Good morning close to three AM here in Saint Louis awaiting the cab that will take me back to Dakar, my amore.I had a wonderful, wonderful sereine time in Ndaar, I totally got into chill mode, spend time with me, talked to my soul, walked my shoes off, met some amazing & inspiring women,the end good bye lol, now know that I have a St Louis story to share ;The him in my life hooked me up with his friend Banda who was my generous host for this 2 days trip.I had planned on attending a few vernissages but that quite didn’t happen, actually I wanted to support one of my elders in the world of photography Fatou Kande Senghor who is currently exhibiting her work at Comptoir des Fleuves II (in the South side of the island) I shared a cab with two funny ndaar women who argued with our cab driver lol, well I have to say that those aunties were out of line, gave him wrong directions so we lost a good hour trying to locate them..& that before leaving Dakar hein !! Once it was clear to me that mingling bissap jiice in hand, eating canapes was just not happening, i catched up on the new bachelorette season ( american TV show) that I had downloaded prior to leaving for Ndaar.Anywhoo we finally made it to St Lous, thankfully cos Alioune the cab driver is how can I put in a proper way, he’s crazy lol .I mean he is not scared of the trucks, the bad drivers bref it was def’ an experience .. Got to meet my hosts Banda, his wife Fatim & their daughter Marietou who gave me the royal trreatment (thank u Sall family) Finally I woke up this morning, found my way through downtown St Louis around 10 AM & then started my Saint Louis OFF journey are you ready ? Let’s go, well I divived my recap following the different sides of the Island I visited, I think that it would make it easy for you if you are visiting check me out talking like I’m a pro art & lifestlye critique lol anywhoo..

North Side :

La Galerie Agneau Savage : I really like the  Pierre Tacher post cards with ancient pictures of Saint Louis people & life that were being sold at this bookstore.The owner was quite friendly as well.There painter , Adama Sylla was showcasing his work.

L’Hotel de la Residence :Around the bar area the painter Assane Gning was exhibiting his colorful art work, I liked how he depicts everyday life with a positve & colofrul zest .There I met friendly photograher Bruno Democq who insisted that I visited the south side of the exhibit..which I did J thanks for the tip Bruno

Rama Diaw Creation : I had met Rama in Dakar when she participated in a fair at the CCF Dakar, liked her energy. She opened recently this huge space where she sells her clothing items in voile, wax, indigo, cotton. She was on her way to Europe that day where she’s been invited for a few fashion shows, you go girl. Behind every strong woman, there’s luckily a strong mother, such was the case for Rama . Even though she was a bit stressed about leaving her gallery, she knows that she can count on her mother. I liked Rama’s energy & I wish her luck, oh & before I forget there’s a kid session in her shop with toys clothing items & just for this biennale she’s invited a friend of her who reads & write stories for children .

Hotel Siki idn’t visit the rooms in that hotem but I loved the reception area & restaurant areas.The painters  David Palacain & Maryse Loertscher were showcasing their work I was really sensitive to Maryse work. I had lunch there & chit chatted with Moctar an employee there, such a nice & beautiful spirit.He had a nice way about him we talked geography (what he studied) & we talked life in general, all the best to you brotha

Hotel Rognan : I liked the Binetart exhibit , she or he played with toothpaste tubes , def’ worth checking out

Hotel de la Poste ; Wanted to have a drink there but didn’t happed finally, you can see the work of Taha Diakite ( was already familiar with his work), Sada Tall ( I liked the women portraits) & Moussa Konte

Gallerie Keur Fall :Commerce ethique as in they do not rip the artisans of lol, the owner of the place Clementine who is also a painter was showcasing her painting work as well. She explained that she is also an energy therapist & that her work also reflected her relationsip with energy.When she paints she doesn’t paint with a final result in mind rather she just let her enery guide her, nice

Maison d’hotes Jamm : nice place, nice pastel paintings by Agate Bouton, would def’ like to stay in that guesthouse, so peaceful

