Revista Buala

Revista Buala is a Lusophone cultural magazine and online platform dedicated to African and Afro-diasporic arts, literature, history, and intellectual debate. Founded in the early 2010s, it operates at the intersection of cultural criticism, archival recovery, and contemporary creative practice, engaging with topics ranging from colonial memory to contemporary literature and visual arts. The publication serves as a node connecting artists, scholars, curators, and activists across Lusophone Africa and the global Afro-Portuguese diaspora.

History

The publication emerged in the wake of renewed scholarly interest in postcolonial studies and Lusophone African cultural production, drawing genealogical lines to movements associated with figures such as Amílcar Cabral, Agostinho Neto, José Eduardo Agualusa, Mia Couto, and Chinua Achebe through wider regional dialogues. Its founding coincided with cultural festivals and institutional initiatives like the Luanda Triennale, Bienal de São Paulo, Festa do Divino, and collaborations with archives such as the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino and the British Library’s African collections. The magazine’s timeline intersects with major events including the End of Apartheid in South Africa, the expansion of the African Union, and international exhibitions featuring artists like Yinka Shonibare, El Anatsui, and Nástio Mosquito. Early editorial projects responded to debates around cultural restitution evoked by cases linked to institutions such as the Musée du Quai Branly and legal frameworks like the 1973 UNESCO Convention deliberations.

Editorial Profile and Content

The editorial line foregrounds long-form essays, literary translations, archival research, interviews, and visual projects. Content often situates contemporary creators alongside historical referents such as Fernando Pessoa, Alberto da Costa e Silva, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and Aimé Césaire, while engaging with scholarship by Stuart Hall, Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Paul Gilroy. Feature topics have included postcolonial urbanism in relation to cities like Luanda, Maputo, Lisbon, São Paulo, Praia, and Porto-Novo; critical readings of archives from institutions including the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; and art-historical surveys referencing curatorial projects at the Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and Museum of Modern Art. The magazine publishes translations and new writing by poets and novelists in the lineage of Pepetela, António Lobo Antunes, José Saramago, Paulina Chiziane, and contemporary voices like Noémia de Sousa influencers, enabling cross-pollination with film-makers and critics referencing works by Sarah Maldoror, Manoel de Oliveira, Killer of Sheep-era auteurs, and international festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival and Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa.

Contributors and Network

Contributors include a mix of historians, critics, writers, translators, curators, and visual artists from institutions and organizations such as the University of Lisbon, Eduardo Mondlane University, University of Cape Town, SOAS University of London, New York University, Wits University, Princeton University, and cultural centers like the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Instituto Camões, and African Centre for Cities. The network has featured collaborations with curators and scholars associated with exhibitions at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, and independent platforms like Apê 334 and Casa das Artes de Fogo. Contributors have included writers and thinkers connected to movements and journals such as Présence Africaine, Transition Magazine, Wasafiri, Granta, and publishers like Tinta-da-China, Editora 34, Galaxia Gutenberg, and Faber and Faber-affiliated translators.

Funding and Institutional Support

Financial and institutional backing has come from a mixture of cultural funds, grants, and institutional partnerships. Supporters and partners have included foundations and programs such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Ford Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, European Cultural Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and national cultural agencies like Instituto Camões and municipal cultural departments in cities including Lisbon, Luanda, and Maputo. Project-based funding has linked the magazine to grant cycles and residencies offered by entities like the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme, British Council, and Pro Helvetia, as well as research collaborations with university centers including Centre for African Studies (Cambridge), Institute of Commonwealth Studies, and the International Center for Transitional Justice on thematic issues.

Reception and Impact

The platform has been cited in academic work on Lusophone literatures, cultural policy, and exhibition catalogues produced for institutions such as the Tate Modern, Stedelijk Museum, and Museu Coleção Berardo. It has influenced curatorial practice and public programming in festivals like the Africa Centre events, the Luanda Theatre Festival, and biennials across Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Angola. Reviews and discussions in journals and media outlets referencing the magazine appear alongside commentary by critics associated with The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, The New York Times', The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and specialized periodicals such as African Arts, Research in African Literatures, and Third Text. Its archival initiatives and translation projects have contributed to renewed attention to authors and archives connected to Portuguese colonial history, prompting partnerships with libraries and museums engaged in provenance research and restitution debates involving collections from regions including Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, and Angola.

Category:Magazines about culture