Rhodes University (or UCKAR),1 based in Makhanda, South Africa, joined the African Arts editorial consortium in 2016 and its first journal issue—vol. 50, no. 2—was published in 2017. Initially the board was run by Ruth Simbao, with the aim of developing collaborations with other scholars, particularly those based on the African continent and within the global south (Simbao 2017: 1).2 For the second Rhodes issue (Summer 2018), Simbao worked with Guest Board Member Amanda Tumusiime from Makerere University, and for the third Rhodes issue (Summer 2019) she collaborated with Stephen Folárànmí from Obáfémi Awólówò University, Ilé-Ifè, Nigeria, who at the time was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rhodes.
In 2019, Rhodes launched a new editorial board made up of five scholars who are all associated with the university: Rachel Baasch, Emi Koide, Stephen Folárànmí, Angelo Kakande, and Ruth Simbao. Three of the new Rhodes University board members...