MIAMI BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 10, 2025--
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration with the Art in Black Foundation to present The South African Collective —a debut curatorial art exhibition spotlighting five dynamic visual artists from South Africa. The exhibit, open exclusively to festival attendees, will be on view during ABFF, taking place June 12–14, 2025, at the New World Center in Miami Beach. The catalog of available artwork is HERE.
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Curated by Allana Foster Finley of Cur8Africa, The South African Collective is the inaugural fine art initiative of the Art in Black Foundation—founded by Ellis Friday, a visionary young creative committed to cultural connection, with support from his parents, Nicole and Jeff Friday. This curated experience marks an evolution in ABFF’s programming, expanding the festival’s cultural offerings to include global visual art in dialogue with Black film, media, and storytelling.
The idea for this collaboration was born during an immersive art tour through South Africa led by curator Allana Foster Finley and attended by Jeff Friday. Inspired by the depth of artistic talent and cultural expression, the journey laid the foundation for what would become this inaugural showcase.
“This exhibition is an exciting step forward in ABFF’s mission to uplift global Black creatives,” said Jeff Friday, founder of ABFF. “We are proud to provide a platform where African art and cinematic storytelling can exist in conversation, inspiring deeper cultural connection.”
Featured Artists:
Steve Maphoso - A self-taught Angolan-born artist, Maphoso blends acrylic and charcoal to create emotionally resonant portraits. His current series centers on twin boys guided by ancestral intention, exploring themes of migration, ritual, and brotherhood through symbolic narrative and layered abstraction.
Thabiso Dakamela - With roots in Venda and Ndebele heritage, Dakamela’s Afrocentric work examines identity and emotion. His expressive style—often rendered in powerful blues—has earned national recognition, and his DKS Project House supports emerging artists in South Africa.
Assan Taylor - Known for textured portraits combining oil, charcoal, gold leaf, and found materials, Taylor’s work bridges tradition and innovation. His bold, multilayered pieces reflect the vibrancy of contemporary Southern African culture and human connection.
Siyabonga Mlambi - Originating from South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Mlambi’s art is deeply rooted in Nguni tradition and modern innovation. His unique style, Khanda-Art Superblur African Synthetic Cubism, employs fabric, stones, and mixed media to evoke unity, imagination, and spiritual energy.
Ayanda Moyo - A Zimbabwean artist whose work in charcoal and acrylic explores identity and culture, Moyo’s emotionally rich paintings invite deep reflection on the shared human experience through bold, expressive techniques.
Together, these artists bring their individual perspectives to a collective narrative that intersects visual art with the broader mission of ABFF—celebrating and amplifying Black stories worldwide.
About the Art in Black Foundation
Formerly the Film Life Foundation, the Art in Black Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to uplifting works that reflect the richness and diversity of the Black experience. The organization aims to bridge communities through storytelling across all artistic mediums, highlighting the humanity and creativity of people of African descent.
About the American Black Film Festival (ABFF)
Founded in 1997, the American Black Film Festival is the leading festival dedicated to showcasing film and television content by and about people of African descent. Now in its 29th year, ABFF continues to serve as a vital platform for emerging and established Black artists, attracting attendees from around the world to celebrate the power of storytelling in all its forms.
For updates, visit abff.com and follow @ABFF on Twitter and @AmericanBlackFilmFestival on Instagram and Facebook.
Download Artists’ HeadshotsHERE
Catalog of ArtworkHERE
American Black Film Festival Partners With the Art in Black Foundation to Introduce The South African Collective
LONDON (AP) — An emphatic election victory for Britain’s environmentalist Green Party is a nightmare for Prime Minister Keir Starmer that raises questions about how long he will continue as leader.
Less than two years after winning power in a landslide, Starmer’s center-left Labour Party not only lost a longtime stronghold in its northern England heartlands — it came third, finishing behind both the left-leaning Greens and the hard-right party Reform U.K.
Thursday’s election in the Gorton and Denton constituency of Greater Manchester was for just one seat out of 650 in the House of Commons. But it’s a glimpse into the messy new reality of British politics, and its consequences could be far-reaching.
Here are takeaways from the election.
The result is a heavy blow to Starmer, whose leadership has staggered through a series of crises and suffered a near-death experience earlier this month.
