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  • Gen Zs newest best buddies are their pets

Gen Zs newest best buddies are their pets

Inside: Ore Akinde in Z-brand spotlight

Author

Kenga Media
February 10, 2023

🧘‍♀️ Zen Note

I sometimes get lost reflecting on all the love and laughter that fills my life as we get closer to the day of hearts and flowers. Though I prefer to think of myself as a loner, I have some incredible people in my life and work with some of the best you can ever find. 

To all the lovebirds out there, I dedicate this newsletter to you💌. I hope this year's Valentine's Day brings you even more love and happiness. And on Tuesday (night), get a tub of ice cream or your best snack and enjoy anything from our Weekenda if you are single. You deserve it!😉 

Sending virtual hugs and kisses to all of you, plus my dear friends, family, and co-workers.  

- Edisana Stephen, Newsletter Editor

🥳 Z Brand Spotlight

ORE AKINDE is a Nigerian handmade crotchet-wear fashion brand named after the founder. The brand uses sustainable and eco-friendly materials to carefully craft unique fashion pieces. Ore diligently works from her home in Nigeria and delivers to her customers worldwide. Their designs can be custom-made and done on order.

✍️ New on Kenga

Barak Jacuzzi: Feeling the Nairobeat (Kenga Issue IV Cover Interview) — Kenga: The Afro Gen Z Publication

In his cover interview for Kenga Issue IV, Barak Jacuzzi discusses with Arinze Obiezue, Kenga’s publisher, about the new projects he’s working on, spills the tea on his romantic type, and tells the story of his artistic development, inspired by the heartbeat of Nairobi

https://kengadigital.com/stories/barakjacuzzicover

I Read 134 Books in 2022. These 6 Were Really Worth It — Kenga: The Afro Gen Z Publication

Literary editor Anna-Maria shares the 6 books she enjoyed the most from the 134 she read in 2022. Are there some on the list you’ve read or are planning to read in 2023?

https://kengadigital.com/stories/read134books

⚡ Quickie of the Week

"I stood there for hours. Still. My body felt so weightless, a butterfly could drop kick me. What was happening was a cross between miracle and magical. It was... miragical. Everyone in the colony came to see it. I wish they hadn't..." RAIN BY Jean Quarcoopome

Quickies: Rain — Kenga: The Afro Gen Z Publication

I stood there for hours. Still. My body felt so weightless, a butterfly could drop kick me. What was happening was a cross between miracle and magical. It was… miragical. Everyone in the colony came to see it. I wish they hadn’t. Before it happened, we had only ever heard stories of it. Of how you

https://kengadigital.com/stories/rainquickly

🔥 Hot Topics

  • More young people are choosing to live with their parents so they could afford to splurge. (via Business Insider)

  • How Gen Z is influencing Green Business Operations. (via FE News)

  • Web3 will shape the future of Gen Z and Millennials. (via Crypto Newz)

  • New survey finds that Gen Zs newest best buddies are their pets. (via Fox 6)

  • Young people now need more credentials than their parents to hold the same job positions. (via Daily Mail)

  • How the Great Resignation and Gen Z sparked a surge of exorbitant job titles. (via Business Insider)

💡 Z-Lang

GLOW-UP - is a phrase that means a makeover or transformation in a good way. Can be used for describing how someone has improved from where or who they used to be.

😮‍💨 Weekenda

  • 📖 It's Giving by Kenga (ISSUE IV) 

It's giving fiery. It's giving progressive. It's giving Gen Z fervour. Read our most zealous issue yet!

Magazine Showcase — Kenga: The Afro Gen Z Publication

The Kenga Magazine is the flagship creative canvas of Kenga Media, comprising quarterly themed issues that celebrate the ideas, people, and trends influencing Africa’s Gen Z community.

https://kengadigital.com/magazine

  •  📖 Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey 

Go on an emotional ride with this sharp-witted debut novel, from the award-winning writer of Schitt's Creek. 

