“Africa and its artists don’t need love. They don't need recognition. They don't need to be discovered by some new Christopher Columbus. They just want to be left to perform their craft,” writes Cameroonian curator Simon Njami in November’s Juxtapoz (articles not available online).

So begins the “African Art Issue.” Clearly, the U.S.-based arts magazine is uncomfortable assuming authority on the subject.

And they avoid doing so at all costs, by recruiting African curators and thinkers to weigh in on the state of African art and allowing the artists to speak for themselves whenever possible.

Many critique the whole premise of the issue, questioning the label “African art.” Multimedia artist Ghada Amer, for instance, resolutely shuns such narrow geographic classifications, arguing that they unfairly limit the reception of an artist's message. Critics routinely interpret her art as commentary on the role of women in Muslim nations, and she resents the mischaracterization of her work, which she describes as “between cultures and about all the women of the world.” Meanwhile, self-described Afro-futurist Wangechi Mutu worries that the moniker implies an untrained, outsider status, leaving no room in contemporary art circles for artists of African descent. She wants her art, which includes conceptual installation work and mixed-media collages, to be taken seriously so that she and others can be recognized as “players in the making of art history.”

The issue's end result? No orderly definitions of African art, but that’s probably the point.

We just got our hands on the debut issue of a.magazine, a South Africa–based quarterly of writing, photography, and art. In the resplendent first issue, the editors clarify that the magazine will work to “highlight the modern, the beautiful, the unexpected and complex sides of Africa, while not shying away from writing or art that confronts the work still to be done.” This mission statement alone is enough to grab one’s attention—I can’t think of any magazines out there that are doing this right now—but as if that weren’t enough, the table of contents for this issue boasts well-known literary figures like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Purple Hibiscus) and Zakes Mda (Ways of Dying). A piece by Greg Marinovich, “Fence Jumping: A National Sport,” tracks the paths (literally) of Zimbabweans illegally crossing the border into South Africa, with stunning photos that prove the athleticism of the endeavor. This is one of the most exciting, promising projects I’ve seen in a long while.

—Danielle Maestretti