Galerie Tess by Mai Diop :As we say often in Dakar when someone is really dope, interesting & does things her way «  Mai Diop artiste leu », loved the time I spent at her gallery.We had a good chat about her career, how she found herself in senegal, her ambtions.It’s amazing to see a woman her age stil so full of life elegance & projects. She is a boutique artisan shop owner & proud of if . Prior to moving to Dakar & opening up Tess she’s worked as a decorator in the movie industrie, she’s been the assistant of a few artists before. What I liked about the way she works is that she’s really interested in the history of the Mandjack fabric, the symbolism , the history & that’s really important, she’s taught me a few things here & there regarding that fabric. Her team is quite small & she likes i that way she’s not into the industrial side of business rather the one on one approach. She needs an entire post , will work on that in the near future

Quai des Arts :So I found my way towards the quai des arts where painters Amadou Diop & Assane Fall were showcasing their work, both artists presented interesting work , I really like Amadou’s series on St Louis lights.

Ecole Francaise  St Exupery :One of my fav’ exhibits, I liked the work of Antoine Jomand on the nomade Peul people, I’m a a what do you expect

Galerie Maame Thiouth : of course it was a nice exhibit with artists like Sebastien Bouchard, Mansour Kebe, Amy Sow ( u remenber the Mauritanian painter I’ve told you about on day 6), discovered as  well as portrait work done by Robert Diop, niceee

Gallerie Ataya: like space, the concept of one artist/month, each month they host a dinner party with 5000 CFA cover charge & they invite an artist to come & talk about his work.

Restaurant La Pirogue: Couldnt’t leave Ndaar without seeing Gogo’s Sy photo obession with food at la Pirogue, love her personality & work:)

Aight you guys I’ll stop here…until Saint Louis OFF Part II:)

Yaye

Aight you guys today was a good & productive day:) I  stopped by the Sonatel Fondation for a nice vernissage.I ran into painter Aminata Diop who was invited to showcase her work.The Sonatel Fondation is big on supporting & promoting local young artists from Dakar & other Senegalese regions.Aminata introduced me to her friend & fellow visual artist Dieynabou Balde, loved her work (check the pics) They both graduated from the Dakar  Beaux Art school (will try to interview Dieynabou in the future ). There were many pieces I liked there by artists such as Joseph Coly,Mbaye Ndoye,Koya,Adama Keita,Aziz Ndiaye,Taha Diakite (who I’ve seen at other places during this Dak’Art),Amary Sobel Diop (beautiful work)…bref nice art exhibit . Taxiiiiiiiii lol second stop… Raw Material over @ Amitie II, where the ” Making Douala” exhibit is taking place, love the simplicity of the exhibit… the pictures are posted directly on the wall of course in a neat & interesting way.Indeed I got the feeling that I was visiting Douala with its greenery, its streets, its archicteture ,its people..really interesting expo.I really liked the garden mock up by Lucas Grandin, love how this garden is building the community in Douala, def’ nice exhibt , the artists repped totally for Douala.Taxiiiiiiii , third stop Espace Medina , love love the space, the exhibit, the artists, they were really relaxed & welcoming..got my talk on with photographer Babacar Traore, we talked & talked some more..He explained that this gallery was built within the Traore family house around 1968. Yes at the time, the family was made of of intellectuals who converted  into artists: there are writers,photographers,scultpurs & erudite within the family today .We talked photography language, exchanged ideas about the old & the new school of photography.Before I forget there is sand on the floor all over the gallery which makes the space quite special.The artists that shared the space for this Dak’Art were Senegalese & Italian.Some worked with images, clay, resin, insects,childhood memories, ect, bref I had a good time, thanks for the warm welcome Babacar, a bientot InchAllah..Taxiiiiii take me to le Village des Arts for my last stop of the day, THEY DO NOT PLAY over @ the Village des Arts, loves it thank u  Betty Weber for giving me the right info regarding the event, man everywhere you turn you see something special in every piece, the artists that touched me the most were Moussa Tine,Lassana Gassama, Chalys Ley of course,Moussa Mbaye, Fola Lawson, Daouda Ndiaye,Setou, Adama Boye,Mballo Kebe (check the pics) how can there be so much talent in one room..Got to meet Mauritanian artist Amy Sow (more on her in the future) & Wafa Yasmine Bensassi Kabaz ,you can see her work over Africa7 from May 17th-May 25th…I’m no art critique but waouh cha-peau , great great stuff, def’ one of the best exhibits I’ve been to..so ladies & gents here’s my recap of my day, till tomorrow:)

