When Looking Good Becomes Second Nature

Our Mission

At Fifty Four mag, our mission is to

CONTRIBUTORS

DAN CARTER An international photographer based in Cape

EDITOR’S LETTER

I would rather hug you than write to you. It is just my way. But in pouring out my heart about this first issue of Fifty Four mag, I hope you feel my embrace – of you and Africa, my homeland

Africa Fashion WEEK London Has Left the Chat!

Fifty Four mag’s Editor-in-Chief, Mwai Yeboah and Fashion writer Gene Just take us through their highlights of Africa Fashion Week London 2022, which took place in October

Africa – the ‘Blank’ Canvas of Change

Throughout the years, Africa has been an inspiring destination to creatives from all the corners of the globe, from campaign movements to artists. But from early on, the interest sparked in Africa’s rich and dynamic art scenes did not exist in isolation from paternalism, exploitation or the stereotypical judgement inflicted on the continent by the western world.

The Art Gallery

SURROUNDED BY CERAMICS

ANDILE DYALVANE

photo: Hayden Phipps, Leach Pottery Widely considered one

CHUMA MAWENI

photo: Hayden Phipps Chuma Maweni first drew local

MADODA FANI

photo: Hayden Phipps, Stephanie Veldman Bold and emblazoned

ZIZIPHO POSWA

photo: Adriaan Louw, Christof Van Der Walt Zizipho

ORIGINS Yangu Oil

We know that Africa produces some of the world’s most valuable natural raw materials. Do you ever wonder how these are used in their places of origin?

Spotlight on Thandiswa Mazwai

IN EACH ISSUE OF FIFTY FOUR MAG, ONE OF AFRICA’S FINEST CREATIVES WILL OPEN UP THEIR BEAUTY CABINET TO US, SHARING FAVOURITE PRODUCTS AND BEAUTY RITUALS THEY SWEAR BY

Editor’s Beauty Picks

As we kick off the year after a festive holiday season, we ask four of our editors to introduce themselves via scent and are delighted by the nostalgia of it all. Fragrance, after all, evokes memory. Each person highlights one product they won’t be without this season and a beauty brand on their radar right now. These are the things we love.

The Art of Good African Hair

The more I grow the more I learn that African hair is a manifestation of how energy moves in the universe – in a spiral, shaped like a galaxy

The Greatest Party of All

Led to the Greatest Menu of All from Burundian Chef Coco Reinarhz

An ERA of Building the 22nd Century

Creating multigenerational blessings and sacred landscapes that embody Black history, Ghanaian-British architect, Sir David Adjaye (OBE) was born during the beginning of the post-colonial era and the making of the new world in Africa. The starchitect has disrupted and challenged the way that we experience civic spaces and landscape for over 20 years

AFRICA IS OPEN

Enduring the devastating impact of travel bans and an overreliance on tourism, we give you our top 5 travel picks following the Covid-19 pandemic

Beyond Returning

What’s next af ter Ghana’s 2019 ‘Year of Return’?

The Elephant in the Room

The Beauty, Allure, and Vulnerability of the African Woman

The Chosen Ones – the Nyau Society

In Chichewa (a Bantu language spoken in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique), the word ‘Nyau’ translates to mask. It’s no surprise then that Malawi’s famed Nyau Society is shrouded in mystery and secrecy.

NOW YOU SEE ME

Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini “Zozi” Tunzi lets us in on the real Zozi and the real Africa

GET TO KNOW ETHIOPIA’S SURI AND KARA PEOPLE

Multi-award winning global photographer and Fifty Four mag’s key ally and contributor, Australia’s Giovanna Aryafara, spends time listening to and learning from the ethnic groups in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley

54 FACES OF

We can’t stop celebrating these cultural icons from the past and present

In conversation with TREVOR STUURMAN

Our Editor-in-Chief Mwai gets to know the man behind the images

Film Roundup

What to Watch: African Storytellers are Simply Splendid Onscreen

Moving to the BEAT OF AFRICA

African people are no stranger to music that moves. With beats and melodies that have travelled the world over and informed today’s most recognised genres – to say African music inspires and is emulated around the globe is a gross understatement

Bookmarked: Acclaimed Work s that will Speak to your Soul

Discover the books we’re telling all of our friends to read this season

THE FEAR OF TEARS

Africa’s Unrealistic Expectations of its Men

CHILDREN OF THE SOIL

Girl Gone Authentic journal is an inspiration library that explores and narrates the essence of beauty captured in the ordinary – in places, materials, cultural nuances and in being human. Here Khumoetsile Seamogano shares some words

INTERVIEW WITH THE LAZY MAKOTI

Popularly known as The Lazy Makoti, Chef Mogau Seshoene has completely overhauled how we think of traditional South African food and she uniquely celebrates its history and culture through her expression of The Lazy Makoti and her cooking style

The Falls

photo: Andrew Brown We seek belonging