Over 1500 people came through the doors at the Kunstgewerbemuseum on the opening weekend of the exhibition Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion x Hair x Design. The opening on Friday evening was the main event, with around 1000 visitors arriving dressed to impress! Designers, travelled from Dakar, Kampala and London to present their work in Berlin!
The #BraidMyHair competition winners had their hair styled by Awa Kaloga and Mariama Faye from NYA Braid Bar during the course of the evening (see the before & after pictures below). Africa Tasty served up culinary delights from Uganda, Ibrahim shared specialities from Gambia and Bananas&Breads by Tresor Pemble offered their famous Banana Bread. DJ PAM BAM and DJ Mo Lateef brought the Afrobeats that kept people dancing on the Kulturforum’s terrace until midnight!
Our MEET THE DESIGNERS event on the Sunday was a blast as well. The international designers: Adama Paris, BULL DOFF, NJOLA Impressions, Lamula Nassuna and artist Ken Aïcha Sy took part, giving visitors the opportunity to dive deeper into the motivations and inspirations behind their installations. Emo Rugene moderated a Q&A session with the creatives giving short input presentations, after this, visitors could get into more in-depth conversations while touring the installations.
A number of well-known faces and names could be spotted among the crowd over the weekend, guests included not only well-known personalities from the fashion industry but also from other fields: Sheri Hagen, Jerry Kwarteng, Natasha A. Kelly, Mahret Ifeoma Kupka and Mansour Ciss, as well as the head of Each One, Teach One e.V. Maithy Moune – to name but a few.
Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion x Hair x Design is showing at the Kunstgewerbemuseum – Berlin’s Museum of Decorative Arts until the 1st December 2019. It is not to be missed! The exhibition also features the work of Meschac Gaba, TONDO Clothing, Diana Ejaita and Funmi Oyewale who were unable to join us for the opening weekend. The curation team comprised of Fashion Africa Now’s founder Beatrace Angut Oola, Claudia Banz of the Kunstgewerbemuseum, and Cornelia Lund of fluctuating images.
A very big thank you to the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation for funding the project. And to the other project partners Goethe Zentrum Kampala & 32° East / Ugandan Arts Trust in Kampala, Wakh’Art in Dakar and the Berlin-based fluctuating images.
Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion x Hair x Design in the press…
In English
- 28.08.2019 – Afrobizgermany Berlin: Interview with Adama Paris about Shameless Afro Hair
- 28.08.2019 – Afrobizgermany Berlin: Interview with Beatrace Angut Oola & Emo Rugene
Auf Deutsch
- 30.08.2019 – Tagesspiegel: Afrikanische Mode im Kunstgewerbemuseum
- 28.08.2019 – ROSAMAG – Connecting Afro Futures Ausstellung: “Afrika ist für mich mehr als bunte Muster”
- 27.08.2019 – MONOPOL – Magazin für Kunst und Leben | Afrofuturismen in Berlin: Design als Vision
- 25.08.2019 – Deutsche Welle: Hip und nachhaltig: Mode aus Afrika
- 23.08.2019 – ZDF Aspekte (ab 1:35): Von Menschen und Herrenmenschen – Kolonialismus und seine Folgen; Fashion made in Africa – Der Aufbruch junger Designer
- 23.08.2019 – SWR2: Afrikas Mode ist nicht immer bunt: „Connecting Afro Futures” in Berlin
- 23.08.2019 – BR: So schreibt „Connecting Afro Futures“ Design-Geschichte
- 23.08.2019 – dpa-Meldung: Haar und Mode: Berlin zeigt „Connecting Afro Futures“
- 23.08.2019 – taz: Das Machtmodell mit den Haaren
Connecting Afro Futures.
Fashion × Hair × Design
Funded by the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation / Gefördert im Fonds TURN der Kulturstiftung des Bundes
Project Partners / Projektpartner
Kunstgewerbemuseum / Museum of Decorative Arts, Berlin; fluctuating images, Berlin; Fashion Africa Now, Hamburg; Goethe-Zentrum Kampala; Ugandan Arts Trust, Kampala; Wakh’Art, Dakar.
