SUPAFRIK NOLA! A recap of Pop-Up #8 in New Orleans.

Two weeks ago we went down to New Orleans, Louisiana to set up shop for the eight edition of SUPAFRIK. It was an amazing experience worthy of a few thousand words. Instead here’s a hundred or so pictures instead of New Orleanians experiencing SUPAFRIK and us experiencing New Orleans. SUPAFRIK Weekend was a blast and we are already planning to do it again (join the FB page and stay tuned). To the beautiful people of New Orleans and the village that it took to make this happen: Thank you!

Words by Chinedu Ukabam | Photos by Aden Abebe

The beautiful Joan Mitchell Center where we lived, worked and played for the duration of our trip

Thanks to the students from State University New Orlean’s Museum Studies program. They were the best install we could have asked for. Erika Evans, Maya Mathews and Kazim Oyewuwo

We passed through a cool event put on by DOPEciety called “Couches”. It’s like bringing the coolest cutting edge bands into your living room to jam just for you. They transformed the space at PORT beautifully to fit with the theme. A few days later we used this same space to throw our GUMBO dance party.

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SUPAFRIK is coming to NEW ORLEANS! November 12 – 15

We are taking the SUPAFRIK pop-up back on the road again! In less than two weeks we will be touching down in New Orleans for a 4 day food, fashion, art extravaganza! From November 12 – 15, SUPAFRIK will serve as a space and destination event where creative expressions from all over the African continent and communities in the diaspora will meet the rich and multilayered cultural milieux that New Orleans is world famous for.

We are pulling out all the stops for NOLA! The festivities kick off from 7PM on Thursday with an art exhibit titled “Nesting: The Makings of Home” at The Joan Mitchell Foundation (2275 Bayou Rd) featuring  a selection of works by Shoshanna Weinberger (Newark, New Jersey), Shannon Lewis (Berlin, Germany), Heather Hart(Brooklyn, New York), photographer Patrick Melon (New Orleans) and a performance art piece by Rebecca Mwasse(New Orleans via Zimbabwe) drawn from her latest play Looking At a Broad. Complementary catering will be provided by local Afro-fusion pop-up foodies the Black Swan Food Experience. The SUPAFRIK pop-up shop will also be open for the duration of the four days selling a selection of cutting edge fashion from Osei Duro (Made in Ghana), New Orleans based DopeCiety, a new collection from Chinedesign (Toronto) and top sellers from Blkkangaroo. The shop will also a curated selection of art and art objects from Material Life Nola (including coveted limited edition pieces by Kehinde Wiley and Chris Ofili)

Other events in the line-up include a runway and live-mannequin fashion show, a theatrical production, an art panel discussion on creativity, a movie and an African-themed masquerade ball featuring Grammy-nominated Hot 8 Brass Band (Friday). Not to mention a “Gumbo” party featuring a first time historical collaboration between Toronto and New Orleans DJs connecting the dots by mixing musical flavors from NOLA, Africa and the Caribbean.

It is all as exciting as it sounds. Check back often as we reveal more details over the next few days. We don’t want to overwhelm you with too much goodness at one time!

*Lookbook alert* BLKKMARKET by BLKKANGAROO

Outside it might be snowing but perusing this beautiful lookbook by SUPAFRIK favorites BLKKANGAROO is transporting us to warmer times and tropical climes. We exclusively previewed a few pieces from this summer collection at our last pop-up shop in September and this lookbook has been making the rounds online since it dropped in early December. It has popped up everywhere from Afropunk to Fashion Bomb Daily and even Solange’s blog.

This capsule collection entitled BLKKMARKET for Spring/Summer 2015 was inspired by the vibrancy, texture, shapes and colors of the African market experience. In addition to the cropped pants, printed structured tees and “kaftans”, Blkkangaroo also curated a complementary selection of accessories such as tote bags, mask pendants made out of lego(!) and rope sandals (!!) to accompany the collection.

After already making a big splash with their (recently re-issued) “If Found Return to ____” series of t-shirts two years ago, it won’t surprise us if some of these new designs such as the coral bead printed tall tees attain the same level of cult ubiquity amongst the cosmopolitan set.

BLKKMARKET is available to order from their website and you can also view the full lookbook here: http://blkkangaroo.com/pages/lookbook

SUPAFRIK #7 Coming to Toronto!

WHAT: SUPAFRIK Pop-Up Shop/Gallery WHEN: Sunday September 21st
ONE DAY ONLY: 1PM – 7PM WHERE: TAC Art/Work Gallery, 568 Richmond Street West, Toronto

SUPAFRIK returns to its Toronto roots after well received installations in Washington DC, London and Paris. With a limited edition focus, SUPAFRIK #7 will feature a collaborative one-off capsule collection from Chinedesign and Parisian conceptual artist MyriaMMaxo (renown for her riotously colorful “objet d’art” waxprint teddies) who will also be in town to launch the collection. Chinedesign’s #TheBravingRitual collection, the label’s first foray into eclectic winterwear combining tartans and indigo-dyed mud cloth will also be exclusively available for made-to-measure custom orders. Also featured: luxurious handwoven scarves from newly-minted Ethiopia-based African Design Hub label which will be making its Canadian-debut at SUPAFRIK roster. SUPAFRIK will also feature a tasting menu of Afro-fusion culinary delights by Zimbabwean cook Rufaro, original artwork by Oluseye and a preview of BLKKANGAROO’s BLKKMARKET, its first capsule collection of structured t-shirts and unisex kaftans inspired by the color, texture and vibrancy of the West- African market experience.

For bargain hunters, there will also be discounted goodies from the online store from such as UK based clothing “Made in Africa” label Chichia London (Beyonce is a fan!) whose street-smart collection is ethically manufactured in Tanzania using traditional kanga textiles as well as fashion sneakers from Mos Def’s new favorite shoe brand SAWA, designed in Paris and made in Addis Ababa.