I attended the panel discussion on Helen Jennings’s book “New African Fashion” at the New York Public library the other night. As a great fan of Ghanaian designer Mimi Plange , Somali designers Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim, the website Heritage 1960 & Arise magazine, I figured this would be a great lesson on what this so called “New African Fashion” is because these are some of the top young new faces representing this concept to the world at large. At a time when there is new found glory for African fashion with many African designers trying to navigate their way through international exposure amongst the plethora of non-African designers creating or copying African designs & aesthetics in fabrics & silhouettes, I wanted to finally understand what exactly is so new.

I realized that this idea of “New African Fashion” is only really new to those who have never known nor just chose to ignore African fashion through the centuries until the western world dubbed  our global African flyness worthy of being celebrated once again. I just came back from a trip to Ghana, where I was schooled on the fact that I like many have fallen into the trap of the semantics  of calling things “new” as if we are somehow reinventing the wheel that had already been sprung generations before many of us were even born. I had on a top that I created for my PGF (Product of Global Fusion) capsule collection, which my aunt quickly recognized & informed me that the fabric I was wearing was not just “African Print” but actually had its own individual name & was an old fabric from when she was a child. I was happy to have been taken out of my own ignorance to be educated on the fact that every fabric design, although generalized to the world as “African print” actually had a name , history & story behind it- which I like most in the western world who have embraced what is now the ubiquity of African prints in fashion have been completely oblivious to. I was further made to feel like the ignorant westerner when my mom & my aunt went in to tell me that the pencil skirt & jacket that I wanted made was boring & old & that now they had some hot new styles & silhouettes that I should consider. I nearly gagged in my laughter because here I was thinking that I was so fashion forward as my elders told me to have a seat & schooled me on what was really haute! As I looked through old family photos of my mom, aunt, uncles, grandmother & grandfather,  it became apparent that this whole idea of “New African Fashion” was just the latest buzz term for the regurgitation of what was only new to a new generation without a firm grasp of our history. As Geydu Blay Ambolley,  the father of hip-hop music in Ghana, said in my documentary Black Star Rising “Everything derived from Africa, they just take it, redefine it & sell it back to us“! Truer words have never been spoken as I thumbed through Ms. Jennings’s book to find the same images that those of us in fashion have seen over & over again as representative of African fashion & attempting to educate us on what many of us already know & live as Africans.

“African wax prints are generally known to have patterns that tell stories of relevance to the wearer. These include proverbs, poems and traditional African fables. The colours also hold significance as they can represent social standing, age, tribal orientation and marital status. The term ‘African print’ was generally used by the European textile firms in Africa to identify fabrics that were machine-printed and had wax resins and dyes on both sides of the cloth to achieve batik effect. The history of African prints dates back to when batik wax-resist textiles were first imported into Africa from Indonesia in the 1800s, through West African soldiers that served in Indonesia from early 1800s to just beyond the mid 1800s. These batik wax-resist fabrics were also brought into Africa by European traders, mainly the Dutch. The fabrics were then customized and designed to reflect local African tradition, culture and symbolisms. Many of the designs found on fabrics depict events, proverbs, persons of importance or local flora and fauna. African prints are mostly found in Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria. They can also be found in many Central and Eastern African countries. The use of African wax prints outside of Africa is now also on the increase. Many Westerners are accepting the beautiful and natural blend the fabrics portray in every design. Felix Anaman of Felix Anaman Clothing says his fashion house has excelled over the years because it believes in playing and promoting the African fabric, together with the design concepts that go with it. He stated, “It has been predicted by fashion experts that African prints are what will make fashion fashionable in some few years to come, which is why we, as designers, ought to promote it.” READ MORE

“IN the years since Yves Saint Laurent showed his iconic 1967 “African” collection, fashion designers have repeatedly tapped the heritage of Africa in search of inspiration. Just last season Burberry and Michael Kors were among several labels that mined the continent as a source of ideas. Yet in the popular imagination, especially in the Western hemisphere, African fashion more often than not means animal prints, mud cloth and cowrie shells. In her new work, “New African Fashion” (Prestel; $35), Helen Jennings, a fashion journalist, hopes to broaden that view. Part coffee-table book, part glossary, it highlights designers — some established, some fledgling — whose work is African made or inspired.While there is no single way to describe African style, the fashion industry tends to favor characterizations that to many people smack of condescension. “Fashion is full of meaningless terms like ‘tribal’ and ‘urban,’ ” said Ms. Jennings, who is also the editor of Arise, a two-year-old monthly African fashion and culture glossy. “Like the word ‘exotic’ — it makes me cringe.”“African fashion hasn’t been documented very well,” the author told the audience. She and the panelists were emphatic that African fashion did not have to fit a preconceived notion of what is “African.”Ms. Plange studied architecture and rarely uses traditional prints or textiles in her garments.“I want to prove to people that African fashion can’t be pigeonholed,” she said. “I can compete globally.” Her craftsmanship got the attention of André Leon Talley, who helped edit her fall 2011 collection. She also collaborated with Manolo Blahnik…” READ MORE

It seems that generation after generation we are all complicit in consuming the same ol’ same ol‘ in convincing ourselves that we have invented something new. From global African music, fashion & overall culture it seems we always have to wait & praise westerners for telling our stories & teaching us about our history. This is nothing new, all you have to do is watch films like Cadillac Records or even know the simple history of hip-hop fashion that became the soup dujour to the fashion world after Tommy Hilfiger took it  down the runway, while global Africans like Karl Kani , Willi Smith & so many others had already popularized it on global concrete runways long before Tommy Hilfiger made it so called “acceptable” outside of our global African tribes. Right now the narrative that most western journalist tell about “African Prints” is that most of the African market share come from the Dutch company Vlisco completely negating the fact that there are major and small scale African owned and African based companies like GTP and ATP that design and market homegrown African textiles to a larger African market than their european counterparts, who may have introduced these prints to the African market with Africans perfecting it in African authenticity years later. These African based and owned companies are on a constant battle to survive because they do not have these high powered lawyers or proper government regulations to protect the African’s market share along with fighting off Chinese and European knock offs, international press going out of the box to truly seek the story from the people who have globally popularize “African Prints” to a point now that it it solely associated with the continent instead of just surface research, and the the general overall mindset locally and globally that somehow Africans don’t know their worth until Westerners come to put a price on it. At some point we have to take real responsibility in protecting & preserving our culture globally by not repeating the same mistakes of the past.

I was told that Helen Jennings, Editor of Arise, gave a great presentation of African fashion before I got there, which I missed because I was caught up in yet another Ocuppy Wall Street protest, which this time directly targeted President Obama in yet another multi-million dollar fundraising event in New York with protest signs saying “Obama is owned by Wall Street”, which isn’t too far from the truth when we see how much wall street corporate money goes into financing all political campaigns eventhough politicians swear up & down  that they are somehow different from the rest who serve the interest of lobbyists more than the interests of the people who elect them & who they make tons of campaign promises to every year- to serve them differently than those who came before them. All around the world same song- same fuckery. By the time I was finally able to enter the library through the crowd of protestors outside, the panel was already in full discussion mode with Ms. Jennings seemingly quiet & somehow distracted or disconnected from the discussion as if she didn’t really want to be there anymore as a European selling the history of African fashion to a standing room only crowd of global Africans. I guess it was a good thing that the presentation went on for too long to allow time for a Q & A for someone like me & some others to keep it all the way real-LOL!

“We’ve basically been exporting our culture…the west has taken/borrowed a lot from Africa; whereas Africans have just sat down & let their own culture be taken away from them, but now it’s a renaissance- we are claiming back what is ours & we’re adding value to what is ours to make it globally acceptable & globally appealing!” READ MORE

I was able to catch the part of the discussion that interests me the most when it comes to African fashion, which is the actual business of selling & attaining financial gain from the creations of African designers & a general workforce in the African fashion industry. There was a general consensus amongst the panel with Mimi Plange keeping it all the way real in exclaiming that she is in the business of fashion to make money & not just for the hype of the plethora of African fashion week shows sprouting up all over the world, focused more on hype & publicity rather than getting these designers into retail stores & educating them on the actual business of fashion that is a multi-billion dollar industry, where the financial gain amongst African designers is extremely disproportionate to their western counterparts who are defining this so called “New African Fashion”, much like it has always been for everything invented & created by global Africans throughout the years. I heard the usual & almost insulting excuse of “it takes time” because somehow Africans need to be educated on the basics of just putting together a quality fashion show production as if African owned production houses like ASHA , who I have worked with for many years along with so many others, have never done shows for New York Fashion week & other fashion weeks all over the world before Arise Magazine & others came with their new platforms to showcase African designers. This is all BS to me because I have been working in the industry for over 14 years & I am not the only African who has been doing so on many levels from publicity, to show production, to retail buying & management, to design & everything else that comes with the business of fashion. The main issue here is that African experts in these fields are never sought after by many companies- African or otherwise because we somehow continue to believe that non-Africans know best  & fall in line to always look outside of our communities to get ahead & progress in many & sometimes all of our business ventures, without ever acknowledging that we have excellent resources within our global community.

