Senegal Archives - atelier 55 - The Curator of Contemporary African Design

Weaving Art Objects Promotes High-Quality Made in Senegal Design and Craftsmanship

Throughout her distinguished career, textile designer Aissa Dione has worked to uphold Made in Senegal, by taking traditional know-how and adapting and modernising it to meet global standards. This philosophy extends to designing furniture and objects made in her Dakar workshop in partnership with local artisans. In early 2020 Aissa opened the doors to Weaving Art Objects (WAO), a concept store dedicated to retailing high-quality furniture and interior accessories that continue to showcase the best in local production techniques and creativity.

Interiors Senegal Travel

Seku Bi A Charming Boutique Hotel in the Heart of Dakar

Seku Bi is a charming boutique hotel located in the heart of Senegal’s capital city, Dakar. As you step through its doors Seku Bi invites you to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind and turn your gaze towards the Atlantic Ocean. The calming, blue waters provide a mesmerising backdrop to the white-walled property. Seku Bi takes its name from the Wolof word for ‘parrot’ in a nod to the flamboyant birds that inhabit the fragrant Frangipani plants surrounding the buildings.

Interiors Lifestyle Senegal

Tour the Home of Photographer Delphine Diallo

French-Senegalese photographer Delphine Diallo has created a sanctuary that honours her creativity and celebration of womanhood. In an interview for Moyi magazine, I got to chat with Delphine and discover what inspires and motivates her.

Ikoyi food inspired by West African flavours

Food & Drink Gabon Nigeria Senegal West Africa

5 Chefs Bringing The Flavours of West African Cuisine to International Foodies

Africa has yet to make a permanent mark on international cuisine. Pop up experiences and cookbooks like The Groundnut Cookbook, Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen and Hibiscus have introduced culinary enthusiasts to the diverse tastes of African flavours. Serving as worthy introductions to what the continent has to offer these pioneers have only just scratched the surface. The sheer diversity of Africa’s regions and cultures means there are more exciting taste experiences waiting to be brought forth.

Kehinde Wiley Black Rock Senegal Artist Residence Exterior Balcony and Swimming Pool

Architecture Art Interiors Senegal Travel

Tour of Black Rock Senegal Artist Residency By Kehinde Wiley

American artist Kehinde Wiley has opened the doors to Black Rock in Dakar Senegal, a multi-disciplinary artists residency program designed to bring together an international group of visual artists, writers, and filmmakers for a period of self-reflection, practice development and cultural exploration and cross-cultural collaboration. For Kehinde, who’s fame reached new heights with his portrait of Barack Obama, Black Rock is more than just a residency it is also home to his personal studio as he seeks to divide his time between New York and West Africa.

Abstract Painting by Nelsa Guambe Mozambican Artist

Art Democratic Republic Of Congo Kenya Morocco Mozambique Nigeria Senegal Zimbabwe

6 Exciting New Generation African Artists to Know

African art is commanding increased attention on the international stage. We highlight 6 new generation African artists to know, who through their thought-provoking work are helping to shape contemporary art across the African continent, whilst making their mark internationally.

Adele Dejak statement jewellery collections made in Kenya

Accessories Africa Ceramics Decor Design Ethiopia Fashion Ghana Kenya Morocco Nigeria Senegal Textiles

9 Designers Crafting A Well Made In Africa Aesthetic

Atelier Fifty Five spotlights the work of 9 dynamic designers whose innovative use of Africa’s diverse craft heritages is translated into modern sophisticated products for contemporary living. And in doing so are upholding the banner of Well Made In Africa. Re-imagining techniques and materials these designers are paying homage to the skill of making things by hand thereby recognising how craft is at the heart of true luxury.

Fatyly Ceramics Toile de Korogho Porcelain Senegal design Atelier Fifty Five Feature

Ceramics Senegal

FatyLy Ceramics Bringing to Life The Stories of Africa’s rich cultural and artistic heritage

Fatimata ‘Faty’ Ly is a Senegalese artist who uses ceramics as her canvas, the blank surfaces enabling her to bring to life the stories of Africa’s rich cultural and artistic heritage. A graduate of London’s prestigious Central St Martin’s Faty is based in Dakar, Senegal where she designs her eponymous collections for production in Limoges, France, an area famed for its production of hard-paste porcelain.

IKEA OVERALLT Braided Basket Selly Raby Kane Senegal Design

Africa Cote D Ivoire Design Egypt Kenya Senegal South Africa

IKEA’S Modern Rituals In Collaboration With African Designers

In a preview of its forthcoming collaboration with African designers IKEA introduces ÖVERALLT a limited edition collection of tableware, textiles, and seating inspired by the modern rituals across all cultures that punctuate everyday life, what we do and use to make us feel at home. The collection was developed by ten designers from seven African countries partnered with IKEA’s team of designers.

Senegal Textiles

Johanna Bramble Handwoven Interior Textiles Balancing Tradition and Modernity

Johanna Bramble is a textile designer who creates luxurious handwoven textiles based on Senegal’s ancestral weaving traditions. Drawn to the techniques used and distinctive patterns created Johanna left behind a career in haute couture in Paris and moved to Dakar where she established her eponymous studio.

