“After the Dream” is a film and video Art screening that explores the impact of visionary Edward Mukuka Nkoloso on contemporary Zambia. We aim to illuminate Nkoloso’s relevance to post-colonial Zambia as a necessary antidote to neo-colonialism. As Zambia celebrates its 60th anniversary, LuCAC seeks to reflect on the legacy of Nkoloso and Zambia’s immediate post-independence period. Nkoloso’s unwavering courage challenged the doubters and defied the condescension of colonial echoes. He is a testament to unyielding audacity. “After the Dream” provokes contemplation on the latent ambitions of a nation post-independence. It resonates with the daring aspiration for freedom and prominence in science and technology. It posits that the intrinsic freedom of dreaming yields potential, but its realization necessitates collective determination and perseverance.
Edward Festus Mukuka Nkoloso (1919-1989) was a science teacher, a member of the Zambian resistance movement and the founder of the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space programme. He came up with the term Afronaut, which could be interpreted as African Astronaut to refer to his team. These Afronauts have been the subject of subsequent artworks and documentaries. Inspired by a flight he took as a child and his desire to walk on the clouds, Nkoloso aimed to train twelve Zambian astronauts and make Zambia the first country to reach the moon before the USA and Soviet Union in the 1960s. Nkoloso’s unwavering courage challenged the doubters and defied the condescension of colonial echoes. He is a testament to unyielding audacity.