Why should it take time to bring in buyers to a fashion show when anyone who handles publicity & show production knows that the focus of any fashion show is to sell & make money for the designer; therefore retail buyer outreach is more important than having random celebrities, fashionistas & socialites in your front row, who often will never buy 1 piece from any designer that doesn’t give them something for free. Many of the people who attend these African Fashion Week shows around the world are there mostly to be seen & for the party atmosphere, most of them will never go out of their way to seek out the designers showing to actually patronize them with the money that they freely give to the Guccis  & Vuittons of the world. I have said there was an issue with the fact that I saw very few to no buyers from the beginning, as I applauded the first Arise Magazine New York Fashion Week show that gave new life to showcasing African designers that had been done, sponsored & stopped by Anglogold Ashanti years before Arise Magazine came on the scene. My sentiments have been taken by some as “hating” & being overly critical to those who are trying to do something great for the African fashion industry, but all I can say to that is that we can never grow if we can not accept constructive criticism & it takes resources & money to create an industry because while press hype is great, it doesn’t pay the bills or give anyone but press & those who put out these kinds of books any concrete jobs to support an industry. What Africa needs more than anything in all sectors is real jobs & to build on structures that are already in place to create more jobs, not more applause, pats on the back, more it takes time talk & meager handouts to show that we are trying to build an industry that has already been in place outside of  the structure that is deemed acceptable to the western world.

‎”If you want to address poverty, you have to bring work-it’s value creation. We’re not here to make charity t-shirts , We are here to make a product & why not come here? There’s a skill base that is being developed. We’re doing good. They are capable of doing great things. It’s quite incredible to think we might save the world thru fashion” . Vivienne Westwood & the Westwood Team on manufacturing in Kenya

I thought it was a great step in the right direction when Mimi Plange spoke about looking to manufacture & build factories in Ghana to produce her collection, which will build the industry by creating concrete jobs while building the “Made in Africa” label, just as Made in America, Made in France, Made in Italy, Made in China & other “Made In” labels have built brands that are globally recognized & esteemed with a specific focus in tailoring & manufacturing that is uniquely symbolic of those nations. Africa needs people who are formidable partners in their true growth financially, not just those who want to continue the usual exploitation & telling Africans it takes time to develop while others are profiting without waiting for the so called time it takes to actually see the financial gains. The Somali twins who design Maatano expressed their desire to have the opportunity to be the ones at the forefront to bring Africans designs created by Africans with them specifically in mind before the Zara’s & H&M’s of the world flood Africa, which I also thought was an excellent idea that must come to fruition with Africans supporting them because African Fashion is not based on one specific aesthetic of prints, it cuts across all varieties of cultures & styles from casual to formal, to traditional & all points in between. The designers of Maatano also made it a point to point out that while in their predominantly Muslim mother country of Somalia, there are only really two silhouettes which most of the women wear & add their individuality to it through color palate  & the beautiful jewelry which they adorn themselves with; their personal aesthetic with Maatano is much more than just two silhouettes influenced by their Somali heritage.

This brings me to the fact that we also have to be aware of consuming the idea that there is somehow one set idea of what African Fashion is supposed to represent in a continent that is now broken up into 56 countries. I was actually shocked & taken aback the other day as I walked into my local Jamaican resturant when the gentlemen who was serving me looked at me & said “Are you from Africa?”, I ofcourse happily replied “Yes”, then he went on to tell me that the woman that had just left was from my country. I looked at him with a side eye since I had not mentioned which country I was from  & I could clearly decipher that the woman that just left was from a francophone African country & not from Ghana, so I said “How do you know she’s from my country”, he then went on & replied “you’re from Africa right, she’s from Africa too”.  I replied, “Is Jamaica the same as Trinidad , Haiti, Dominican Republic or St. Lucia even though they are all in the Caribbean?” He looked at me in shamefully realizing his mistake & ignorance & said “Miss that’s not nice”.  I shook my head & thought wow, here we go again with me having to explain to someone that Africa is a continent with many countries, who speak thousands of different languages. I was disheartened especially because I had to explain this to someone who I would have thought would know better coming from the nation of Bob Marley & the Maroons , who have always spoken of their African heritage as Jamaicans, while sighting specific countries of origin. This man who was well into his 40’s was shocked when I told him that we all speak different languages & that there were thousands of languages in Africa. I guess this is the burden & calling we have to take on as global Africans, making sure we are there for these teaching moments with our own firm grasp of our languages & our history, so we can set the record right in our representation.

The generalization that there is one African aesthetic in fashion, outside of the idea that Africa really represents a true global aesthetic in its African authenticity because it is the root of humanity needs to be better addressed & defined in building the African Fashion industry. We have only ourselves to blame in our acceptance of the mixed messages that we often send. We have African designers saying that they just want to be seen as designers & not African designers, while talking about building the African fashion industry & complaining about how non-Africans are copying & defining what the African fashion industry should be or look like. We can’t have it both ways. You don’t hear Dontaella Versace complaining about being called an Italian designer or the house of Chloe & Louise Vuitton being upset by the fact that they are considered the epitome & embodiment of French design & aesthetic. Vivienne Westwood manufacturing her collection in Kenya does not make her any less an English designer or anymore an African designer than her counterparts like Burberry & others who have taken African prints & made them their own, nor does Marc Jacobs designing for Louis Vuitton make him a French designer or make the Louise Vuitton aesthetic considered American instead of authentically French.  African designers do not have to do collections with solely or any wax or mud prints at all to make them authentically part of African fashion.  What differentiates these African designers from the rest is that they are African from their roots; therefore their design influence will always be African inspired with an African personality, whether they are utilizing African prints or not because the history is carried along with them season after season, much like their European & American counterparts. It is up to us as publicist, writers, fashion editors,stylists, buyers,designers, manufacturers, show production entities etc. to speak to the African consumer & to let them know that we have done the research as to what they want, who they are & what suits their African personality in order to bring them in to support African designers just as much or more so than they support European, American & Chinese made goods , which have been flooding the African continent to the peril of the African Fashion Industry.

We need to speak to the African consumer in our advertising & educate them that building the African Fashion Industry means supporting, buying & wearing the products created by African designers not just jumping on the bandwagon & consuming the European, Chinese & American made goods & designers who are selling them their idea of what new African fashion is. We need to come to a point in our industry where each one of us takes personal responsibility in telling our own stories & building our own industry with a true African personality in mind, void of the cliche terms of “new African fashion” & kowtowing to global appeal by westernizing what is & has always been authentically African from the fruit to the root. If we truly believe that Africa is where humanity began & that there is a specific African identity that comes & evolves in newness of creativity from nation to nation, then we have to be more diligent in putting that message out there in a concise & consistent manner instead of just falling in line with the status quo of having our story redefined, pigeonholed & told to us by non-Africans, no matter how much they tell us that they love us & want to help us build by following their way & structure.

As most of you who have read my writings know, I am far from a PC(Politically Correct) African. My concept of Global Fusion is less about some sort of gumbo inspired “kumbaya” melting pot, where Africa with all its rich history & contributions to the world blends in or metamorphosizes into an acceptable western aesthetic, as opposed to shining a light on the fact that Africa is where humanity began with great influence throughout global culture that has now been watered down,devoid of its spices or redefined to appease or appeal to different segments of the world. I prefer my jollof rice authentically flavor filled with the hotness of spices that makes you feel it within your bones & soul without any Asian or Italian noodles added to it- as it is being done now in Ghana- because an Italian or Asian will not kowtow to appeasing me my serving me their national taste with shito & African flavors added to it.

