AFRICAN CARAVAN
The Project - The Great African Caravan
Between 2018 and 2019, 12 artists from 4 different continents embarked on a 16,000km road trip across Africa that would challenge, evolve, and change them. On the road, they learned about life in Africa and created art that speaks of a world without borders. The project – The Great African Caravan – aimed to share this concept of 'unborder' by travelling and collaborating with local artists and communities in Africa, creating diverse art around issues that deserve attention.
The team worked to create dialogues around race, caste, gender, pan-Africanism, neo-colonialism, and more through public artwork and performances. They created bonds both amongst themselves and with Africa by collaborating and living with local artists, and in the process learning from them. The project was difficult and often tumultuous, but endlessly rewarding for everyone involved.
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This comic tells their story.
The Comic - African Caravan
African Caravan unfolds as they drive across the continent, shedding light upon the wealth of culture, ethnicities, lives, and stories of Africa. The comic captures the journey, adventures and misadventures, and profound learnings of the artists by portraying how each member of the group explores their individuality while forming relationships with each other and the continent. The story is rife with suspense, fascinating insights, unexpected developments, financial struggles, as well as countless hair-raising incidents with twists and turns – just like the roads they traversed!
The African Caravan group drove from South Africa through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt, making art, laughing, fighting, and learning along the way.
The comic series was initially visualised as a traditional comic book, but was then changed to a vertical webcomic format to allow for more accessibility to everyone. The webcomics have tried to reach out to as many people as possible with a mobile-friendly format that allows readers to read the comics on the go. You can read African Caravan for free on the homepage of this website, or on Webtoons.
The creator, Shikhant Sablania, is an artist based in New Delhi and has been working as an illustrator, artist, and storyteller who weaves stories through his art, comics, and design. He was part of the Caravan as a designer and comics artist. He runs his own design studio called Choorma: www.choorma.com