Design Indaba Africa Now Selly Raby Kane

Africa Cote D Ivoire Design Egypt Ethiopia Fashion Ghana Morocco Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Uganda

Africa.Now – Exploring Africa’s Creative Community With Design Indaba

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPkwUBfKyhA] Having spent the last seven years bringing you some of the names, designs, and services that have shaped the emergence and development of the creative industries across Africa one cannot help but be inspired by the energy surrounding what is happening; that feeling that anything is possible. Something that can at times be hard to articulate in a post when experiencing it in person can be so much more impactful. And this is the premise of Design Indaba’s Africa.Now initiative and video series, which brings you closer to the action through on-screen interviews with those who are an […]

Alafuro Sikoki-Coleman H++, Chair and table set at IFA Pure Gold Exhibition

Burkina Faso Design Exhibitions Mozambique Nigeria Senegal

IFA Pure Gold Upcycled! Upgraded! Exhibition Exploring Sustainable Design

Greetings from the city of Hamburg in Germany where I am attending the press conference and opening of Pure Gold – Upcycled! Upgraded! a forward-thinking exhibition that explores rubbish, more specifically how found and waste materials are being used the world over to create objects of value, hence the title, Pure Gold. As one of the curators, I had the honour of selecting designers-makers to represent sub-Saharan Africa. [Image credit: H++, Chair and table set, 2011; Water hyacinth, metal, yarn, wood chair – Alafuro Sikoki-Coleman]

Tongoro Made In Africa - Sanlam Handmade Contemporary Fair

Decor Design Events Fashion Jewellery Kenya Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa

Sanlam Handmade Contemporary Fair Presents The 2017 Well Made In Africa Exhibitors

Earlier this year, I was honoured to have been appointed the guest curator for the prestigious Sanlam Handmade Contemporary Fair’s Well Made in Africa showcase. 2017 introduces a new, exquisite selection of Well Made in Africa exhibitors from the continent under the curatorship of Tapiwa Matsinde, author of Contemporary Design Africa. Tapiwa presents a selection that is anchored in heritage & modernity. This year Sanlam HmC will host the work of a dynamic group of designers who have been chosen for their innovative use of Africa’s diverse craft heritages to create modern sophisticated products for contemporary living. And with […]

AFRICA BY DESIGN Bob_Grandy_Ghana_Kente Textile Master Weaver

Burkina Faso Design Ethiopia Ghana Mali Nigeria Senegal

Africa By Design Inaugural Exhibition Launches In Ghana

Exhibitions focusing on design from Africa continue to abound, with more countries outside the continent holding dedicated showcases. Whilst this is great to see, it is also important that the African continent also hold its own showcases to highlight the growing value of design to local audiences. One such initiative is Africa by Design in Ghana, which launched its inaugural self-titled exhibition presenting the work of 22 emerging and established African designers representing 6 countries from sub-Saharan Africa – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. [Main Image credit: Master Kente and Ewe Weaver, Bob Gandy – […]

Fashion Senegal

Fashion: Empowering Young Girls Through Educated Fashion

Le Dessein [Image credit: Le Dessein Rayee Dress – FrenchMorning.com] I love hearing about brands that seek innovative ways to make a difference in the world and was immediately captivated by the story behind Le Dessein, no ordinary fashion brand. Based in the US, Le Dessein uses fashion to educate and empower young girls in developing countries and has a goal of educating 10,000 girls in ten years. And, what is different about the business model is that rather than simply creating a collection and selling the clothes, they have chosen to make the girls they support an active part […]

Accessories Jewellery Senegal

Jewellery: Senegalese Jewelry Designer’s Shimmering Jewels Handmade in Paris

Ngone [Senegal / France] [Image credit: Paradiscale Necklace – Ngone] Senegalese jewellery designer Ngone, is best known for her avant-garde creations, which I have featured previously on Atelier Fifty-Five. She now introduces a new collection exuding luxurious femininity that includes jewellery pieces that can be transformed into hair accessories.

Africa Inspired Beauty And Wellbeing Senegal

Beauty: Tiossan Luxury Skin Care Collection Made in Senegal

Tiossan [Senegal] Serial entrepreneur Magatte Wade, the founder of Adina World Beat Beverages, has created a new brand of luxury skincare called Tiossan. The first of its kind from Senegal, where Magatte hails from, Tiossan products are made using ancient recipes and natural African botanicals that help to keep skin vibrant and healthy, and combat aging.

Design Messages And Musings Senegal

Farewell to Babacar Niang

Babacar Niang [Senegal] [Image credit: Furniture Collection by Babacar Niang – Southern Guild] A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an exhibition opening on the 24th March in New York that would feature the work of Senegalese furniture designer Babacar Niang, amongst others. It is therefore with great sadness and shock that I just learnt of Babacar’s passing on the 25th March 2015. Babacar, working through his studio Nulangee, possessed a unique design vision that brought forth sublime designs infused with his trademark lifelike qualities. A great talent, Babacar’s passing leaves a void in Africa’s burgeoning design industry, one that will […]

Design Senegal

Design: Sustainable Design Legacy

Baay Xaaly Sene [Senegal] [Image credit: Moscow apartment of Russian designer, Dmitry Velikovsky showing Baay Xaaly Sene Armchair – Architectural Digest] Cutting, hammering and soldering discarded metals such as train tracks, barrels, and wheels, and turning them into elegant, stylish, collectable objects was the trademark of Senegalese artist and furniture designer Baay Xaaly Sene. The designer, who died in October 2004, left behind a body of work that is sought after by discerning collectors for its pops of bright colours and contemporary classic forms that combine art and functionality.

Accessories Creative Careers Interviews Senegal

Creative Conversations: Souadou Barry of Fulani HB

FULANI HB [Senegal] Last year in March, I introduced Fulani, a luxury handbag and accessory line based in the US which utilises beautifully woven traditional Senegalese fabrics. I recently caught with the designer, Souadou Barry to chat about her latest Autumn/Winter collection, gaining an insight into her inspirations, processes, and the woman she designs for.

Senegal