I thumbed through the book “New African Fashion”, but I must admit that I didn’t purchase it because I refuse to continue the same ol’ story of having my history be told to me by those who have never truly been immersed in the culture & history until they saw profit to be made. I am not saying that this is not a great well put together book, but it does not show or tell me anything that I have not already seen & known before, so in that case I would rather give my hard earned money to global Africans who are also telling our stories from an authentically African perspective like Jacqueline Shaw with her new book Fashion Africa. It always seems like for global Africans to share their passion, vision & expertise with the world on the global Africa that they were born into, & live & breath daily -they always have to do it with their own money  to the point of going bankrupt in their labors of love to make their dreams come true. For Instance look at the amazing work done by Nigerian born Oroma Elewa with Pop’ Africana, which gives Vogue such a run for its money that they have had to acknowledge her & her work many times in their own publication. If one woman with a vision & a dream to be & showcase the new face of Africa can create such greatness with her own money & limited resources, imagine what she could do with the right financial backing & the same access  given to the Helen Jennings of the world, who are always sought after to be the face, vision & expert on all things African brought to the world’s attention?  I am not implying that non-global Africans shouldn’t be allowed to write books about Africa; however I am questioning the expert title given to these writers who are telling stories of people & places that they are often no more than passerby’s  & visitors of, while those who actually have been immersed in & live the culture are often passed over for equal opportunities to tell their own stories. This is my real issue in all of this, which goes beyond just one woman’s book. How often, if ever, are non-Europeans given the opportunity to be entitled to the title of “expert” in writing about or presenting European culture to the world? I can hear the loud sounds of crickets in many not being able to find any examples of this.

I am not afraid to be called racist, nationalist or pro-African because I would rather support my fellow global Africans who are truly the ones who have had to live the culture, put in the work, build our industry, give us accolades in support,  & are the true keepers & storytellers of our history, much like Andrew Dosunmu , Yinka Shonibare, James Barnor , Constance C.R. White & so many more past & present who have been telling & showcasing the beauty of global African fashion, culture & aesthetics long before Ms. Jennings thought to teach us about what she considers “New African Fashion”.

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

It always amazes me how we justify our own lack of consistency in rhetoric of what we support & give acclamation to. The same fashionistas who raged all hell about Essence Magazine losing touch with their readership & consumer base by hiring a White Fashion Director as the face of a magazine dedicated to African-American women are the same ones who praise Arise & tout it as the new era representation of global Africa, without acknowledging the fact that the main vision in charge of this so called new global African aesthetic is also a European with a magazine created in Europe with African financial backing. These are the same people who are in charge of Black publications that never think to expand globally into Africa, the Caribbean & Latin America in service of the billion plus global Africans there, who would be more than appreciative to see their own likeness as well, while they consistently hire White photographers to capture our aesthetic in some ill-conceived idea of diversity, as qualified Black photographers sit around waiting to be called upon & to get a fair check by being given the same opportunity & access that is denied to them by non-global African focused publications. These are the same fashionistas who applaud any time Vogue gives a cover to a person of color or a European or American designer puts more than one model of color in an Ad. campaign or on their runway, while failing to challenge global African publications & designers to be the change they want to see by putting more African faces & creatives in their own publications, Ad. campaigns & runways. Why is it so taboo or somehow not representing diversity if Tracy Reese or Oswald Boateng sends all Black models down the runway, or Essence, Arise or Ebony doing special issues with solely global African representation as Vogue Italia & Lanvin did with us all applauding them for doing so as some sort of evolvement in new era progress as an industry since the days of Versailles. It is never considered taboo or shocking for non-Black American & European designers & publications to steadily only utilize European & American White models & designers, as we continue to complain then praise them for giving us special issues in diversity statements by sending all or some global African models down their runways once in awhile, in an attempt to appease us for the mean time.

I am actually a fan of Arise magazine & applaud them for their efforts in bringing about the much needed dialogue of who we are as Africans & our place & progress in the world of fashion &  global culture in general, but I am not going to pretend that it is anything new from the status quo of Africa being sold to us from a European vision. If we want to have an honest conversation about building Africa then let’s start by being honest with ourselves & start supporting global Africans who are doing everything possible to tell our stories without the international & national support, hype & access that has always been afforded to their western counterparts. Let’s start by having a vision & a stance that truly represents a new Africa that does not remain conditioned by its conditioning in being the definition of insanity by doing the same things the same way, over & over again & expecting new results. As Nina Simone said – “We’re in the middle of a revolution & I see the face of things to come” -That face will be an African face telling & teaching the history of African culture from fashion, to film, to art & all points of global African business defined by & for the African personality & sold to the world as is -without any kind of need to water down or appease some new idea of a global market that we have contributed to & enriched for centuries without ever getting our fair share in recognition or financial gain. Let’s stop talking about how things take time when the time is NOW!

“I made it quite clear that from now on -today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people. But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.Our own African identity. As I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world that we are ready for own own battles.I am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.We are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I’m relying upon your support, I’m relying upon your hard work.Seeing you in this… it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, I can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody! We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

When Will This Cease To Be The Picture ? When Will We Start Leading Ourselves Without Having to Be Part of An Entourage Flanking The Same Faces? When Will We See That We Are Just Repeating History Instead of Doing Anything New! When Will Our Global Fusion Include An Equal Gain? When Will We Be Paid For The Work We’ve Done?

“Something in the nature of an economic revolution is required. Our development has been held back for too long by the colonial-type economy. We need to reorganize entirely, so that each country can specialize in producing the goods and crops for which it is best suited.” Neocolonialism- The Last Stage of Imperialism. It is said, of course that we have no capital, no industrial skill, no communications, no internal markets, and that we cannot even agree among ourselves how best to utilize our resources for our own social needs. Yet all the stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores. Our CAPITAL flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy. Fifty-two percent of the gold in Fort Knox at this moment, where the USA stores its bullion, is believed to have originated from OUR shores. Africa provides more than 60 per cent of the world’s gold. A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for electronics, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other minerals and raw materials for lighter industries – the basic economic might of the foreign Powers – comes from OUR continent…Experts have estimated that the Congo Basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the requirements of nearly HALF the population of the whole world and here we sit talking about regionalism, talking about gradualism, talking about step by step. Are you afraid to tackle the bull by the horn?”  Address to the Conference of African Heads of State and Government, May 24, 1963″ DR. Kwame Nkrumah

Sometimes in life what makes my day is to hear of other people’s accomplishments. Today is one of those days. As Ghanaians & people all over the world who respect freedom & the greatness of man to bring about a global mindset toward change & freedom celebrate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday &  Founder’s Day In Ghana; I am delighted to hear that the young people of my Black Star Nation are Honoring the Past By Building The Future!

Ghana taking the lead from the Gaddafi led AU’s 13th Ordinary Summit in the Libyan town of Sirte, where African leaders adopted the centenary birthday celebration of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as a continental event by stating, “We unanimously agreed to celebrate Dr Nkrumah’s centenary birthday & put it on the AU’s calendar of Special Events“, went on to  finally  take action in 2009 to make Dr. Nkrumah’s birthday a national holiday, celebrating the man, his achievements & his strong vision for a united & independent Africa. Dr Nkrumah became one  of Africa’s most prolific leaders who is celeberated all over the world from a memorial in New Delhi, India to a commemorative stamp in Russia & a New York State Senate resolution celebrating his contribution as 1 of the founders of Pan-Africanism. As diginitaries from around the world visit & send well wishes to Ghana in honor of Dr. Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday today, I can’t help but to acknowledge the elephant  not in the room,Muammar al-Gaddafi- the modern day African leader who thru Dr. Nkrumah’s influence spoke publicly in a push to carry out the vision of a United States of Africa. Today, Gaddafi has basically been deposed in the same style of people’s revolution cloaked in a western backed coup d’état that met Dr. Nkrumah. We are now left once again to look toward the future, hoping a new leader will emerge to carry the torch of a United States of Africa.

“It is time to give life to the dream of a united Africa. If we could even make the regional and economic committees at the sub regional levels work, we will see a much faster progress than we are seeing today. Let Africa not deceive herself, nobody is going to move out of the front of the world queue and create space for us to take a place… We have to work together to move up the front of that queue…it was time the continent rewarded Nkrumah’s commitment to see among other things, a united Africa liberated from poverty, noting that African leaders must back their words with action to ensure the realization of Nkrumah’s dreams for Africa.” READ MORE

While politics in Africa continues to disappoint most Africans, the future is bright among the young people who refuse to have the actions  & lack of progress in African politics defer the dreams of the Africa they want to see & build. One of these young people is Ghana’s own Mantse Aryeequaye. I remember meeting & interviewing Mantse for my labor of love documentary entitled Black Star Rising. I met Mantse in Osu, Ghana in 2008 as a young writer, visionary & man about town who spoke about creating pirate radio in Ghana, growing up as a hip-hop head in Ghana & being a part of the MOP (movement of people) in Ghana who were showcasing the vibrancy of the talents & Arts in Ghana…Now fast Forward to July 16, 2011 & the dream of what the future of Ghanaian arts celebration will hold, has not only been mobilized but realized & celebrated as a movement & festival started in a small historic fishing town that will sooner than later find its global fusion in local & worldwide recognition like the plethora of established & emerging global street arts festivals that have sprouted up in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Paris etc.

