At a time when the public sector is faltering and the media landscape is in flux, the role of print culture in the South African story becomes crucial.
Zines — despite the slow and agonising death of the traditional publishing industry — are seeing a resurgence, driven by Gen Z’s desire for authentic representation in an age of alienating automation and algorithmic annihilation.
By 2050, one in four humans will be African, a demographic shift that illuminates the potential of forms of youth-driven creative expression, such as zines, to influence cultural and political landscapes.
The three collectives featured in this article — Afro Chronicles, Aimed Consciousness and Can I Tell You A Secret? — emerged from Dr Rangoato Hlasane’s Drawing and Contemporary Practice course at the Wits School of Arts last year.
Hlasane, born in Polokwane in 1981, is an artist, educator and co-founder of the Keleketla! Library, who earned his PhD with a thesis titled Kwaitoscapes: Reading the Historiographic Narratives in the Visual Cultures of Black Youth.
Hlasane has been instrumental in reimagining independent publishing as a “de-colonial” tool, encouraging Wits students, for more than a decade now, to view it as a means of self-authorship.
Hlasane’s pedagogy draws from the Medu Art Ensemble, who amplified print as a tool for collective world-building. Founded in 1978 by South African exiles in Botswana, including figures such as Thami Mnyele, Medu used print to promote liberation during apartheid.
Despite a 1985 raid that killed Mnyele and destroyed their works, Medu’s impact endures and Hlasane’s latest cohort of student-led collectives are proof, using independent publishing to challenge the dominant culture and reclaim intellectual sovereignty.
How do you engage with the legacy of the Medu Art Ensemble?
Afro Chronicles: Medu’s use of print culture for resistance resonates with us. Their work empowered people to fight for their narratives. We take that approach — using print to spark dialogue and community empowerment and reclaiming the stories that have been overlooked.
Aimed Consciousness: Medu’s focus on storytelling through collaboration is key for us. We’ve taken that inspiration and combined it with grassroots cultural activism.
We try to keep their spirit of amplifying marginalised voices alive through our work.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: We connect with Medu’s emphasis on human experiences. Though we’re not overtly political, there’s something deeply aligned in how they prioritised the humanity in their art. We want to create spaces where marginalised voices can just be heard.
What’s your collective vision?
Afro Chronicles: Our vision is all about flipping the script on black identities.
We use humour as a tool to tackle serious stuff — society, culture, you name it — and spark conversations.
It’s about reclaiming our stories and using them to foster unity and agency.
Aimed Consciousness: We started as a movement to bring attention to the political side of hip-hop culture.
Our aim is to highlight issues that often get overlooked. Through our cultural discourse, we want to educate and give space for the voices that need to be heard.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: We’re about exploring intimacy and vulnerability. We were inspired by the days of childhood diaries — those little secrets we keep.
Our vision is to show strength and beauty in these vulnerable moments, creating relatable experiences.
Why did you choose your format?
Afro Chronicles: We chose the newspaper format because it has been used to communicate black stories for so long. We wanted to turn that around and use newspaper print to showcase black narratives in a way that challenges traditional media and silencing.
Aimed Consciousness: We use Riso prints [a cross between screen printing and photocopying], inspired by the DIY culture of sharing music — think cassette posters and CD booklets. It’s about creating a feeling of nostalgia, but also about making sure the art we produce is accessible and impactful.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: The diary format works best for us because it feels personal and intimate, much like a secret shared with a friend. It’s a way to reflect privately while still sharing a story publicly, creating a safe space for vulnerability.
What are your central themes?
Afro Chronicles: Our work centres around personal and socio-political realities. We explore everything from resilience and humour to the harsh realities of black life.
It’s about finding strength in the midst of complex issues.
Aimed Consciousness: Hip-hop is central for us — it’s a powerful vehicle for storytelling and discourse.
We mix local and global perspectives to show how these narratives are interwoven. We also dig deep into the political side of culture, giving space for diverse voices to be heard.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: We explore nostalgia, intimacy and care. For us, these aren’t just personal themes but societal ones too. The way we care for each other and ourselves is a form of resistance, a way of creating community and solidarity.
What’s the effect of Riso technology?
Afro Chronicles: The Riso printer pushed us to get creative with how we structure our content. We had to use A2 paper folded in quarters to make it work but it gave us a new way of thinking about print media —how we can use an old, often limiting, tool to tell our story in a fresh way.
Aimed Consciousness: Riso’s limitations were actually a blessing. They forced us to think outside the box and pushed our creativity. The constraints became a part of our process, helping us stay true to our commitment to accessible and engaging art.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: Working with the Riso machine was a learning curve but it taught us to innovate and prepare. It became a collaboration — finding the balance between what the machine could do and what we envisioned creatively. The tactile experience was a game changer.
What is the role of collaboration?
Afro Chronicles: Collaboration is at the heart of our collective. It’s about bringing diverse perspectives into the fold, but also about empathy and really listening to each other.
Our work has become richer and more intentional because of the ways we engage with each other’s ideas.
Aimed Consciousness: Collaboration for us is essential. It brings together different artistic disciplines, blending voices and perspectives. This mix enriches our work and challenges traditional forms of cultural production. It’s a community effort and it makes everything we do feel more alive.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: What we’ve learned is that real collaboration takes time and honest communication. It’s about trusting each other and being vulnerable. Through this, we’ve been able to create something more meaningful than what any of us could do individually.
What about audience engagement?
Afro Chronicles: We want our audience to reflect and engage with our work personally. Our stories aren’t just for entertainment — they’re meant to provoke thought and spark conversations. It’s about a dialogue that doesn’t end with the piece itself.
Aimed Consciousness: We hope our audience walks away with a sense of nostalgia and cultural pride. We want to spark conversations around the political and cultural role of hip-hop, making it something people want to engage with in a deeper way.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: Our goal is for the audience to step into a space of intimacy and care. We want them to feel like they’re part of something personal, but also something that connects them to a wider community of shared experiences.
What’s your vision for the future?
Afro Chronicles: We want to build cultural spaces that are inclusive and collaborative, spaces where marginalised voices aren’t just heard but amplified. Editorial practices should evolve to focus on decolonised frameworks and local contexts, bringing global dialogues into the mix.
Aimed Consciousness: We imagine a future where hip-hop and cultural production aren’t just recognised locally but globally. It’s about celebrating local narratives while challenging the traditional hierarchies that keep stories from being heard.
Can I Tell You A Secret?: We see cultural spaces as places of care and belonging. The future should prioritise authenticity and people over everything. We want to nurture storytelling through vulnerability and create spaces where people feel safe to be themselves.
Even within progressive movements, imbalances of race, gender and class dilute collective power.
But these collectives signal a shift in the evolving narrative of black cultural production. While struggle songs and toyi-toyi marches carry historical weight, subtler forms of resistance like drawing, writing and independent publishing often go overlooked.
With their accessibility and authentic archival qualities, these practices become living tools that defy erasure, connecting our various inner worlds and carving out radical, yet familiar, futures.
Thembeka Heidi Sincuba (they/them) is an independent artist, writer and academic whose work explores the intersection of vernacular artistic practices, technology, and the erotic.
