What changes when you begin with curiosity?
A simple question often rewires everything.
We are Recentred Africa.
A studio and research practice rooted in one belief: stories reveal their truth when you approach them with humility, patience, and curiosity.
We craft visual, written, and audio narratives across the African continent by beginning where many skip past: listening deeply before speaking boldly.
Our Compass:
Curiosity.
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Every story holds more than its surface.
So we begin by parking our egos at the door, and giving people the space to speak for themselves, without interruption or assumption.
Attention is our first tool.
No interruptions, no assumptions.
Truly listening.
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Fragments, emotions, textures, contradictions.
Detail, emotion, nuance, snippets of conversations, visual scraps, sonic clues… We collect what the world offers, not just what fits a neat brief.
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Meaning emerges when the right threads meet.
We let the story guide the form, rather than the other way round. We have to sift through everything we've gathered. The photos, the videos, the audio, the written snippets… Everything. Because the good bits often hide themselves in the places we don't expect. At this point, everything matters.
Then comes the second part: Noticing the through-lines connecting seemingly unrelated pieces of a story, and then bring it all together in a cohesive and emotive narrative - not in a way that we want, but in the way the story wants to be positioned.
The Two Halves of Our Whole.
1. The Studio.
Where the questions become crafted stories.
Here’s where the teams of our associate photographers, filmmakers, and writers shape narratives through patient, humane attention.
2. The Lab.
Where we examine why stories matter and how they move people.
Research, examination of history, narrative frameworks, and participatory programmes that deepen context rather than flatten it.
Recentre the Narrative. Reimagine the Story.
We tell human stories with care and intention, meeting people where they are and honouring the depth behind their experiences.
Through photography, film, writing, and audio, we step past the tired tropes to reveal nuance, context, and lived reality.
Because real storytelling asks more of us. It asks for respect, for patience, and for the courage to follow the threads of dignity and truth that hold us together.