The name of the festival- Chale Wote geniusly exemplifies the spirit & style of Ghanaians in every way, bringing us back by taking us forward to our essence in nostalgic future! Chale Wote is the Ga word for flip-flops that all Ghanaians rock & it also translates to man/homie let’s go! The Chale Wote festival juxtaposed the best of Ghanaian fashion, music, art, culture and the new generation of sports in Ghana that is more BMX bike extreme sports than football. The beautifully raw rugged streets of  the small fishing town of (Jamestown) James Town in the capital city of Accra holds so much of Ghana’s history of greatness for producing some of the greatest boxers like the legendary Azumah Nelson-the first African Boxer to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame & rising stars like Joshua Clottey, along with Ghana’s Greatest Photographer James Barnor & his Ever Young photography studio. James Town is also home to Ghana’s oldest prison, James Fort,  which held Dr. Kwame Nkrumah & many of Ghana’s freedom fighters as the nation woke up, fought & regained its power against their former colonizers to elect Dr. Nkrumah as our very first president while still being held in prison.

Jamestown is located right on the Atlantic Ocean & is a lively  colorfully boisterous town with many open spaces & beautiful architecture juxtaposed with the dense poverty of economics but not of spirit ,which served to be the perfect location for the Chale Wote  Street Arts Festival!  Big Ups to Mantse & all those who dare to dream, dare to take the chance in lighting a spark that may set the fire of greatness, all those who have no fear of failure because they are too consumed with the desire of creating success, and those collectively brought together their passion to make this beautiful expression of Ghana come to fruition. There maybe some who may call you failures because they are void of the unwavering love in black star souls & are hollow without ability to soak up the idea & manifestation of potential in dreams & actions. I can’t wait to hopefully be there to bare witness to the experience in the flesh & to hopefully be able to contribute on the next go around in April 2012! CHALE WOTE!!!

“The premiere edition of the CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival, held on July 16th, was a success because many people believed in a simple idea. Teamwork and artistic talent make a powerful combination. With only three months to plan and a limited budget, more than a dozen young creative professionals rolled up their sleeves and got to work on the largest free street festival to ever hit Accra. The result: a 12-hour fantastic street maze of live action art stretching from the Mantse Agbonaa to the old Kings Way building—graffiti + street painting, bike/skateboard/rollerblade street stuntin’ parties, art installations, experimental theater, a fashion circus, drumfunkbass music, spoken word, and a live music concert—never before seen on this scale in James Town. The idea began at a Talk Party in Osu back in March. The monthly discussion series is hosted by ACCRA [dot] ALT. “We were tired of talking about change. It was time to take action and generate a viable economy for art in this city. CHALE WOTE is well on its way to making Accra a cultural hotbed and international destination,” says filmmaker and ACCRA [dot] ALT producer, Mantse Aryeequaye….” READ MORE

Photo Credit: Nana Kofi Acquah

Follow The Organizers: Accra[dot]Alt

Photo Credit: KwesiBlack.com

For other photo credits go to : Face2FaceAfrica.com

When many think about the world of high profile architecture & architects, African names rarely come to mind, but David Adjaye, a Tanzanian-born British architect of Ghanaian descent has single handedly changed the scope of that vision & thinking globally-from Europe to Africa, to America. With a superb A-List clientele from the Nobel Foundation to Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor and Alexander McQueen, Adjaye can’t seem to live down his given moniker of “starchitect”! David Adjaye is undisputedly one of the biggest shining stars in the game of architecture & his franchise team keeps winning!

“What do Manhattan’s most radical new residence, D.C.’s National Museum of African-American History, and the Ghanaian home for a Nobel Peace Prize winner have in common? All were designed by David Adjaye. Lindemann, a private investor and a son of billionaire George Lindemann, had purchased a wreck of a carriage house on East 77th Street with the intent of tearing it down, leaving in place only the building’s landmarked facade. “We wanted to push the envelope of what was possible within a little piece of New York City,” he says. While the couple had their pick of big names for the job, they chose David Adjaye, a Tanzanian-born British architect of Ghanaian descent, then a rising star in the UK but little known anywhere else. “It was a bit of an experiment,” Lindemann says. Adjaye, who was working on Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art, hadn’t yet unveiled a major building in the U.S. To Lindemann and Dayan, though, that was part of his appeal: He was innovative, a new name, and, above all, had serious art-world cred, having made his mark designing gritty, luminous homes and studios for a number of the artists that the couple collected. (Adjaye was also a fixture at London’s Frieze Art Fair and the Venice Biennale and had collaborated on pavilions for artists Chris Ofili and Olafur Eliasson.)…” Read More

David Adjaye is part of the new era of global Africans AKA ALA’s (Africans Living Abroad) who are making their mark on the global scene  & putting a spotlight on the talents of Africa in unconventional ventures & achievements. While serving high profile clientele David Adjaye has also put his mark on the future renaissance of Harlem’s famed Sugar Hill and the preservation of  global Africa & Ghana’s history.

“David Adjaye may be the only person on earth who has visited Rwanda for its buildings. The British architect has just returned from Kigali, the capital, where he shot pictures of mosques, churches, parks, and luxury villas. It was the final stop on his quest to photograph every capital in Africa, a 10-year odyssey culminating in Urban Africa, a new exhibit at London’s Design Museum (through Sept. 5). “[The project] came out of retracing my childhood,” says Adjaye, the Tanzanian-born son of a Ghanaian diplomat. “I’ve always had a strong sense of the continent not just as a romantic idea but as a physical memory. As an architect, I wanted to understand those places in an urban context and see how they have influenced my psyche.” Now it’s Adjaye’s turn to return the favor. The 43-year-old, who recently won the commission to build the $500 million Smithsonian National Museum of African History and Culture on Washington’s Mall, is at the forefront of a group of African designers returning to oversee the continent’s building boom.For his part, Adjaye is building a college in his native Ghana and a community center in Johannesburg. “And I’m looking at working in Algeria and Senegal,” he says. Other architects, including Burkina Faso’s Francis Kere and Ghana’s Joe Addo, have returned home to join in the building bonanza, constructing schools, universities, and homes. “A lot of us trained in the West,” he says. “[But there's also] a new generation of practitioners trained on the continent who are creating new energy.”  READ MORE

David Adjaye struggled like many entrepreneurs bordering on the brink of bankruptcy, but he believed in his talents enough to continue to push the envelope even when the hard times hit, in his determination to do it his way. With several books like  David Adjaye :Houses & major architectural projects from America, to Europe to Africa in toe, there is no stopping this dynamic creative in literally leaving his mark on the world one building project at a time.

“American architecture has been rather devoid of photogenic Young Turks in recent years—the architect with the most buzz at the moment is Philip Johnson, yet again—but in the U.K., the designated star is David Adjaye. The Ghanaian, Royal College of Art–trained architect, 40, built his reputation designing tough, opaque houses in rapidly gentrifying London neighborhoods: masklike gray façades on the outside, lots of open space within, for cool artistic types like Ewan McGregor, Jake Chapman, and Sue Webster and Tim Noble. He’s since moved up in the world. In June, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire by the queen for services to architecture, following several public works—like his Idea Stores, which have shaken up the notion of the library, and his Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. And now he’s coming to America…” READ MORE

“David Adjaye’s new affordable housing building for Sugar Hill, Harlem is expected to strengthen the community with its mixed program on the base level and impvero the poverty-stricken neighborhood by providing quality housing for 124 families. In addition to apartments that will house some of the city’s poorest residents, a new educational, cultural and arts space will also be incorporated into the scheme. Resting at the bottom of Adjaye’s stacked and shifted volumes, the 18,000 sqf Faith Ringgold Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling will hold a permanent exhibition of Ringgold’s quilt art in addition to temporary exhibitions. As bdonline.uk reported, “Ringgold, who grew up in the area, has developed the museum in order to provide local children with early education through art. The museum will, in particular, attempt to foster pride in Harlem’s own artistic legacy.” Read More

Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology

Immediate Release

Friday, May 13th 2011, MoCADA located at 80 Hanson Place in Brooklyn, NY will host Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology, preparing & giving the tools of an open door to endless possibilities in creativity for the new generation of future leaders. Spring of the Artful Renaissance: Creating an Innovative Eco-Chic World Where Art Meets Technology is an artists & art connoisseur’s fundraiser event benefiting the Summer 2011 Street Academy Project in Accra, Ghana. The TKAFoundation in association with AKOSIA aims to bring awareness and to make the dreams of 40 children from the Street Academy come true this summer as they learn & enjoy a creative filmmaking journey that brings storytelling to life by writing, creating, directing and producing two short films on their own.

