Library Of Africa and The African Diaspora

We’ve come to the end of the 2025 LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency! It’s been a beautiful time of community and growth, and we’re grateful to all our residents for bringing their full selves to the experience.

We’re sharing a powerful message from resident, Noor Salah H. Elfaki, which touched us deeply and which we hope will inspire others to show solidarity in real and practical ways with writers and artists in conflict zones. Please read below:

“As a Sudanese fiction writer, it means a great deal to have been selected for the LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency. I had prepared thoroughly to attend in person, but the unfolding crisis in Sudan made travel incredibly difficult and uncertain. The closure of embassies, delayed visa processes, such instability created barriers beyond my control.

Despite these challenges, LOATAD extended remarkable understanding and flexibility by allowing me to join the residency virtually. I’ve come to realize that the virtual experience can be just as fruitful, especially when it’s thoughtfully structured. It has allowed me to connect, exchange, and grow as a writer, despite the distance.

In contexts like mine, where mobility is fragile, virtual residencies should be considered not just as backup plans—but as valid, inclusive models for global literary engagement.

Sudan is going through its darkest chapter, and being part of this residency has offered a rare space of creative dialogue and solidarity. It’s a reminder that storytelling persists even under siege, and that Sudanese voices—however displaced—still matter.

Thank you to LOATAD for holding space for mine.”

📷 LOATAD Black Atlantic residents 2025, Cohort 2: Jaimee Swift (USA), Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza (Zimbabwe), vangile gantsho (South Africa), Nzube Nlebedim (Nigeria) with Ghanaian artist, Megborna. Photo by Seth Avusuglo/LOATAD.