The artist WYBK

The Village des Arts Crowd

Jardin Sonore by Lucas Grandin

Painter Amy Sow

Serigne Ndiaye @ Village des Arts

Mballo Kebe

Painter Aminata Diobe Taye

Gallerie Espace Medina

Lena Mboup

Doulart

Painters Aminata Taye & Dieynebou Balde

Making Douala

till toms Inch'Allah:)

Yaye

So yesterday afternoon & today were slow Biennale days for me, actually this afternoon I didn’t go anywhere, I rested & I   worked out, needed  to:) Yesterday my friend & I visited Ambre deco shop over at the Almadies ,we got 2 see beautiful art by Diompy & another Burkinabe artist (don’t recall his name but I loved the sculptures), by the way Ambre is a nice deco shop where you’ll find all kinds of fun stuff like senegalese inspired coasters, wax house linen, that kind of stuff. Afterwards , we made our way towards Keur Dasha, an art gallery owned by designer Dasha Nicoue, nice house, nice backyard by the way.There I was really happy to meet 2 women that I admired for their work, Carole Diop editor in chief of www.afrikadaa.com & Pascale Obolo who’s a painter, a film director, she’s worked in the fashion industry with Xuly Bet, she’s big stuff so I was really happy to meet both women.They were really positive and all about african women empowerement, nice meeting you ladies:) My blogfriend Aicha from http://wakh-art.blogspot.com/ was hosting a vernissage at the restaurant Just4U. I haven’t been yet at her art gallery “La Boite a Idee” but will def’ make my way out there. Anywooh tomorrow is another day …:)

Keur Dasha

Meeting Artist Pascale Obolo

Dasha Nicoue , her daughter Carole & I

Carole & I

Dancer Khoudia @ the Wakhart event au Just 4 U

Dancer Khoudia @ the Wakhart event au Just 4 U

Yaye

Reppin’: Ivory Coast

What’s her story:I’ve seen akan jewelry done before, yes the concept is not new however Akoussou way of working with the famous ivorian goldweights & stones is refreshing, modern & refined.I saw her jewelry on the webbie of blogfriend, Cynthia (hey sista) & I loved loved it, had to find out more abt her & so… I did:).Akoussou love for making jewelry came from her admiration for her grandma.The Akan eldery woman taught our designer how to work with perls. However jewelry wasn’t her only passion, helping children in war areas was another passion of hers. She studies humanitarian law , worked helping fight for children-soldiers in the Congo area.In 2005 ,while pregnant with her first child she dabbed into her passion ,made some research about akan jewelry back home & in Europe ,& set a store over @ Etsy. You can tell that she pays specific attention to every detail, in her choice of stones, in the way the jewels are put together, she uses the social media websites right, the work is clean & well done.She comes up with new ways to play with the akan goldweights,for example I love the men bracelet collection actually I would wear it myself:)  For upcoming brides she has a special collection of jewelry to compliment their wedding dresses. If you ever are in Paris, she’ll take part at the Labo Ethnik Fashion Weekend (June 15th-June 17th).www.aflebijoux.etsy.com