The TKAFoundation (Tomorrow’s Kaleidoscope of Artists Foundation) is the brainchild of filmmaker Sam Kessie, born in London to Ghanaian parents who later raised her in Ghana where she developed her love for filmmaking as a way to cross-global boundaries. TKAFoundation was created to support the global arts community by fundraising & contributing to charities that encourage arts education. TKAFoundation’s 2011 charity of choice is AKOSIA, a non-profit organization that develops and facilitates creative projects for underprivileged children and women all over the world. For the past two summers, (2009/2010), the AKOSIA team has been in Accra, Ghana working with the students from the Street Academy – a school that provides free education to children aged 8-18, as well as uniforms, books, and a decent meal each day for abandoned and homeless youth in Accra. The aim of the month long filmmaking program is to provide underprivileged youth with tools and technical skills where necessary, in order to produce their own films as independently as possible. The TKAFoundation for the 2011 summer project will join the cause to provide an engaging and safe environment where underprivileged children’s natural abilities can be expressed and nurtured, while providing a way out of poverty with useful skills in an ever growing African Film Industry that has rebuilt itself from the ground up with local skills & funding to create an internationally recognized multi-million to billion dollar industry within the last decade.

Come & Join TKAFoundation, tastemakers, innovators, artists & art connoisseurs from 6-9PM at MoCADA as they set the direction for the future of art in its collaborations & dedication to giving back to future generations. Be part of the Spring of the Artful Renaissance as you indulge in a special cocktail fundraiser that will entertain, inform and inspire everyone who attends to see the future promise of global art collaborations. There will be an opening reception cocktail, an auction, a fashion showcase featuring clothes and accessories from several designers including Onyz Noiz, PGF (Product of Global Fusion), Wow Wow by Wunmi, Kira Sherrine, Farai Simoyi along with performances by two amazing African Diasporan artists M3NSA (London/Ghana) and Iyadede (Brooklyn/Rwanda). This free fun-filled fundraiser’s goal is to raise  $10,000, which will go towards our 2011 summer program in Accra, Ghana with AKOSIA.

Support the TKAFoundation and AKOSIA as we make a difference by helping young children discover themselves artfully. In our commitment to AKOSIA, we aim to impact the less fortunate and less encouraged in some way through something as magical as art and in turn, help work toward eradicating poverty through arts education.

If you can’t attend the event but still want to support TKAFoundation and AKOSIA on their summer program you can still give support through our website: http://www.indiegogo.com/AKOSIA

For more information about our cause please visit one of our sites
www.tkafoundation.org
www.akosia.org
Press Contact:
Aretha A. Sarfo
VISIONS Entertainment & Publicity/Global Fusion Productions Inc.
P: 212-280-0699 /E: aretha@visionspublicity.com or info@globalfusionproductions.com

Jay Z has done it again. This time his creativity & new era pushing the envelope has come in the form of his new website Life + Times, which is basically what I envisioned Global Fusion Productions to be with Africa as its foundation, if I had Jay Z money-LOL! This new site showcases a global fusion of cuisine, politics, sports, technology, music, art & just a nicely curated mashup of  the life & times of locally globally fused cool kids sharing a little part of their world, which despite borders, socioeconomic status or language most can relate to. From elite Manhattan’s Upper East side Spence girl, Gwyneth Paltrow talking about her love for NWA & reciting every last word of “F*@k tha Police“, to the real story of yet another American state falling by the waist side in today’s Gary Indiana , Michael Jackson’s hometown far away from his dreams of Neverland,  to the hottest restaurants all over the world where the cool kids gather, to a crew of freelancers turned creative conglomerate located in Long Island City, NY who decided that there was more bank to be made, creativity to be explored & free dome to be had in their unity rather than on that everyday check to check grind because as the African proverb says “Two Heads Are Better Than One” -so just imagine what a few heads can do…Magic!

Life + Times comes at a time when lifestyle blog sites are taking over the world of printed magazines/newspapers & celebrities creating their own digital magazines & TV/film/art style programming has taken shape in the form of websites like Damon Dash’s Creative Control, Swizz Beatz’s Swizz World , 50 Cent’s This Is 50/ Boo Boo TV, Alicia Keys’ I Am A Super Woman and so many others. All I can say is Jay Z keeps raising the bar for  Hip-Hop & musicians in general as he continues to get global & unusual co-signs taking Hip-Hop where everyone thinks it can’t go: from Oprah’s couch, to a Sade remix, to minority ownership of the Nets in his own hometown of Brooklyn, to Decoded changing the publishing game, to calling Gwyneth Paltrow his sister & making her a new hip-hop darling a la his very own new era Blondie . One can’t help but to see Jay Z as unstoppable in his takeover  &  him single handedly sparking the global legitimization of Hip-Hop as an art form & the Hip-Hop mogul as one to be reckoned with in all areas of global business. As his mission statement for Life + Times states  ”I want to make the extraordinary, ordinary“, well  at the very least Jay Z is happily welcoming us all to the future as he continues …WINNING!

“I tell you the difference between me and them..They tryin to get they ones, I’m tryin to get them M’s..One million, two million, three million, four..In just five years, forty million more..You are now lookin at the forty million boy..I’m rapin Def Jam ’til I’m the hundred million man..R., O., C…” Jay Z-You Don’t Know

I don’t know if I can genuinely cosign Jay Z’s self promoting lyrical prophecy on Kingdom Come…but with the moves he’s making it’s hard to challenge his self proclaimed Hip-Hop’s savior title!

Lyrics 2 Kingdom Come

I don’t know what life will be in H.I.P. H.O.P.
Without the boy H.O.V. (I will be, I will be)
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor (Yeah)
When kingdom come, you ready? (I will be)
When kingdom come, I’m ready (I will be)
When kingdom come (Yeah, yeah) I’m ready
(Hey! Hey! Hey Hey Hey!!!)

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Now everywhere I go they like HOV you back
Up out the corner office out the coldasack
Where’s Iceberg Slim he was the coldest cat
Get your swag back daddy where your focus at
Got to admit a little bit I was sick of rap
But despite that the boy is back
And I’m so evolved I’m so involved
I’m showing growth, I’m so in charge
I’m C.E.O. and yeah going god
I’m so indebted, I should have been deaded
Selling blow in the park, this I know in my heart
Now I’m so enlightened I might glow in the dark
I been up in the office you might know him as Clark
But, just when you thought the whole world fell apart
I – take off the blazer loosen up the tie
Step inside the booth Superman is alive

[Chorus: Jay-Z (Sample courtesy of "Superfreak" by Rick James)]
(I will be) The King Of New York (I will be) New York
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor (Yeah)
When kingdom come, you ready? (I will be)
When kingdom come, uh huh (I will be)
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah, yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor
(Hey! Hey! Hey Hey Hey!!!)

[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
I hear “hurry up Hov” when I’m out in the public
Cause niggas like it, you love it; We be it, you’re of it
You breathe it, we need it; bring it back to the hustlas
Had to dust off the Hammer, dance – can’t touch this
C’mon playboys, bring the cars back out
Cause ya boy Hov is back, you know them broads coming out
Got ‘em dancing on the bankhead, like they from Bankhead
Fuck Cristal, so they ask me what we drinking
I thought dudes remark was rude okay
So I moved on to Dom, Krug Rosé
And it’s much bigger issues in the world, I know
But I first had to take care of the world I know
I’m from the bottom, so I still feel em from the bottom
Underdog before my cape, still couldn’t stop him
Flash Gordon when recording, spark the light in the dark
Peter Park, Spiderman, all I do is climb the charts

[Chorus: Jay-Z (Sample courtesy of "Superfreak" by Rick James)]
(I will be) The King Of New York (I will be) New York
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor (Yeah)
When kingdom come, you ready? (I will be)
When kingdom come, uh huh (I will be)
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah, yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor
(Hey! Hey! Hey Hey Hey!!!)

