4 minute read
Introducing WAITHOOD Magazine
A catalyst for creative liberation
Welcome aboard, dear reader of FlyNamibia! As you journey through Namibia’s breathtaking landscapes, we invite you to take a moment to explore WAITHOOD Magazine, a contemporary art publication that thrives on the intersection of creative expression, imagination and resistance!
The concept of “waithood” is rooted in the groundbreaking work of anthropologist Alcinda Honwana, who describes it as a liminal phase where young people navigate the complexities of transitioning into adulthood. Often perceived as an undesirable state of prolonged adolescence, “waithood” is understood as the result of failed neoliberal and global socioeconomic policies. Yet, within these challenges lies profound creative potential.
Although the word “waithood” implies waiting, Honwana argues (and we agree!) that African and Afro-diasporic youth are not simply waiting for conditions to change in their favour. In fact, the opposite is true: this state of instability mobilises the youth to flirt with informality and improvisation. At WAITHOOD Magazine, we reimagine this liminal space as a site of experimentation – fertile ground for creativity, innovation, new possibilities for the adult self, as well as a place where the seeds of new opportunity are planted and alternative futures are imagined. WAITHOOD Magazine celebrates the creatives, artists, architects, filmmakers and cultural practitioners who redefine our built and social environments across the continent and beyond!
Issue 1: WAITHOOD and Rest
The inaugural issue of WAITHOOD Magazine explores the transformative power of rest. This issue is a collaboration with contemporary minds and artists interested in speculation, and deeply involved in the calculation of the required labour necessary for us to imagine and produce alternative futures. For the young Black artists, writers and makers featured in this edition, rest is an essential practice towards collective liberation. It opens possibilities of freedom from the relentless impositions of colonial realities and an embrace of alternative modes of being.
Rest emerges as a pathway to return to silent syntaxes and common traditional knowledges and pedagogies. Through rest, we dream liberation: the space to nurture the intelligence of our being, to remember who we are and to envision new possibilities untethered from limiting narratives. Rest, as presented in WAITHOOD, becomes an invitation to embrace ourselves fully and radically.
Issue 2: WAITHOOD and Water
In our second issue, we turn to water – a force of life, mobility and transformation. Water shapes the very essence of our existence, influencing how we move, gather and dream. This issue positions water as both a teacher and a witness, inviting us to learn from its movement, persistence and adaptability.
Through this lens, we explore water’s relationship to colonial infrastructure, memory and liberation. What stories does water hold, and what histories does it reveal? How does it amplify the interconnectedness of our shared human experience, especially in light of the ongoing global climate crises?
We delve into water’s porous nature – its capacity to hold, release, and transform. In dialogue with this, we examine Black mobility and internationalism, considering how water has been a conduit for Black liberation, refusal and dreams throughout history. WAITHOOD Magazine invites you to journey with us into these layered themes, where each issue is an act of collective inquiry and imagination.
Just as Namibia’s landscapes reveal beauty, resilience and diversity, so too do the voices within WAITHOOD Magazine.
A shared conversation
As Namibia continues to position itself as a hub for innovation and culture, WAITHOOD Magazine seeks to contribute to this vibrant narrative by fostering connections across the African continent and its diasporas. Just as Namibia’s landscapes reveal beauty, resilience and diversity, so too do the voices within WAITHOOD Magazine.