Wedding Collection

Baoule stones

Afle leather bracelet

Red bamboo & Akan weights

Beautiful Ring

Yaye

Ndary Lo

Jo Ouakam studio

Morehuman Exhibit

Francoise Nthepe

Model Dija, Victor Omar Diop's Muse

Lamine Ndiayes reknown senegalese actor

Maguette Cisse

Morehuman studio

Edu @ gallerie Gaal Gui

Antoine Tempe

Soly Cisse

Yaye

Life is good Alhamdoulilah , I had a buzy friday afternnon & evening.Dak’Art is rich in beautiful events & it’s taking shape slowly & surely.There are so many international artsy people in town, whether act collectors, artists, writers, art comissioners ect. Going from one place to another you’re sure 2 bump into people you’ve met at another place earlier in the day lol, love to see the afropean sense of style as well.Yacine , Mimi & I met at IFAN which I was happy to see renovated, because a couple of years ago it wad a real tragedy.Our Culture Minister & beloved Musician Youssou Ndour was in the place , it’s nice to see him working his new title, and I think being that he comes from a musical background he has a bit of knowledge on things related culture & if he employs the right persons in his team they’ll be able to do great things.Anywho the Ifan exhibit was amazing, loved it , the artists that come to mind are Henri Sagna,, Piniang,Paul Emmanuel,Leopold Segueda,Mounir F (more to come)..Yace & I had a small chat with Henri Sagna, he showcase a beautiful  installation with big hand made  mosquitos and percal dresses hanging, the contrast between the pure  fabric and the colorful ugly big mosquitos is quite striking.He’s inspired by the fact these insects suck life out of people & percal in senegal has a traditional meaning ( ill elaborate later on that) I asked how business & art were cohabiting together & he replied ” business is art, art is business” true so true He also added that young artists should not rush the process rather they should take their time in wanting to make money so quick. Even though his artistry has been duplicated many times, he doesn’t let that bother him, as he adds he knows best, thanks for talking with us Mr Henri Sagna.Before I forget I met as well a Swedish artist, Katherine Helmerson we had a good chat and she took me places with her paper installations.She’s based in Stockholm & in this piece she was inspired by Dogon sacred artistry.We chatted a bit & she showed me a book  featuring other pieces she makes with bronze OMG it was crazy beautiful . It was really hot in the museun but I would def’ suggest if you are in town that you stop by, you won’t regret. I added some pictures of art that I saw there, before I go on, nice to see burkinabe painters.. We finally left the museum & made our way to the restaurant Big Five but we got the days wrong no one was there yet, finally we decided to rush to Market sandaga,  we didn’t wanna miss on the FrozenDakar flash mob, we bumped into Teclaire & Miss Polaris (hey sistass).The senegalese vendors are smart seeing a small crowd of us gathered at various places of the market, they knew something was up , they asked us, we of course denied lol but they knew lol When the drummer gave the signal my friends tried akwardly to freeze lo but they weren’t any good at all, some laugh, some argue I won’t name names but they know, cool initiative collectif les Petites Pierres. Afterwards as we weren’t tired enough, Yace & I made our way to the Railway Train Station where a cocktail was being held, nice but there were way too many people, so we walked & walked some more towards la Galerie Manege,on our way we met 2 Swedish ladies who were also trying to get there…we walked together & we shared tips on where to go that night. There the artist Serge Alain Nitegeka was hosting a cocktail showcasing his intricate wood installation Obstacle 1.We were thirsty & we made our way towards Shogun Grill, by the way nice asian fusion restaurant, loved the ravioli & the drinks, def we shall return lol. U thought this was the end noooo, not us we conquer the streets man,stopped by my house quickly got my computer & we met up with Mimi @ the Restaurant Le Point for some slam with the V Slam family ,nice I read a piece, lol a piece yaye like I’m a pro, well I’m very shy in person but I wanted to conquer my nerves thus the reading…aight guys day 3 will be back …enjoy your day:)