Really Good, Actually

A hilarious and painfully relatable debut novel about o…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60877616-really-good-actually

  • 🖼️ In Honour of Nwanyi Mbaise art exhibition, Ada Gallery, Accra

Immerse in this ode to JC Bright's Catholic upbringing, in an art exhibition that celebrates the matriarch with religious overtones.

ADA contemporary art gallery on Instagram: "I N H O N O U R O F N W A N Y I M B A I S E . . . JC Bright plunges his practice into discovery, as he playfully manoeuvres within the depths of chromatism presenting his abstract paintings as shrines paying homage to the artist’s relationship with his mother. . . . Each painting serves as an ode and testament to her upbringing that was deeply steeped in Catholicism and her profession as a nurse which naturally fed into his own identity formation. In these works, Bright rethinks traditional notions of religious symbolism and the connation of the Christian Cross while honouring his matriarch and her life of service and sacrifice. . . . Exhibition on view until 26 March 2023. 📸: @nfoningraphy [courtesy of the artist and ADA \ contemporary art gallery #contemporarvafricanart #africanart #painting #exhibition #artgallery #artlovers #art #ghana #abstract #nigeria #abstractart #abstractpainting #adacontemporaryartgallery #blackart #artist #jcbright @jc.bright"

334 Likes, 4 Comments - ADA contemporary art gallery (@ada_accra) on Instagram: "I N H O N O U R O F N W A N Y I M B A I S E . . . JC Bright plunges his practice into discovery, as he playfully manoeuvres within the depths of chromatism presenting his abstract paintings as shrines paying homage to the artist’s relationship with his mother. . . . Each painting serves as an ode and testament to her upbringing that was deeply steeped in Catholicism and her profession as a nurse which naturally fed into his own identity formation. In these works, Bright rethinks traditional notions of religious symbolism and the connation of the Christian Cross while honouring his matriarch and her life of service and sacrifice. . . . Exhibition on view until 26 March 2023. 📸: @nfoningraphy [courtesy of the artist and ADA \ contemporary art gallery #contemporarvafricanart #africanart #painting #exhibition #artgallery #artlovers #art #ghana #abstract #nigeria #abstractart #abstractpainting #adacontemporaryartgallery #blackart #artist #jcbright @jc.bright"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoUKzM_IONz/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

  • 🫱🏾‍🫲🏾 Kimoji Night network event, Beehive, Osu, Accra

Accra's newest Gen Z members club receives you for a buzzing night of games and networking. 

Kimoji Night on Instagram: "It's the Pre-Valentine Kimoji Night and it's all about the vibe and the people we love. See y'all on Friday.Powered by @jamesongh. #kimojimoments"

Kimoji Night (@kimojinight) on Instagram: "It's the Pre-Valentine Kimoji Night and it's all about the vibe and the people we love. See y'all on Friday.Powered by @jamesongh. #kimojimoments"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoX0aDlrUYz/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

  • 🎨 1-54 Marrakech 2023 art fair, Morocco

Explore a melange of African and diasporan art in the return of this travelling art fair.

1-54 Contemp. African Art Fair on Instagram: "We’re live on @artsy!✨⁠ ⁠ Thanks to 1-54’s long-standing partnership with Artsy, visitors are also able to explore, connect with, and collect from all the galleries and artists online from 09 – 26 February! ⁠ ⁠ Keep an eye on our Artsy profile and enjoy the works of more than 60 artists from Africa and the African diaspora online!⁠ ⁠ 📍Link in bio!"

718 Likes, 10 Comments - 1-54 Contemp. African Art Fair (@154artfair) on Instagram: "We’re live on @artsy!✨⁠ ⁠ Thanks to 1-54’s long-standing partnership with Artsy, visitors are also able to explore, connect with, and collect from all the galleries and artists online from 09 – 26 February! ⁠ ⁠ Keep an eye on our Artsy profile and enjoy the works of more than 60 artists from Africa and the African diaspora online!⁠ ⁠ 📍Link in bio!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CocGRCYt0TX/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The Kengaroo is a weekly newsletter that curates the latest on Gen Z culture in Africa and around the world. Subscribe to be among the first to get the next issue when it’s up.