Listen to Episode 9 of The ICA Podcast!
In this bonus episode, our Season 1 finale, we switch focus to bring you the profile of a writer – Bongani Kona. Beginning at the Delville Wood Memorial in central Cape Town, and with the public performance, Imperfections, that Kona witnessed there in 2010, this episode is about memorialisation, master narratives, home and belonging, and the politics of place and memory. Interspersed with readings from Kona's non-fiction writing, we discuss the history of Zimbabwe as Kona lived it, about immigrating to South Africa, living in Cape Town, and people and things left behind.
The Delville Wood Memorial, Cape Town.
Leila Anderson, Owen Manamela-Mogane & Mdu Kweyama, Imperfections. Infecting the City 2010. Image courtesy of Africa Centre.
Bongani Kona is a writer, editor and co-curator of the Archive of Forgetfulness project. His work has appeared in a variety of places including Chimurenga, Safe House: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction, The Daily Assortment of Astonishing Things and Other Stories, The Baffler and BBC Radio 4. He was awarded the Ruth First Fellowship in 2019 and shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2016.
About The ICA Podcast
The ICA Podcast extends the work begun by the ICA’s 2019 publication Acts of Transgression: Contemporary Live Art in South Africa – through conversations with the creators and curators of Live Art. Read more about the vision for The ICA Podcast, and the artists featured in Season 1. Listen and subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you find podcasts. You can also listen on our website.
Looking ahead
This bonus episode brings Season 1 of The ICA Podcast to a close, but we'll be back with more artists and more performances in Season 2 later in the year – stay tuned to social media for details.
If you like what you've heard over the course of this season, rate and review the podcast on Apple podcasts, or share The ICA Podcast with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for listening.