The Ancestral is Modern in Banyoloyi A Bosigo: my new guest post for Griot Mag is online

I wrote a second guest post for Griot Magazine on Kristin-Lee Moolman’s “Banyoloyi a Bosigo”, the new fashion film she wrote and directed for Thebe Magugu that was presented virtually at Paris Fashion Week early this month. The collection showcased in this work explores the revival of indigenous spirituality in South Africa and features several references to sacred rituals. Like …

“Aliens to equals” – my guest post on MasaMara for GRIOTMAG

Griot is the reference platform for Black Italians, producing content for and on the black diaspora in Italy and abroad, including documentaries and live events. I contributed an article to their “Style” section on MasaMara, the activewear brand launched in 2016 by Amza Nyonzima, a.k.a. Eli Gold, a Rwandan refugee based in South Africa. In the fashion film introducing Migration is Beautiful – …

My interview with Altreafriche is out!

Altreafriche is an online community that gathers vetted news to expand the knowledge and depth of focus on Africa for Italian readers. I met virtually with the founder, Andrea Marozzi, to discuss a collaboration and we decided to kick it off doing a short interview. In our exchange, I introduce the blog and talk about my future projects and what …

MY GUEST POST FOR THE RESEARCH COLLECTIVE FOR DECOLONIZING FASHION IS OUT

The Research Collective for Decolonizing Fashion is a transnational network of scholars that was established to highlight diversity in fashion and encourage investigation of non-European systems and cross-cultural perspectives on them. I contributed a post to their blog, sharing some figures in support of my thesis that the cultural work around street fashion that happens on Instagram advances an alternative …

SOLICITED ARTICLE “DEAR RIBANE EXPLORE OUR INNER ALIEN” FOR THE ART MOMENTUM

I was looking forward to sharing news of my collaboration with the recently-launched magazine The Art Momentum for days but have been busy traveling, translating and looking after the little one so it had to wait until today. The Art Momentum is a beautifully curated platform that offers a look into African and Afrodiasporic artistic approaches and narratives that shift …

FINDING “HOME” IN ZOHRA OPOKU’S WORKS – MY GUEST POST FOR IAM

As part of my renewed research endeavor I resumed guest contributing to the excellent IAM – Intense Art Magazine. The new post is about the German-Ghanaian artist Zohra Opoku whose multimedia works, that use new and recycled garments and textiles, interrogate belonging, nationalism, and hybridity. I’m glad I had a chance to write about her, as she is one of …

DRESSED IN NIGERIANNESS: MAKI OH’S FASHION & CULTURAL STATEMENT

After a long hiatus, I wrote a little something on the Nigerian designer Maki Oh. The piece appeared on IAM Magazine. Maki Oh is the Nigerian womenswear label run by Amaka Osakwe. A fixed presence on global runways since her debut in 2010, Osakwe appeared at New York Fashion Week in 2012 and has since been invited to the White House …

FASHION BECOMES CHARACTER: KEPHA MAINA

I’m proud to share that I have started yet another exciting collaboration. The platform I will be writing for is IAM – Intense Art Magazine, a digital and paper publication focusing on visual arts, fashion, and design from Africa and the diaspora. My first article on the Kenyan designer Kepha Maina has just been published. Read the article here or on IAM. …

COLLABORATION: A POST FOR AFRICAN DIGITAL ART ABOUT THE BLOG AND MUCH MORE

Last week the artist and curator Jepchumba asked me to introduce the blog for the magazine African Digital Art and I was happy to do it! African Digital Art presents unparalleled ideas, individualistic works and insightful designer solutions by the African creative. It covers a wide range of artistic productions including audio/visual works, animation, interactive projects, web, film, graphic art and design. African Digital Art …

SELLY RABY KANE: WEARABLE AFRO-COSMOLOGY

Read my new post on the Senegalese designer Selly Raby Kane, now available – in English and French! – on BlackstotheFuture at this link. Here is an excerpt. Kane’s tactile storytelling unveils an eclectic exploration of the hidden facets of normality, where the alien is found in the everyday. A prominent member of Les Petites Pierre, an art collective headquartered at Ouakam (Dakar), Kane …