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Just when they thought it was all over
I put the whole world on my back and broad shoulders
The War-Hova, but who you know took over tracks like that
Guess what New York, New York – we back
And I ain’t never been afraid of a drought
Since I was six, seventeen been getting money down south
Bout it, bout it, Master P
Ask the nigga Pimp C, ask my homey Bun B
I run the streets the streets don’t run we
Y’all run, we chill still waters run deep
I repeat, sing a long with me
I run the streets the streets don’t run we
Ladies saying where you been Superman?
When niggas spending ten million in media on my hands
The Bruce Wayne of the game have no fear
When you need me just throw your ROC signs in the air, yeah!

[Chorus: Jay-Z (Sample courtesy of "Superfreak" by Rick James)]
(I will be) The King Of New York (I will be) New York
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor (Yeah)
When kingdom come, you ready? (I will be)
When kingdom come, uh huh (I will be)
Not only N.Y.C. I’m hip hop’s savior (Yeah, yeah)
So after this flow you might owe me a favor
(Hey! Hey! Hey Hey Hey!!!)
SOURCE: AZ Lyrics

Arise launched many African designers who usually do not have the opportunity to showcase their designs at New York Fashion Week to much praises & applause for their visionary thinking & putting their money where their mouth is in giving a new face to Africa & its forward movement. This time around Arise has set it’s sites on evoking the idea of “Sankofa” by returning to Africa in celebration of our global African flyness & showing that our designers can showcase their fashion on their own turf & terms with the same massive international appeal & quality to once again catalyze a new visionary way of looking at & building Africa for forward movement. With the launch of  Arise Magazine Fashion Week, Arise has taken the show back to Africa , back to Lagos, Nigeria, the home of its founder, Nigerian media tycoon Nduka Obaigbena.

Arise has also chosen to spotlight & focus on the future leaders of Africa, the youth/Young men & women who make up the majority of the continent & are making strides to be heard & to take back their future from those elders who have squandered & destroyed their nations, while setting aside the youth as a second thought in building & improving the nation for the better. Africans investing in Africa for the benefit of Africans to me is the only way that Africa will move forward in permanent sustainability &  profitability because in order to have unconditional loyalty toward something for the long term, one must have a deeper rooted attachment than just making money. Arise has given the youth of Africa a new platform to make their voices heard & for this Visionary outlook on Africa-We Salute You!

“In a region known for coups, stolen elections and violent rebellion, Ghana has quietly voted its way onto the democratic podium and fostered a vibrant civil society. Last year, with the discovery of generous oil reserves offshore at Jubilee Field, Ghana became a middle-income country and is forecast to be Africa’s fastest growing economy in 2011. And if not for a Uruguayan hand of God, the Black Stars would have been the first African team to make it to the football World Cup semi-finals. Expectations are super-charged…But this torrent of optimism is tempered by worries about whether the oil windfall will catapult Ghana back into the realms of corruption, nepotism and conflict. ARISE meets some of the bright young things set on stemming complacency and ensuring a better future for all.

The pidgin rapper-Wanlov the Kubolor, 30, Accra

Ghanaians call him the Prince of Pidgin. Barefoot, sporting a kikoi skirt and rapping about social and environmental problems, Wanlov invites listeners to laugh at their daily tribulations. His fan base includes the World Bank, Amnesty International and UNICEF.

“I’d say I’m a social-consciousness rapper, but that’s so restrictive because then I go and do a song about some lady’s ass. I like to clown. I sometimes reflect on bad things that are going on but I don’t do foreboding. Last year I did a barefooted walk against poverty. A human-rights group asked if I would lead the procession. At that time some major oil contracts were being signed so we were doing the walk to raise awareness about how things went down in Nigeria. By dropping the album Green Card, I made myself an authority on pidgin. My opening song is 50th Dependence – ‘Ghana chop 50, dis one dier chillin, or maybe not, coz som chop hot, because of greedy, nottin 4 needy, all wanty wanty, to flaunty flaunty, police extortion, by-heart abortion’ – it’s direct but it’s playful...”

“The feminist activist-Nana Darkoa Sekyimah, 33, Accra

As curator of the blog Adventures From The Bedrooms Of African Women, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah is bringing sexy back – to feminism. But her influence extends well beyond the bedsheets – she has started a women’s empowerment group, launched a fashion empire and founded a women’s co-operative. She also manages fundraising and communications at the African Women’s Development Fund.

“My primary concern is the issue of women’s rights, so that reflects on everything I do, directly or indirectly. I’m trying to create a better world for women, starting with myself and the women around me. Somebody once said to me that sexual harassment does not exist in Ghana. Yes, women face it all the time but I’ve never heard of a sexual harassment case anywhere. You’d be laughed out of the police station before you even got to court. But over time, this attitude chips away at self-confidence and makes people inhibited. It’s demeaning to know that men see you as an object – it’s a way of giving your power to other people...”

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Details on Arise Fashion Week Here

Thursday March 10 2011

Press Accreditation – 9AM

Press Launch - 12.30PM

The Official AMFW Welcome Dinner/Business of Fashion Africa Conference – 7PM

Closing Music Acts – 9PM

Naeto C & Darey Art-Alade

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday March 11 2011

Group Show – 11AM

House of Nwocha (Nigeria)

Kiki Kamanu (Nigeria/USA)

House of Farrah (Nigeria)

Viv La Resistance (Nigeria)

Group Show – 12Noon

Nikki Khiran (Nigeria)

Toju Foyeh (Nigeria)

Madam Wokies Couture (Sierra Leone)

Ejiro Amos Tafiri (Nigeria)

Double Show – 1PM

Christie Brown (Ghana)

Eki Orleans (Nigeria/UK)

Double Show – 2PM

Maki Oh (Nigeria/UK)

Buki Akib (Nigeria/UK)

Show – 3PM

Ituen Basi (Nigeria/UK)

Double Show – 4PM

Korto Momolu (Liberia/US)

Bridget Awosika (Nigeria)

Double Show – 5PM

Amine Bendriouich Couture & BS (Morocco)

Okunoren Twins (Nigeria)

Show – 6PM

Jewel by Lisa (Nigeria)

Show – 7PM

Mustafa Hassanali (Tanzania)

Show – 8PM

Tiffany Amber (Nigeria)

Closing Music Acts – 9PM

TBD

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday March 12 2011

Double Show – 11PM

Vonne (Nigeria)

Jil (Ghana)

Group Show – 12Noon

Jo Black Craze (Nigeria/UK)

Tsemaye Binite (Nigeria/UK)

Mataano (Somalia/USA)

Double Show – 1PM

Chichia London (Tanzania/UK)

Gert-Johan Coetzee (South Africa)

Group Show - 2PM

Lanre DaSilva-Ajayi (Nigeria)

Laquan Smith (US)

Show – 3PM

Alexander Amosu (UK)

Show – 4PM

Bunmi Koko (Nigeria/UK)

Double Show – 5PM

Eredappa (Nigeria)

Bestow Elan (Ghana/UK)

Show – 6PM

Kluk CGDT (South Africa)

Double Show - 7PM

Kemkemstudio (Nigeria)

Autumn Adeigbo (Nigeria/USA)

Show – 8PM

Deola Sagoe

Closing Music Acts – 9PM

Estelle & D’banj

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday March 13 2011

Group Show – 12Noon

Grey (Nigeria)

Kastle Designs & Treasure Chest (Ghana/USA)

Re Bahia (Nigeria/UK)

Zedeye (Nigeria/UK)

Show – 1PM

Odio Mimonet (Nigeria)

Group Show – 2PM

Samantha Cole (Nigeria/UK)

Angelo Von Mol (Belgium/Ivory Coast)

Pierre Antoni Vettorello (Belgium/Ghana)

Double Show – 3PM

Nkwo (Nigeria/UK)

Lola Faturoti (USA)

Show – 4PM

Gavin Rajah (South Africa)

Show – 5PM

B-Side by Wale Adeyemi (Nigeria/UK)

Show – 6PM

Xuly Bet (Mali/France)

ARISE Magazine Fashion Week Awards – 8PM

Show

Black Coffee (South Africa)

Closing Music Act

Tinie Tempah

Source:bellanaija.com

It seems like the Black Star nation has taken the Diddy pill because they just “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” in terms of showcasing the power of Ghana’s creativity. I am excited to see that as we head toward the 54th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence, we are resurrecting one of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s main objectives of bringing Ghana to the global stage through our arts & culture.

