one conversations between artists and moderators at the Africa Basel Fountain — the fair’s open-air stage for ideas. Each exchange offers a spontaneous and personal insight into artistic practice, allowing visitors and listeners alike to experience the energy of dialogue at the heart of the fair.
Together, Africa Basel Conversations and Fountain Talks embody the fair’s commitment to creating not only an exhibition platform, but also a discursive and intellectual one — connecting local insights to global dialogues. In joining a wider constellation of international podcasts that document, analyse and celebrate contemporary African art, they contribute to a growing sonic archive of the continent’s creative present.
Essé Dabla-Attikpo in conversation with Najet Dhahbi. Recorded in June 2025 at Africa Basel’s Fountain Talks.
Below, we highlight ten essential podcasts that have shaped this field, followed by an appendix of further listening for those wishing to explore more deeply.
10
Essential Podcasts on Contemporary African Art
1 ARTdacity
Presented by Jo-Ann Strauss, ARTdacity offers intimate artist stories from across Africa, revealing the social and emotional fabric behind their creative processes.
2 Latitudes Podcast
Hosted by Refiloe Mpakanyane, this Johannesburg-based series explores how artists, curators and institutions across the continent and diaspora make contemporary African art accessible to wider publics.
3 1-54 Forum Podcast
Produced by the organisers of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, this archive of recorded talks and discussions documents critical debates around art from Africa and its global markets.
4 Art Meets a Podcast
Founded by Pyda & Precious Mhone, this interdisciplinary platform connects visual art, philosophy and cultural thought across African contexts.
5 Art Network Africa Podcast
Produced by Art News Africa, this show features “Studio Visits” and artist profiles, with strong coverage of Nigeria’s dynamic scene.
6 NKATA: Art & Processes
A reflective Nigerian-led series hosting extended conversations with artists and cultural practitioners about process, context and community.
7 Diptyk, le podcast
From Casablanca’s Diptyk magazine, one of the most respected French-language voices on African contemporary art, offering critical discussion and artist features.
diptykmag.com/category/podcast/
8 Zeitz MOCAA Audio
Recordings from the Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town: curator talks, artist lectures and audio tours of major exhibitions.
9 A Shared Gaze
Produced by A Black History of Art, this podcast connects contemporary artists of African descent worldwide, with a focus on shared visual languages.
10 African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF)
A biennial audio archive and podcast featuring one-on-one conversations with artists and curators participating in the Venice Biennale, emphasising African agency within global art structures.
Appendix — Further Listening
English
Everything Is Connected (The Africa Institute × Light Work) – A six-part Venice Biennale series.
Studio Noize: Black Art Podcast – Weekly conversations with Black artists across Africa and the diaspora.
Art in Focus (Investec SA) – Short market-oriented segments on African art investment.
French
Masque de Terre – Conversations on African and Afro-descendant contemporary art.
L’Afrique en culture (Medi1) – Regular episodes on Africa’s cultural scenes.
Spanish
Arte y Cultura en África (AladAA Internacional) – Academic yet accessible discussions on art from the continent.
Portuguese
Art em Foco – A Lusophone-African series on artists and curatorial practice.
About this list
This selection foregrounds podcasts with a sustained commitment to the visual arts of Africa and its diaspora rather than those offering only occasional coverage. Together, they form a distributed archive of conversations that complement Africa Basel Conversations and Fountain Talks — listening spaces where ideas, voices and visions from across the continent continue to resonate.