More and more people are shunning chemically formulated on the shelf beauty products in favour of natural, holistic handcrafted formulations, and the beauty industry has witnessed a rise in brands around the world catering to this need by tapping into their own homegrown beauty rituals and bringing them to global attention. And Africa is no exception. Natural skin care ingredients such as cocoa butter and shea that have been used by African women for centuries are being recognised for their benefits, but we are only just scratching the surface. Fruit of the African soil, ingredients such as baobab, marula, and […]
Read MoreAfrican Furniture Design At Salone del Mobile 2018
Salone del Mobile, the prestigious Italian furniture fair opens its doors today offering visitors the very best in international furniture design concepts. Salone del Mobile is also home to SaloneSatellite an event that spotlights promising young designers under 35 by giving them a platform to connect with manufacturers, buyers and talent scouts. Noted for launching the careers of designers such as Oki Sato of Nendo, this year’s SaloneSatellite theme is Africa/Latin America: Rising Design – Design Emergente and as such is presenting a group of designers representing both regions. Among those representing African design is Jomo Tariku, founder of Jomo […]
Read MoreSotheby's Auction of Modern and Contemporary African Art
London is gearing up for the 2nd dedicated auction of Modern & Contemporary African Art at Sotheby’s. This year’s auction sees artworks by 62 artists representing 16 countries: Algeria, Morocco, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The selection of art on offer includes paintings, photographs, drawings and sculpture from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Read MoreThe Zeitz MOCAA Shop – A Source Of Design-Led And Art-Inspired Gifts
The opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art in Cape Town has brought along a host of different ways for visitors to engage with contemporary art from the exhibitions and installations on display throughout the museum, to a dedicated programme of workshops and talks, to an onsite shop which will enable visitors to find mementos of their visit.
Read MoreIFI Congress and African Design and Culture Festival Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling dynamic capital plays host to the African Culture and Design Festival (ACDF), a four-day cultural extravaganza that is part of a series of activities organised for the International Federation of Interior Designers and Architects (IFI) 28th Biennial Congress. The Congress prepares to welcome over 500 local and international delegates and features architect Sir David Adjaye as a keynote speaker, Kunlé Adeyemi and writer, culture critic, and educator, Carol Becker,
Read MoreAyok’a A Curated Platform For Stylish, Fun And Original Black Art
Our choice of art says a lot about who we are, reflecting our tastes and experiences amongst other indicators. And despite digital platforms enabling us to discover original talent the sheer amount of information being put out can sometimes have the opposite effect of making it difficult to find, purchase or remember where we saw artwork that represents who we are in one place. Enter Ayok’a, a curated platform that brings together the work of talented black artists making it easy for you to find stylish, original and representative artwork to adorn your walls or carry about your person in the form […]
Read MoreAfrica.Now – Exploring Africa’s Creative Community With Design Indaba
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 active part […]
Read MoreZeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art Is Open
The 22nd September 2017 saw the opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (Zeitz MOCAA), in Cape Town, South Africa, heralded as being the first major institution on the African continent dedicated to collecting, researching and preserving the art of contemporary Africa and its diaspora.
Read MoreQ&A With Award-Winning Kenyan Digital Artist Osborne Macharia
The rapid advancement of digital technology brings forth diverse creative expressions, such as digital art that continue to astound and amaze us. Digital art has given a powerful voice to Africa’s emerging creative talent allowing for ta relative ease of dissemination and in the process attracting global attention towards stories and images that speak of life in a modern continent. Kenyan digital artist Osborne Macharia, founder of K63.STUD/O is one of those rising talents whose mastery of the digital medium has let to collaborations and commissions with high-profile local and global brands and agencies such as Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, Kenya […]
Read MoreNelsa Guambe Talks Art, Design and Sustainability
Nelsa Guambe is a self-taught artist who lives and works in Maputo, Mozambique. She is primarily a painter whose work moves beyond the canvas to incorporate product design, where working in collaboration with a local design studio, Piratas Do Pau Guambe’s colourful and surreal images help to transform discarded water heaters collected from the city’s streets into distinctive functional products such as wine racks and lighting. Guambe’s work is part of the IFA Pure Gold exhibition, a traveling exhibition which explores rubbish and its use in sustainable design to create objects of value in design.