“On Friday March 25 and Saturday March 26, 2011, GIS students will bring to the stage an adaptation of FAME for the benefit of the Ghanaian audience.…Mrs. Gloria Payida, Vice-Principal of the Lower Secondary section at Ghana International School said, “This is the fourth year running that GIS has staged such a major musical at the National Theatre. Every year, we aim to get bigger and better, and the dream of making a musical production an entrenched item on the GIS annual calendar is gradually coming true.” READ MORE

Ghana is getting its “Glee” on as 80 students from Ghana International School prepare to dance, sing, & act their way into the heart of their fellow Ghanaians by living their dreams. The  students & faculty of GIS are diligently working together to bring the American musical “Fame”,made a globally popular cult classic by the great choreographer Debbie Allen who starred in both the film & hit TV  show.

The story of living out your dreams & paying the cost of making that dream come true is a globally relatable concept that captured the hearts & minds of the world. America along with the world just can’t get enough of “Fame” , which has been recaptured, remixed & remade on film &  stages all over world. Now the students of GIS are bringing it to Ghana’s famous National Theater with their own Black Star twist. More Vim & Black Star Power!

As we approach the 54th Anniversary of  Ghana’s Independence on March 6th, America’s  self appointed Bible of Hip-Hop Music, Culture & Politics- The Source Magazine- recognizes the new sound of Ghana that blends historically renown traditional hi-life music with the new era hip-hop generation waving the flag of Ghana by showcasing the rise in music of the Black Star Nation.

“Aretha Amma, the founder of Global Fusion Productions said Ghana since independence has always had the arts and culture as a priority to showcasing our nation to the world. Ghanaians brought Hi-Life music which originally is known as Osibi to most of Africa and the world through renown artists like Osibisa and Fela Kuti (who was originally a Hi-Life artist) now hip life artists who cut across all tribal and religious lines have brought a new global resurgence to popularizing our culture throughout the world.” READ MORE

I am willing to give Beyonce the benefit of the doubt that she is probably clueless about the long history & recent tensions between the French & Africans even though she is technically a product of this history since her mom is of New Orleans, Louisiana Creole decent; however anyone who has lived as a Black person & has been awake & aware in the world of fashion, which she makes a good amount of money from, should know that celebrating African queens by donning black face is just not a good move for anyone. Fela Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti is rolling in his grave that this is how they would choose to celebrate him,  Africa & the  true African queens who he loved in multiples. I don’t know if Beyonce was trying to make up for the fact that UK’s Daily Mail basically accused her of being part of the self hating skin bleaching brigade of Black celebrities, but come on Beyonce, why would you think this was a good idea with the last few years being nothing but Black people being outraged about black face in magazine after magazine & even Tyra Banks having to come out & apologize for doing the same on her America’s Top Model show?

I personally could careless about this overplayed card of “black face” by European magazines craving global or better yet American attention month after month, season after season..YAWN! We are bored & you can have it because it doesn’t even have the same offensive effect anymore because it is just lacking imagination, vision & creativity in its sheer unadulterated stupidity. As Black history month comes to an end in February & women’s history month begins in March, I would have loved to be celebrating my beautiful Black sister paying homage to  Fela & Africa depicted in a magazine that I actually really enjoy most of the time, but instead I am left with the disappointment of what could have been a beautiful celebratory trifecta of Beyonce, Africa & L’Officiel  ending up as a badly thought out effort choosing to opt for the go to cheap way of getting global attention instead of truly thinking out of the box in vision & creativity.

As an African & a great admirer & fan of Fela, I think it is disgraceful to try to claim that this is somehow celebratory in his honor because obviously they know very little about what Fela was about & stood for because this type of tomfoolery in depicting L’Officiel & Beyonce’s idea of what an African queen looks like would have him singing “Zombie” to Beyonce  & have him with a few choice words for L’officiel using “dem regular trademark” & letting them know “teacher don’t teach me no nonsense“! The idea that this is in anyway celebrating or paying homage to Fela’s legacy as a man who loved Africa & used music as a weapon to fight the type of injustice that is being done to African people/descendants right in France is absurd & a big fail in my book. The only reason I have any interest in speaking about this March  2011 -90th Anniversary issue of L’Officiel is specifically because they decided to say it was “deglaming” Beyonce AKA Sasha Feirce & taking her back to her African roots, while somehow paying homage to Fela by going against the exact nonsense he spoke about..this colonial mentality of what an African is & should be!

L’Officiel’s officiel response to the manufactured controversy

“The designs are all reflective of the African influence on fashion this season,” the magazine says in a statement. “As for the artistic make-up, the inspiration came from several African rituals during which paint is used on the face. We find the images beautiful and inspiring.”

#FELAHOMAGE #AFRICANRITUAL #PAINTEDFACES -There’s a difference let’s be honest & not disingenuous.

It is time that we stop acting stuck on stupid & recognize the world around us & our responsibility as everyday people & specifically artists/celebrities who have a massive platform to utilize their voice & power to bring about real change. By saying they are “deglaming” Beyonce & taking her back to her African roots is ridiculously insulting in itself because it suggests that Africa isn’t glamourous & to top off the stereotype of the  so called “dark continent” they blacken Beyonce’s face as if she isn’t already Black & one of us global African Queens who come in all shades-No need to Blacken or Whiten.

The other images without black face were fine all on their own, even though they gave the same stereotypical idea of head wraps, mudd clothes, elaborate wood, gold & ivory jewelry being the staple of what Africa is to most Europeans & I guess even to African descendants of the Diaspora. The blackface was just an unnecessary edition that added nothing to the shoot except to conjure up controversy, which I am sure was the goal. Is the European or African Diasporan idea of going back to one’s African roots just donning blackface & head wraps? Big Shrugs & an Oh Please on that! If you want real examples of Diasporans going back to one’s African roots look at Rita Marley & all that she has done for Africa (Ghana in particular) & the many others who are really about honoring, respecting & giving back to the roots of humanity & their culture in a real way not just a silly superficial way. I would like to know if there were any African designers featured in the so called “African themed” fashion shoot or was Mama Knowles as African as they wanted to get? Robin Givhan said it best in addressing the fashion industry’s lack of honesty in dealing with the issue of race.

“the fashion community tends to play dumb or be disingenuous. It treats race like “a paint chip,” even while benefiting from the undercurrent of racial tensions that permeate our society. Recognizing the power of race—and the accompanying stereotypes—has led to some of fashion’s most glorious images. Fashion pushes at the boundaries of political correctness in the name of creative freedom and buzz. But it often does it in a manner that is impish, sly, timid, and, at times, seemingly downright deceitful. How many times must we see a white model dressed in designer fare cavorting with the brown-skinned locals in India or Africa? Those who lead the cultural conversation about beauty, gender, and class biases can be shockingly uninterested in carrying on a dialogue about race—or simply unwilling to do so. I say, if you’re going to play with stereotypes, do it openly and honestly. After all, sometimes the culture needs to be challenged, even angered….” READ MORE

I am all for having this honest dialogue about race & how we all benefit in playing the game of race without being openly honest about it whether one is Black ,White or other. I guess Black people are even more stuck on stupid than White people on this issue of “black face” because we condone, celebrate & participate in what we say we hate. How can anyone take Black people seriously when we fall right in line with stereotypes even when we are the ones in control of defining our Blackness. Why would Beyonce, miss independent with a mind of her own that can upgrade you choose to downgrade herself & Africa by ever thinking that this would be a great idea to agree to after the past few years of backlash with this very issue ? I guess money & fame weakens the brain & principle goes out the window! Oh well congrats Beyonce on yet another cover & getting mama Knowles a high end fashion gig for her costumes & joyeux anniversaire L’officiel, but the M.O.P & African in me can’t help but to channel Cee Lo & say F$*K You!

This is our own stupidity in the fact that this shoot would have been great if someone actually stood up & said no to the Black Face- which was just unnecessary & really served no purpose other than to create controversy. They knew the hype in media attention that they would receive from the controversy -which is what they were going for & they got it with the help of Black people who should know better..sometimes our thirst to be included by any means necessary makes us our own worst enemy!

