Afrovibes Festival: Creative Arts

Every festival Afrovibes gives ample attention to design and fashion by contemporary African designers and designers in the program Design and Creative Arts. We invite African artists and designers who develop innovative forms and design elements in the field of design, fashion and design. The fifth edition of this program was in 2022. This is a short representation in words and images of the design and fashion program in Afrovibes 2022.

• Sindiso Nyoni (South Africa) designed the campaign image of the 19th festival edition. In his design, he shows the urgency of an African perspective on current issues, as the campaign image shows.

• Fashion, the festival featured two fashion presentations. Odair Pereira, founder of fashion label DAIR. Pereira showed his couture on a catwalk. In a talk show at De Balie Amsterdam he  talked about what inspires him. His message: clothing can make your identity visible so that you always stand out. BOИSU is a rap artist, storyteller and songwriter. For Afrovibes, BOИSU made a new fashion show with DJ/Producer All1ne (Brian Brammerloo).

• Exhibition. R!OT BY DESIGN by South African designer Sindiso Nyoni. In his work he balances on the cutting edge of artistry and design, activism and commercial work. Nyoni fits into a tradition of designers who have a relationship with current issues and activism. His work is in line with the urgency of telling stories and showing images from different cultural perspectives. His work demonstrates a commitment to equality and loyalty to the original ideals of the African struggle for independence. It visualizes a rage about colonial disruption as well as about post-colonial abuses of power and self-enrichment.

During Afrovibes, the exhibition was on display in Frascati Theater Amsterdam from 5 – 9 October  and De Balie Amsterdam from 10 October 10 – 30 November. At De Balie Nyoni was a guest at a talk show about socially critical art, activism and engagement and working for commercial companies. This exhibition was a joint production of Afrovibes and ZAM Magazine. A catalogue of the exhibition has been published:   follow this link

• Installation performance. Kaspale’s Playground by Syowia Kyambi (Kenya, Germany). Originally a museum installation, which Kyambi adapted for Afrovibes into an installation performance suitable for theatre. With costumes, video and performance, Syowia Kyambi took the audience to a world of resistance and protest in Kenya, where women show their ultimate weapon against the ruling power. They undress on the street and show their naked bodies to the established power, the police. Kyambi’s work was also shown at the Venice Biennale in the Kenyan pavilion.

• Video performance, Looking for Ghana & Red Suitcase by Lhola Amir (South Africa). She responds to the romanticization of the African freedom struggle and gives an example of historiography without a Western filter. In high heels, Lhola Amir walks through Accra in Ghana from minibus taxi to moped taxi across the market to the coast. Looking for ‘Africa in Africa’“, which she does not find. The journey was filmed in sepia by Ghanaian filmmaker Wanlov Kubolor to subdue West Africa’s “exotic colourfulness”. Due to copyright, the video cannot be displayed online. The link to the gallery and Lhola Amir’s work is: https://www.smacgallery.com/exhibitions-archive-3/looking-for-ghana-%26-the-red-suitcase