At Ifan, beautiful senegalese lady part of the entertainment

hello Mr le Ministre

Amalia R, Malgachi artiste

me at Galerie Manege, Serge Alain Nitegeka Installation

crowd at the cockail @ train station

Frozendakar, the girls attempt lol

Katherine Helmerson, Swedish Artist

Sylvain, N.South African Painter

Piniang, Senegalese Artist

walk walk

Yaye

Anywhoo so a friend of mine invited me to check out the International women group event, I already knew some of the vendors from prior events .But … buut there are still some crafty people that I didn’t know. You want an example sure, take for example Sandrine Gomis the designer of the the ethnik wax products brand Unangarou, she seems like a cool woman , spoke a little bit & gathered that she’s based in Saint Louis , Senegal . She’s half guadeloupean & Senegalese, she’s been featured on Plus d’Afrique & Miss Ebene, yaye where have u been lol:) I loved the handbags, the cute little ballet wax shoes, nice stuff:) I got to see my boy Wilson who works with the Village Pilote, a French ONG that works with underprivileged kids , they provide the kids with professional training & lodging & most of all self confidence.I ‘m going to try to go stop by their center and share with you what I’ll learn, it was really interesting talking with him and seeing that efforts like this are really EFFECTIVE. I got to meet as well sista Mekeda repping for the Ethiopian sistas out there selling beautiful ethiopian fabric, tops and dresses, I love the fabric & I couldn’t resist teased her …Iasked her why  ethiopian sistas had soft hair and we don’t lol , we shared a laugh and she explained that it’s not all ethiopian sistas, mmm side eye lol you all have beautiful hair .She’s set to host an exhibt at the end of the month at Paloma restaurant on May 27Th & 28th, anywhoo I’ll remind you ..Now I was really blogger happy & I’ll explain why, years ago I was doing some research on Malian home textile & I had heard of Mariane Montaut’s loine Niarela so I was really happy to see in person her beautiful beautiful stuff.She presented a blue greyish collection as well as a more colorful orangy collection, very friendly woman:) I couldn’t leave the exhibit without purchasing an african inspired & made make up bag by  Sens d’Afrique, more to come on that Inch’Allah:) All in all it was a good time, more events to come later on today, stay tuned:) Some cool links: www.undangarou.com (wax line), www.niarela-rue420.com ( Malian home textile),www.villagepilote.org, contact mekeda for the ethiopian textile m_granitzky@yahoo.fr

bissap in bags for 1000Frs to support the ONG

Mekeda's fabric

Niarela Rue 420

Undangarou

Sens d'Afrique

Yaye

I know I went MIA lol sorry about that, hope you had a good week… hope thing are good:) Sailing aight thanks to the AlMighty, things this week are ok, family, friends, the him,work things ..yes all these beautiful things of life are sailing ok, Alhamdoulilah , not taking it for granted though:)The Dak’Art 2012 is officially open today, well a few hours from now, I’ve got a small taste of it already though..I checked out  the beautiful colorful paintings by Christine Pilot & the equally gorgeous ceramic work by her husband Mauro Petroni.I had never been to his art studio before & waouh his art studio is quite agreable.He presented a  beautiful black & brownish  goldish collection of ceramic plates (hand made). I had seen this elegant man  at various Dakarois art events but I didn’t know in what artisitic field he worked in. From what I gather, he moved to Dakar the early eightiess &  has worked with ceramic artist Paul Frapolli. He  presented as well a beautiful blue collection of ceramic craft. I loved the warehouse atmosphere of his studio I fell in love with the vibrant colors that he plays with. Both Christine’s painting work &  his ceramic work complemented each other with the use of vibrant colors.What a nice way to start the Dak’Art 2012, I’ll keep u updated with pictures, my thoughts short or long on the events I’ve attended…ready let’s go:)

Christine P @ Dak'Art 2012

Mauro P.,Dak'Art 2012

Yaye

]]> http://www.fabulafricana.com/?feed=rss2&p=2881 3 http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2868 http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2868#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 17:21:07 +0000 ak_log http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2868 ...]]> So much energy, waouh the capoera performers did their thang  yesterday at the CCF.Remenber I was telling you about my friend Apollo and his capoera school, well yesterday they did their thang:) I loved the fusion btw Senegalese traditonal & contemporary dance with angola & regional capoera…see now I know the difference between the two:) During the first part of the show they performed a slower type of capoera called angola capoera , they performed it with traditional dancers evoking slavery and the emotional turmoil that our ancestors lived ..It was really executed:) Now during the second part of the show  the beat was much faster, the movements muh faster, boy their bodies are haaaaard waouh … The performers were diverse, there were some white people, Senegalese, non senegalese but Africans, men, young men, young boys, young ladies they had a ball..now when the brazilian band came on , drums and ohhh man we were in Janeiro ..all I wanted to do was to join them on stange and samba my a…off:) It was really a good show I enjoyed , they’re planning another show in November, will keep you posted:)

