Out and About Africa

Art of Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Love this image of dancers from The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative in Jo'burg during a performance. Beautiful marriage between the art of dance and the art of photography.

{photo: The Lightbox}

Art Scene: Nicole Cronje

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I'm currently loving the art work by South African Nicole Cronje. She using a combination of ink on paper somethings using copperleaf and wallpaper to create these intricate designs that are part Gustav Klimt meets William Morris in a South African garden!

{Photos: Nicole Cronje}

On Travel: Managua Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Hi folks - just a quick post of some portraits I recently took in various parts of greater Managua.....

{Photos: Brandie for Out & About Africa}

Tees for Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As you may or may not know, generally speaking, African farmers get a raw deal in the grand scheme of trade. With no subsidies to support them and the price of raw export generating less than processed goods, most farmers on the continent struggle to make a living. These fun t-shirts are a tiny way that African Fashion Guide and Ubuntu International Project are providing support to cotton farmers on the continent. The shirts are made from 100% organic cotton grown on the continent and even better, this is a 100% made in Africa. Obviously, even the ink is eco-friendly because it would just be wrong to go all organic on the fabric and then pour chemicals all over it!

These are going to be available starting next Thursday on the African Fashion Guide site. I've marked my calendar, have you marked yours?!?

{Photo: Africa Fashion Guide}

New Take On Omo

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Love this editorial take on the famous Hans Silvester images of the Omo people. Obviously nothing can compete with the real deal - but this is pretty good stuff!

{Photo: Pinterest}

Kitchen Perfection

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As a long time dweller of small spaces, I'm always on the lookout for fun ways to live within a limited space. At almost 1,400 sq ft, this Cape Town space is still at least double my current home but it's nevertheless wonderfully decorated with a cool combination of vintage and modern pieces. It's makes me dream of a slightly bigger space! Ahhh one day....

{Photo: House and Leisure}

African Spice

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

No this isn't a love post...instead I'm talking about this lovely styling combining an awesome wallpaper, beads that look like they are made of shells, bold pottery and those little figurines sold all over Cape Town that all together make a spicy scene. I can only imagine how wonderful the rest of the room is!

{Photo: Skona Hem}

Masaya

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Here is a peak into the town of Masaya, about 30 minutes outside of Managua. This is one of the many colonial towns here in Nicaragua and doesn't lack in terms of beautiful colonial architecture. The town is especially known for the handicrafts which is how I found myself at the local market strolling aisles and aisles of beautiful crafts made in and around the city. I was brave and only made it out with one item!

{Photos: Brandie for Out & About Africa}

Through the Lens: Afro-Nicaraguans

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Like most parts of the Americas, Nicaragua also got it's share of Africans during the slave trade. Today, descendants of these slaves continue to reside primarily on the Caribbean coast of the country. While I've heard about the very tough conditions these folks live in, I've also heard wonderful tales of their culture, language, food and especially the beauty of this side of the country. Sadly, I won't get to go to visit this side of the country on this trip meaning that these beautiful photographs by Nicaraguan photographer Antonio Diez Parra will have to tempt my imagination until I can see this part of the world with my own two eyes.

{Photo: Antonio Diez Parra}

On Travel: Nicaragua Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Warm and breezy greetings from Nicaragua! I've already been here for a little over 24 hours and while it's been hectic with all things work related, I wanted to share three things that I already love about my time here:

It's WARM!!!! As a lover of warm weather, this whole business of wearing sandals, warm breeze blowing through your afro while the warm sun beams down on you thing totally works for me (the fact that I'm actually in a office freezing because of the blasting AC is a minor detail)!
Linked to my first point, I love eating outside on patios! Whether at the hotel or with colleagues, the pleasure of a meal outdoors is hard to beat. One such lovely meals included lunch at a local Nicaraguan resto that had amazing food! Go local food!
I am also loving the chance to think, read, and speak in Spanish! After all the energy I once spent to learn the language, it's been so sad to feel it slip through my fingers as more time goes by without the opportunity to engage fully. Here, I get a chance to put the breaks on that downward spiral!

This lovely image is by Nicaraguan photographer Tamara Caldera.

Duro Olowu Fall 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

As per usual, I'm loving the latest collection from Mr. Olowu!

{Photos: Style.com}

Wired Finial

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Ok - just in case it wasn't blatantly obvious, I totally need a second apartment or at minimum a bigger home because I need a new place to put these amazing South Africa telephone wire finials from Chic Shop!

{Photos: Chic Shop}

Tent Life

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I was recently at a local art gallery here in D.C. when I came across the photograph Wyatt Gallery had taken in Haiti depicted the lives of those still living in tents all these years later. The images were stunning in their ability highlight the beauty of such a tough life. In looking at these pictures I couldn't help wondering how the photographer would tell the stories of Somali refugees in Kenya whose lives are also dependent on foreign assistance.

{Photos: Wyatt Gallery}

Through the Lens: Benin

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Let's start the week off with a lvisual journey to the tiny nation of Benin.