I had to add this comment that I saw on theHotness.com because it captured the issues of the Black community that we seem to never learn from & create for ourselves, while others who have been through the struggles of racism, genocide & injustice have managed to decipher in a clear cut no exceptions way on what is & isn’t acceptable in their representation.
Justin Says:
“First of all, I agree that the editorial was more of an issue than the photograph. The language indicated an underlying notion of Africans as savage and inherently un-glamarous. Ugh….But we need to take a page from our Jewish brothers and sisters when in comes to ish like this. No Jewish person would ever tolerate someone in a Nazi costume, just because the person wearing it was Jewish. They keep it simple: all things Nazi are bad and won’t be tolerated. We, on the other hand make so many exceptions to all of our ‘rules’ that is renders them completely useless. “Don’t say the N word, unless you’re Black, or a rapper or one of the cool white cats that we grew up with who we know don’t mean it in a bad way.” “Don’t dress up in blackface unless you’re black, or in a European fashion magazine, or directing your own music video.”…We need to get our ish together and stand for something or just shut up. Consistency might not be universally respected, but at least folks will know where we stand.”

“Music is a spiritual thing, u don’t play with music..if u play with music u will die young..When the higher forces give u gift of music, musicianship- it must b well used for the good of humanity..if u use it 4 ur own self by deceiving people..u will die young” Fela kept it clear & consistent

Fela Wives PHOTO CREDIT: Femi Osunla @ URBAN IMAGE

Beyonce Photos : March 2011: L’Officiel Paris

I was web surfing the other day & came across a full online version of a special issue of Ebony Magazine from 1973. What a beautiful throwback that is very relevant to  life today as Americans & in particularly as Black Americans. I am so glad I found it right at the beginning of Black history month to reflect on how far we have come as Black Americans since my birth year of 1973. As a great man, orator, griot, “Go Tell It on a Mountain” & “Notes of a Native Son” author, civil rights activist, gay rights advocate before it became cool fodder for entertainment & our global lexicon & literary legend of Black History, James Bladwin once said “Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.”

I looked over this special issue to see from whence we came & realized that there are things that have improved, things that have gotten worse & things that have remained the same. In this special issue dedicated to looking at the Black Middle Class, where the people of Harlem’s famous Striver’s Row was featured as the then gentrification from White to Black instead of today’s reversal gentrification,it also discusses the Black middle class & elite flight to the suburbs, while spotlighting a famous Chicago dentist by the name of Dr. Charles H. Sweet who chose to stay in his hood to make sure  many more native sons could get a hand up. This special issue discusses the divide between Black bourgeois, middle class & poor & how all those classes are defined & effect our forward & backward movements spiritually, politically & economically as Black America back in 1973, which remains a great topic of discussion in modern day Black America. It showcases men like Black panther  & community activists Bobby Seal who had to change with the times & move to the middle to achieve certain goals in the construct of the majority much like our Black President is faced with today.

This special issue covers the dumbfoundedness of Black people in a football player like George Seals leaving the wealth & glamourous life of an athlete to follow his dream of becoming a commodities broker because he saw the long term wealth he could bring to himself & his people that may never come in a short lived football career, much like ex football player & Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle.  This issue covered our complicated exploration of black beauty with vaseline still being our ancient Black secret along with never ending & still relevant Ads. juxtaposing the battle in dichotomy of bleaching creams along side Ads. for how to maintain our natural hair in that “Good Hair” fashion,while fighting for freedom within the context of our Pan-African liberation. Sociologist, E. Franklin Frazier’s theory  from “Black Bourgeoisie” which said, “the most recent accessions to the Negroe middle class who are prominent in the sit-ins & other protest movements could not be omitted from a more detailed study of the Black bourgeoisie“ was revisited by  Ebony in 1973, while also looking at how Black America had not come to terms with the stresses of the 1960’s never ending struggle for freedom & acceptance  without a moment to “feel no pain“,  causing generations not to deal with the issue of mental illness in the Black community.

I was marveled by much of the advertising in this special issue that very much mimicked the advertising culture of today’s Black America where the beautiful feeling of fur was the staple of the woman who had arrived & where Louis Armstrong’s incomparable jazz stylings was compared to Dewar’s White label as a scotch that never varied much like its then spokesman’s style, along with the hot new pocket size kodak camera of the time that could fit into the pocket of the model’s cotton candy colored skinny jeans/mini, the call for our young men to join the army to serve their country in the same way our president urged in his state of the union speech for our schools & universities to open up their doors for recruitment, while a single Black mother  by the name of Kelly Williams Bolar was hauled off to jail for wanting an alternative to getting the best education possible for her children. American Airlines at the time was inviting the world to discover the good life by discovering exotic lands & ancient cultures like St. Thomas, St. Croix, Haiti, Curacao & San Juan, while Black America was still drinking our most favored Kool-Aid & getting down with something good & still lovin’ it -(McDonalds)…LOL-SMH. Prudential told Black America that getting a piece of the rock “meant more than investments in..it meant investments in people“, which makes we wonder just how many in Black America use their piece of the rock to invest in their own people? As the father of hip-hop, Kool Herc continues to suffer health wise solely because of lack of finances, will someone like Jay Z use his peice of the Roc to invest in the patriarch of his own nation?

In 1973, we were still discussing Black love within the context of the sex life of the Black middle class along with the never ending debate on why educated Black women of the time like Dr. Maya Angelou could not find themselves a mate even though she was amongst the 100 most influential Black people of the time, while still wondering how the Black middle class was going  broke by living beyond their means & soldifying the fact that barbecue was favored by Blacks of all classes. 1973 -Wow -What a year!

As I reflect on the limitless information in this issue of Ebony, I look around today & wonder where have our modern day hip-hop griots like KRS1 gone because when our schools & homes were limited in teaching us about the richness of our Black history in science & inventions, KRS1 took it upon himself to be the teacher who commanded the class in saying “You must Learn“. I wonder why much more of our artists are not reflective of the times & needs in our global Black community as we once reflected & was addressed by Nina Simone in her Protest Anthology . Our rich history in science & invention must continue to be taught & passed down from our griots as we have always done from Africa to her Diaspora instead of being replaced by the lexicon of today that says Black children are falling behind in science & math because they have no role models, without anyone looking into the great advancement & works in science, invention & mathematics by young Africans of today & throughout the African Diaspora outside of the USA.

Ebony’s 1973 special issue is indeed special to me, not only in the fact that it was my birth year but also in its chock full of history that is very much relevant to today’s times & Black experience. I am delighted that Ebony has always been there for me as “Keepers of our Black history” & I hope as we reflect on Black history month & the future of Ebony that we turn to a direction that focuses on our Global Black History that includes Africa & her full diaspora. At the time when the now defunct & silenced battle over Essence hiring a White fashion director came along, there was the battle over Vogue saying no to an African Edition even though it had spread the Vogue love all over Europe  & Asia, while giving our global Blackness only a few special covers & one printed issue. I applaud Amy DuBois Barnett, who I was hoping that Ebony would consider in their restructuring toward the future, for the work she has done so far & for the work I hope she will do in showcasing Ebony’s global vision & appeal in defining our global blackness. We can’t continue to speak about our exclusion from White mainstream while continuously begging for opportunity when we have always created & had our own opportunities & legacies to draw from  & expand on. Before Oprah Winfrey became a globally known media powerhouse there were Black individuals & families like John H. Johnson & his wife Eunice Johnson of Johnson Publishing building lasting legacies for the future of Black America to build from & on, but many of us have somehow forgotten to pass down the legacies of our collective dreams.

I say now like I said back then during Black America’s battle over Essence & Vogue that we were overlooking our black diamond in the rough that was about to undergo its new shine at the same time that there is a new scramble for Africa with all eyes of the world on Africa as the game changer for global economic growth. Ebony is who we should be looking to for an African edition not Vogue because our history is very much intertwined  & it is about time that we recognize that Black history started in Africa & expanded throughout the diaspora beyond America, so why not Ebony Africa, Ebony Europe, Ebony Latin America, Ebony Caribbean & even Ebony Asia since Ebony culture is so very rich & global in its diversity. As Morgan Heritage says “A nation without any history is like a tree without roots & that kind of tree can never bare no fruit“. The place is now, the time is here for Africa’s Diaspora starting with Black America to recognize what the United Nations has already declared -2011: International Year of African Descendants! Let’s Build & Go Back to claim what is rightfully ours in the full scope of our history, in the spirit of Sankofa!

In all of our Joy & Pain…Black Still Remains Beautiful! Explore the Ebony/Jet Classic Vault!