Since being elected in July 2024, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. His government has been sidetracked by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, meaning the main threat to Starmer comes from within his own party. Under British rules, the governing party can change prime minister without having to go to voters.
Three weeks ago it looked like that might happen, when indirect fallout from a trove of Jeffrey Epstein files released in the United States caused discontent to boil over.
Several Labour lawmakers and the party's leader in Scotland called for Starmer to resign, his chief of staff and communications director quit, and his premiership teetered on the brink.
Starmer vowed to stay, and got a reprieve after potential leadership rivals publicly backed him. But his already precarious position is now even shakier, and he faces peril after May 7 local and regional elections, when Labour is expected to do badly.
Jon Trickett, a Labour lawmaker on the left of the party, said Friday that Starmer should “look in the mirror and make a decision about his own personal future.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the result shows that “Labour’s electoral stranglehold is over.”
For a century, U.K. national politics has been dominated by two parties: the Conservatives on the right and Labour on the left. Unlike many European countries, Britain does not have a system of proportional representation, meaning that smaller parties have struggled to break through.
But that is changing. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own distinct parties. And new parties on both left and right are snatching an increasing share of the vote.
Reform U.K., the latest party led by anti-immigration campaigner Nigel Farage, has just eight seats in the House of Commons but has topped opinion polls for months, ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives.
The Greens, under their new leader, the “eco-populist” Polanski, have broadened their message beyond environmental concerns to focus on issues including the cost of living, legalization of drugs and support for the Palestinian cause, positioning themselves as an alternative to Labour for left-liberal voters.
Newly elected lawmaker Hannah Spencer is a 34-year-old plumber who in her victory speech apologized to customers for having to cancel appointments so she could start her new job in Parliament.
She spoke of issues that should be Labour’s terrain: the cost of living, frayed public services and the erosion of opportunities in former industrial areas that traditionally voted Labour.
“For people here in Gorton and Denton who feel left behind and isolated: I see you and I will fight for you,” Spencer said.
The result drives home Labour’s predicament: It faces challenges from both left and right.
Thursday’s election was in a diverse area that has traditional working-class neighborhoods — once strongly Labour, now tilting toward Reform — as well as large numbers of university students and Muslim residents. Many of them feel disillusioned by Labour’s centrist shift under Starmer and the government’s perceived slowness at criticizing Israel’s conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza — fertile ground for the Green Party.
Rob Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said the result was “the nightmare scenario for the incumbent government.”
“They have fallen into the electoral Valley of Death,” Ford wrote on social media. “Rejected in the center. Rejected on the right. And now rejected on the left.”
In the wake of the defeat, many in Labour called for a change of direction, saying efforts to win over “Reform-curious” voters with policies aimed at curbing immigration had alienated many liberal electors.
“If the Labour Party thinks it can win an election by moving on to the territory which has been occupied by Mr. Farage and his party, they’ve made a big mistake,” Trickett told Times Radio. He said the party had made the mistake of assuming "that the progressive voters had nowhere else to go.”
Starmer has been tainted by fallout from scandals about Jeffrey Epstein, a man he never met and in whose crimes he’s not implicated.
The leadership crisis earlier this month was sparked by revelations about the relationship between sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson, the veteran Labour politician appointed by Starmer in 2024 to be U.K. ambassador to Washington.
Police are investigating emails suggesting Mandelson passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. Mandelson was arrested and questioned by detectives this week before being released on bail. He does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that the ambassador had maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. But recent revelations have stirred up Labour lawmakers’ anger at Starmer’s poor judgment in appointing Mandelson to the Washington job in the first place.
On Friday Starmer acknowledged the result was disappointing, but vowed to “keep on fighting.”
“Incumbent governments quite often get results like that mid-term, but I do understand that voters are frustrated," he said. "They’re impatient for change.”
Green Party newly elected Member of Parliament Hannah Spencer looks on as party leader Zack Polanski speaks at a press conference after her win in the Gorton and Denton by-election, in Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
The count begins after voting ends in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Manchester, England, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
The Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer speaks after winning the Gorton and Denton by-election, Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
CORRECTS DATE - Greens Party candidate Hannah Spencer, left, stands with party leader Zack Polanski after winning the Gorton and Denton by-election, Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets local party members, in London, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer, right, celebrates with party leader Zack Polanski at a volunteer thank you event after winning the Gorton and Denton by-election, Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