{Photos: New York Times}

Vintage Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:11:00 +0000

It been too long since I last showed you my favorite vintage airline posters! I've rounded up a few more and thrown in some non-airline ones. I find these works of art so fun and graphically amazing! I can't imagine what it must have been like in the 40s or 50s being an artist and trying to "sell" Africa to a crowd of Europeans. It's also amazing how the same concepts used to draw people in so many years ago (namely: seeing "natives" and going on "safari") are predominantly the same concepts used to draw tourists to the Continent today.

{Photos: here & here}

Dear Harper's Bazaar

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:32:00 +0000

Dear Harper's Bazaar (Australia),

As someone who has been blogging about fashion and highlighting fashion editorials featuring Africa for years, I cannot recall a single spread where, while on an African safari, the black male model was not playing the role of jovial safari guide. Your editorial took me by such surprise, I had to "star" it on my google reader and come back multiple times to let the beautiful images soak in! While I know you and your fellow fashion magazines are not going to stop featuring ladies inappropriately dressed for the reality of their surroundings (I get it, "creativity," "imagination running wild," "buzz word" "buzz word" and let's face it - I lap it up each time), I sincerely hope you continue to make strides to expand your stories beyond the clichéd relationship dynamics of the past.

All the best and looking forward to your next spread featuring the Continent.

Brandie

{Photos: Harper's Bazaar via FGR}

Just Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Don't you just love a shot when the model (and team) put aside the pouty/sultry thing and just gives us beautiful human being looking happy?!? Ajak is the picture of job in this image...now we just have to work on helpful her handsome co-star crack a smile!
{photo: Beauty is Diverse}

Mask a Room

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Before I had a single mask in my apartment, I was dreaming (and blogging) about masks. Now that I have three throughout my home, I can't help dreaming of more! They add such a unique, playful, yet traditional perspective to a room. Lately I had a radical thought: imagine taking old, ruined masks and giving them new life with paint and maybe even some lacquer?!? It feels radical given how old some of these masks can be and the amount of hard work that goes into them. Yet, I'm always down for breathing new life into something old. Either way, I'm going to have a field day the next time I find myself in a market of masks!

{Photos: 1, 2, 3}

Kids Room Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Lately I've been spending a lot of time with a little 2 year old whose idea of a good time involves climbing all over me and having me flip him around in any given direction. He's clearly anticipating a time in his life when he can climb something more fun than me, like this bunk bed. Hopefully whatever he climbs in the future will have such fun wax printed curtains to help him create the ultimate hideout to climb to!

{Photo: David Tsay}

Through the Lens: Hereros

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Whenever I visit a new-to-me African country, I'm always surprised and interested in the strong links that continue to remain between that country and the country that colonized them. The English, French, and Portuguese cultural influence on the continent continue the exemplify the depths of a colonialist past. Yet, the influence of the Germans in Namibia easily goes under the radar until one come across amazing projects like Hereros by photographer Jim Naughten.

Upon settling in Namibia in the late 19th century, German missionaries quickly got down to the business of converting the various tribesmen. This conversion including the provision of Victorian clothes worn by the Germans of that era. As war broke out between the Herero and Germans, the Hereros would take the clothes of slain Germans and wear it to prove their victory over the enemy. The dresses could a little horn-head wear to reflect the important of cattle to the Herero.

Today, these clothes continue to be worn during important events as a sign of reflect for ancestors. While the paradox of the whole scenario continues to reverberate through my head, one cannot deny the power that the Herero clearly gained from the appropriation of these clothes. That Naughten has so brilliantly documented this history is also something I find very profound.

{Photos: Jim Naughten via Creative Roots}

Farbman in Cape Town

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:55:00 +0000

Nat Farbman is among the greats when it comes to photography. Born in Poland, Farbman spent most of his career at Time magazine. These images by Farbman, captured in the late 1940s of kids in Cape Town are a wonderful dose of the past and would fit perfectly in the District Six Museum in Cape Town. This museum depicting an amazing neighborhood, continues to be one of my favorite museums exactly because it's overflowing with amazing images like these, capturing the lives of those that lived there in an extremely intimate manner.

{Photos: 1, 2,}

Happy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:32:00 +0000

Well folks another weekend is here. My sister is in town so I'm pretty psyched. Have a great weekend and catch up with you on Monday!

{Graphic: Brandie for Out + About Africa}

Daniel Gbenga Orimoloye

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Loving these pieces by Daniel Gbenga Orimoloye. I love an artist that can easily move between various types of art styles.

{Photos: Daniel Gbenga Orimoloye}

Edun: The Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Using six species of butterflies, all native to our favorite continent, the team at Edun breaks out with their first ever ad campaign! As if that wasn't enough, the company is also expanding internationally meaning that more folks will have access to their clothing, but also a few more people in their Africa production sites will need to be employed which I personally find fantastic!

{Photos: WWD}

Afternoon Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Brandie) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Honestly, I need to do nothing more than close my eyes and transport myself to this relaxing space for some Moroccan tea. I'd push those cushion together, start reading a book or magazine, knowing that the gentle rays of warm light will guide me into a gentle nap.....

{Photo: here}