Zama grew up in rural Groutville, north of Durban. He believes he displayed the tenets of blerd culture from a young age before he even knew of its existence.
“I was very fascinated by mythology, fantasy, comic books, animation, Star Wars, and otherworldly things. This was at the time when interest in geek culture was not common, especially for black people,” he says.
“I remember vividly when I was a kid, my mother asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to make anime at a time when most people didn't know what anime is, right? She said it's a great ambition but not realistic. If I had to get something on the corporate side, which strikes a balance, it was marketing.”
The budding brand captured the attention of the popular Comic Con Africa and was invited as an exhibitor.
“How we looked at it was that it would be something that would allow us to earn a lot of credibility in the community and just put ourselves out there,” says Zama.
“We brought in eight different artists who, for a lot of them, was their first time at Comic Con, whether as a vendor or as a visitor. They all did well. One artist even sold out in two days. It showed us that we need to continue doing Afro Geek and advancing the presence of black creators in these spaces,” he says.
The interactive comic expo is free to the public. The showcase will house 60 exhibitors from African creators in the disciplines of video game developers, robotics, comic book studios, anime creators, animators, graphic designers, and more. World-class local animation studios Black Native Animation Studio and Formation Animation are among the exhibitors.
“This year, we've scaled it up significantly by partnering with the Jabulani Safe Hub,” says Zama.
“Previously, events such as these were not accessible to us black kids from the township and villages. We aim to introduce young people, including kids from the township to the various career opportunities in the fields of technology and gaming, in animation and the arts.”
Creatives in gaming,animation gather in Soweto to celebrate geek culture
Video gamers, aspiring animators and comic book purists will converge to the second annual Afro Geek Fest this weekend at the Jabulani SafeHub in Jabulani, Soweto – just in time for Africa Day on Sunday.
What is Afro Geek Fest?
“It’s a celebration of African geek culture. The one way that we differ from other similar events is that we lean more toward locally made. We give the platform to more indie and African original comics, indie video games and local art and so forth,” says creative director and co-founder of Afro Geek Fest, Tapelo Zama.
At the heart of Afro Geek Fest is blerd (black nerd) culture, the celebration of black and African creatives in the industry.
“It’s spelt b-l-e-r-d, a contraction for 'black nerd'. It's a fascinating bubble, sort of a microcosm that is its own thing, and often to understand it, you must be in it,” says Zama.
The 39-year-old digital marketer for an advertising agency in Johannesburg established Afro Geek in 2022.
Image: supplied
“I realised there is a lot of African talent within that sphere, but you rarely see them at other well-known comic festivals, either as a visitor or exhibitor. It was that imbalance that sparked the idea to create Afro Geek,” he says.
“I found talented artists, animators, whatever the case might be, but they don't get to showcase their talent at those platforms. The older I got and the past five years or so, I became immersed into what is called blerd culture.”
Zama grew up in rural Groutville, north of Durban. He believes he displayed the tenets of blerd culture from a young age before he even knew of its existence.
“I was very fascinated by mythology, fantasy, comic books, animation, Star Wars, and otherworldly things. This was at the time when interest in geek culture was not common, especially for black people,” he says.
“I remember vividly when I was a kid, my mother asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to make anime at a time when most people didn't know what anime is, right? She said it's a great ambition but not realistic. If I had to get something on the corporate side, which strikes a balance, it was marketing.”
The budding brand captured the attention of the popular Comic Con Africa and was invited as an exhibitor.
“How we looked at it was that it would be something that would allow us to earn a lot of credibility in the community and just put ourselves out there,” says Zama.
“We brought in eight different artists who, for a lot of them, was their first time at Comic Con, whether as a vendor or as a visitor. They all did well. One artist even sold out in two days. It showed us that we need to continue doing Afro Geek and advancing the presence of black creators in these spaces,” he says.
The interactive comic expo is free to the public. The showcase will house 60 exhibitors from African creators in the disciplines of video game developers, robotics, comic book studios, anime creators, animators, graphic designers, and more. World-class local animation studios Black Native Animation Studio and Formation Animation are among the exhibitors.
“This year, we've scaled it up significantly by partnering with the Jabulani Safe Hub,” says Zama.
“Previously, events such as these were not accessible to us black kids from the township and villages. We aim to introduce young people, including kids from the township to the various career opportunities in the fields of technology and gaming, in animation and the arts.”
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