Unearthing a Buried History: Cuito Cuanavale, Decolonisation and New Technology

OnaStories are running an interactive workshop at Watershed on Saturday 21 November, part of the Afrika Eye 2026 programme. The session is called Unearthing a Buried History: Cuito Cuanavale, Decolonisation and New Technology, and it takes you back to 1988 and the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola.

That battle is the focus for a reason. Nelson Mandela called it 'a turning point in the struggle to free the continent and our country from the scourge of apartheid', and the workshop builds around that. To bring it to life, OnaStories use archival film, immersive concepts, VR, AR and immersive reality. The idea is to move beyond just remembering history and actually experience it, imagining a museum where the past comes alive around the visitor rather than sitting behind glass.

OnaStories are a group of young Tanzanian creatives who believe history should be experienced, not just remembered. This session is their take on that, using new technology to reopen a specific, pivotal moment in Africa's liberation history. It's less a lecture and more a hands-on look at how VR and AR can change the way we engage with the past.

Tickets are £5.00 full and £3.50 for concessions, with a 12% booking fee on top for online and phone bookings. The workshop runs at Watershed in Bristol on Saturday 21 November.