diversity

]]> http://www.fabulafricana.com/?feed=rss2&p=2868 0 http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2846 http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2846#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 13:42:29 +0000 ak_log http://www.fabulafricana.com/?p=2846 ...]]> Fabulafricana famille’oo …bene lepeu le wone ….

Il etait une fois, once upon a time there was a twenty five years old Toukouleur « 21st century princess »You know the kind of sista who understand that we have to embrace change, conquer fear and  take it to the streets .That’s what I dig about this young Senegalese designer & entrepreneur .. she gets it .:) .A couple of weeks ago I participated in  a freestyle photoshoot with her peeps… we went around the city taking pics .I felt inspired by their thirst & their go- getter atitute.The people she keeps around her, believe in her vision, they’re hip , they’re hop, they’re senegalese young adults, they’re streets.

While we were taking the pics they turned everything to color, Selly paid attention to each detail, the color of a wall, the attitude of the people around her… The experiences that we are given abroad, the internet world live in has to fulfill its purpose, its influence has to be felt in the social & cultural development of our city.She’s the prime of example of the « dakar qui bouge underground style movement », along with the vslam family, the petites pierres family, the visual art family, the hip hop family, the wakhart people they are bringing change culturally.

Now her show blew me away, I’ve been to many fashion shows in Dakar but this was a total production that was lead with a clear vision.As you entered la Senegalaise de l’automobile :camera, lights, actions,red carpet , hip hop dancers & performers, ataya action, dj blazing hip hop tunes,  preppy girls in cocktail dresses, Haute couture designers like Colle Sow Ardo, young fashionistas nappy & weaves bows & ties in their air PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR..

We were in the street.I was really impressed.. this was a production, you felt that something exciting was to take place and you were quite happy to be there witnessing it :) Local & international press were in the building & so were the bloggers Selly gets it ,nowadays a brand is nothing without a community internet manager, u have to engage in conversations with your consumers, they have to know what you are about & one of the strength of SRK brans is just that..

She gets & her people get it as well, there’s continious conversation about her work, friends of hers & fans of her line promote her work, she’s present & a lot of entrepreneurs here just don’t get it…I had a backstage pass (thanks SRK team, particulary JP) and I had a total different view of the show.The models at first were wondering who the hell was this bald headed woman snapping pics non stop but little by little I managed to blend in well sort of..when I would try to catch them au natural their natural instincts would kick in and they would pose.

Selly with her assistants , make up artists, hair people, artistic team were buzy bees, she stayed focused despite the madness despite the expectations of so many people, a real pro running around making sure their hair looked good, making sure they had their shoes on rigt, checking with the make up team, agreeing here, saying no there… she was pure dynamo.

The female & male collection she presented was colorful, fresh, funky, hip hopish, animated and fun.She used bazin, leather, coton, silk fabrics & managed to make it look fresh. The crowd ate it up, and of course she had a well deserved standing ovation, the show ended with her friends accomplished singers Daara J .I’m left with a sense of respect for this young woman who went after her dreams, I thought of her parents who support from the get goo who were in the audience knowing how tough of a job it is but trusting her enough to get through it.Kudos to her people, Milo, Bachir, Minus, Yaye, Benouche, Francis,Staz those I got to know a lil bit, it really takes a village to raise the experience SRK & they are with her all the way.I can’t wait to see what she does next , till next year sis , srkanement yours:)

love it

love the back

model

Selly working hard

love 2 jacket

Fun times, Yaye