Read MoreAfrican-Print Fashion Now! A Story Of Taste, Globalization, And Style
African-Print Fashion Now is an exhibition that recognises the significance of the ever-popular African print fabrics. The exhibition at the Fowler Museum explores the diverse and dynamic traditions of African dress; ranging from the styles created by local tailors to those destined for international catwalks.
Read MoreInterview With Kossi Aguessy Visionary Designer And Artist
In March 2015, I had the privilege of interviewing designer and artist Kossi Aguessy in which we discussed his work, career, inspirations, and aspirations to date. The exchange was both inspirational and an insightful look into the workings of a complex mind. 1. Tell me a bit about yourself: your background, how you came to design as a career, setting up your studio, and the motivation behind working for yourself as opposed to working for someone else? I grew up in an environment, which was not as one might say truly inclined to favor artistry, a brotherhood of four more focused […]
Read MoreLe BHV Marais Paris Celebrates South African Art and Design
Paris is having a love affair with all things contemporary Africa design, fashion, culture, and lifestyle. First is was Africa as the guest of honour at the Paris Art Fair held in March/April, then Africa Now at the Galeries Lafayette shopping destination, and now the iconic department store Le BHV Marais in the heart of the historic and trendy Marais district, which dedicates almost two months to celebrating contemporary South African art and design and culture.
Read MoreEva Sonaike’s Tips On Decorating With African Fabric
African textiles offer a fascinating array of colours, patterns, and textures that can instantly transform an interior. But with so much on offer, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start especially for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the fabrics. So to help you get started we caught up with London based textile and interior furnishings designer, Eva Sonaike for her tips on decorating with African textiles. And here is what she had to say…
Read MoreModern Afro Style Inspiration Moyi Magazine Winter Issue
Looking to be inspired by some modern Afro style goodness to set the tone for the new year ahead? Then Moyi magazine is just the thing. The winter issue is out now and I am loving the cover which features South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha wearing a dress by fashion designer Joel Jansen Van Vuuren in the sophisticated surrounds of Saxon Hotel.
Read MoreExhibition: Fashion Cities Africa Marking Africa’s Influence On Global Fashion
Fashion Cities Africa [Exhibition] [Main image credit: Fashion Cities Africa, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery – Judith Ricketts] Fashion Cities Africa is a major UK based exhibition that explores and celebrates the African continent’s influence and contribution to global fashion. The exhibition which opened earlier this year on 30th April at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery explores the diverse fashion and style of four leading African cities, Casablanca in Morocco; Nairobi in Kenya; Lagos in Nigeria and Johannesburg in South Africa. Cities that are at the compass points of the African continent. Fashion Cities Africa tackles the misconceptions and […]
Read MoreBooks: Fashion Illustration Africa Art Book Introducing A New Generation
Fashion Illustration is a creative discipline that in recent years has captured the imagination of fashion lovers everywhere, and is by no means a recent phenomenon. The discipline has a rich history of documenting fashion, style, and cultural trends long before the advent of cameras and photography led to its decline. Rising and falling in popularity over the decades but never quite reaching the dizzy heights of the past, in recent years Fashion Illustration has witnessed a renaissance on the back of the growing share culture that has been fostered by social media. This has allowed for an abundance of […]
Read MoreBooks: Africa Rising Fashion, Design and Lifestyle from Africa
Africa Rising is a new book edited by publishers Gestalten and South African based design platform, Design Indaba, which spotlights African design, fashion, photography, architecture, and lifestyle. Africa Rising was launched in September 2016 in London as part of a programme of events for the inaugural London Design Bienniale at Somerset House.
Read MoreRead: Moyi Magazine Shining The Light On Modern Afro Lifestyle
If you are a lover of beautiful design, inspirational editorials, peeps into other peoples homes for a dose of African inspired interior design inspiration and boundless African creativity then make room in your life for Moyi, a brand new quarterly modern Afro lifestyle magazine that curates the best in design, decor, architecture, arts, travel, beauty, fashion and food showcasing and celebrating the work of talented individuals of African heritage. Moyi means sun in Lingala, a language spoken in Central Africa. And through its colourful, elegantly designed pages Moyi shines the light on the exceptional creativity and lifestyle defining a modern Africa. […]
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