Made In Afrika

where the cool never ends.

[famousblackcelebs]

What began as a way of giving his daughter an alternative to Barbie - and the european standard of beauty she presents - led to Taofick Okoya creating a line of African dolls that not only celebrate the beauty of black women, but showcase Nigeria’s heritage in all its glory. Now Okoya stands as one of Nigeria’s most promising entrepreneurs and has seen his dolls even outsell Barbie. Of the dolls, Okoyo remarks in a recent interview with Elle: “African-inspired increase little girls’ sense of self-appreciation and confidence. When little girls play with dolls, they see themselves in or as the doll, they dress it in clothes they like and act out their fantasies. The more of their own likeness they see in the things they like, the more accepting they will be of their looks and culture.” By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

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I love how they have so many different ethnic groups!!

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Dogon Ladder, Mali

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More of this. Less of that other shit.

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Namibians wearing Vellies (Shoes)

"Velskoen, pronounced "fell-skoon" and known colloquially as "vellies," are the ancestor of the modern-day desert boot. Vellies were first made in the 1600s, inspired by the footwear of the Khoikhoi tribe and crafted using raw materials. Later, our vellies were adapted by British travellers, packaged and renamed to be what we now know as desert boots.

(Brother Vellies) are made in the coastal town of Swakopmund, Namibia. There, a small group of eight Damara gentlemen assemble every shoe by hand, turning out just 20 pairs an afternoon.

…Vellies are made of vegetable-dyed Kudu leather. The Namibian government mandates the culling of these large native antelope to control their population. Kudu skin yields amazingly durable leather and suede that ages exceptionally well. Because these hides are taken from wild animals they often show scars or other “imperfections” that domesticated hides do not.” Brothervellies

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Kamera worK: Malick Sidibé

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[yagazieemezi-deactivated2022030]

Renegades documents the fans of Botswana’s heavy metal subculture, an underground minority rebelling against the status quo, redrawing the borders of both heavy metal and orthodox culture in Botswana. Marshall traveled to Botswana to take portraits of the metal scene there – a small but strong one, heavily influenced by bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeath and Motörhead.

“I can’t recall one instance where they were reluctant or dubious towards my taking their portraits,” says Marshall. “In most cases they relished the opportunity to show themselves off. They are proud and wield a sort of tangible power, wrought from both the fantasy and sonic force of metal. Whereas many ‘metal heads’ can be arrogant or smugly indifferent, these guys in Botswana are very open.”

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Dedicated to the Cultural Preservation of the African Aesthetic

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[dynamicafrica]

John Goba, Sierra Leonean artist.

Of Mende origin, John Goba was born into the hermetic milieu of women’s Bondo Society, in which his grandmother played an important role.

Goba came of age under her protection, and at the end of his period of initiation, he settled in Mountain Cut, a district in Freetown. There, when he was about thirty, he experienced a revelation that prompted him to begin making masks for the Ode-lay initiation rituals and masquerades that had sprung up in Freetown in the 1970s. 

Ode-lay masks and dress are characterized by an extraordinary ornamental exuberance, incorporating unexpected materials (such as Christmas tree ornaments) to achieve spectacular effects. 

Goba’s first masks, made of wood and brightly coloured with industrial paint, initially followed Ode-lay customs.  As he became more experienced, he began to create sculptures with greater freedom.   Goba’s imagery is inspired by the traditional lore and mysteries of his environment and his sculptures are a skilful blend of figures borrowed from time-honoured tales and his own fantasies. A multitude of porcupine quills invariably protrude from the main characters of his tableaux, as if assuring their protection and forbidding any access to the heart—or secret core—of the work.

Each sculpture, Goba likes to say, has its own private history to which only the artist has the key.

[dynamicafrica]

[dynamicafrica]

This Day in History: Sharpeville Massacre (Human Rights Day SA).

On March 21, 1960, South African police officers opened fire on a crowd of black protesters who had surrounded a police station in Sharpeville, killing 69 people.

The Sharpeville protests began over South Africa’s pass laws, which required black South Africans to carry passbooks with them any time they traveled out of their designated home areas. The African National Congress, the leading anti-apartheid organization of the era, planned for an antipass campaign to begin March 31, 1960. The Pan Africanist Congress, a more militant offshoot of the A.N.C., organized a campaign that would begin 10 days before the A.N.C.’s.

On March 21, Pan Africanist leaders in Sharpeville assembled a demonstration of 5,000 to 7,000 people, in part through intimidating locals to join. In the morning, they led the protest to the Sharpeville police station, where they demanded to be arrested for not carrying passes. Police reinforcements arrived during the incident.

(cont. reading)

[madeinafrika-blog]

Public protector Thuli Madonsela. The bravest woman in South Africa. 

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Olaf Hajek

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Fulani woman, Mali

Especially large kwottenai kanye are worn by Fulani women in the towns of Mopti and Jenné. They are received by a woman either on the death of her mother or as a gift from her husband who often has to sell cattle to be able to afford them. the top of each earing is bound with red wool or silk to protect the ear, and the blades are incised with patterns, some of flowers, others of cattle. They are usually made of 14-carat gold and today the largest are valued at between £1500 and £2000 according to the weight of gold, the craftmanship being of little monetary value. They are made by the local smiths: a bar of gold is chiselled and after heating in the fire is hammered into thin blades and twisted into shape. Small gold rings and earrings are sewn to the hair and used to decorate the ears.

 Photo and caption by Angela Fisher from her book Africa Adorned

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Fon appliqué workers Abomey, Republic of Benin Photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1971

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Meleko Mokgosi - Pax Afrikaner, 2011

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[madeinafrika-blog]

Mary Sibande 

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Conrad Botes: detail of comic “Childrens Story”

http://www.artprintsa.com/conrad-botes.html

[dynamicafrica]

Since travelling into the Sahel region of Northern Western Africa (Mali, Niger, Libya, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania)  in 1999, French photographer Arnaud Contreras has been documenting the intersection of music and youth culture in these areas, as well as the juxtaposition of where Western influences meet local cultures and traditions, something seen in the music of bands like Tinariwen that combine sounds of the electric guitar with their own Malian musical heritage.

All this happening against the background of areas that have become highly susceptible to threats of terrorism, human trafficking, migration of undocumented persons, and the pressures on cultural and natural heritages from tourism, governmental authorities and other infringing groups. 

[madeinafrika-blog]

Fake interpreter was also fake sangoma, fake lawyer and fake deaf person via @BenjaminFogel