Away from Africa

It's been a long silence. My spouse and I moved back to Cameroon - myself just recently. It's a big transition from New York, USA! We will continue to be involved in art and culture, business and education on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Next post: the first architecture school in Cameroon, ESSACA, based in the capital, Yaounde, celebrates its first architecture graduates in November 2015! Please stay tuned.

Pefura is an artist trained as an architect, of Cameroonian origin but born and raised in Paris, France, and now living in Milan, Italy... and currently exhibiting at  Skoto Gallery , in New York City, not for the first time. His previous exhibit, in 2005, was reviewed in the  New York Times  by the art critic Holland Cotter. In this show, "Pefura: nos voyages immobiles" ("our motionless trips"), his architectural background is still very much the backbone of his art, but these works are very different. There are wall-size collages, made of squares; at first glance you may think that many squares are repeated, but in reality no two squares are alike, even if some resemble each other. Another theme is small (viewed from afar) suitcase-style sculptures; one of them, however, upon closer study, is a meticulously hollowed out and reconstructed book. Then there are the paintings, more human-centric than the architectural theme of boxes seen in perspective. And f...

Over the years I collected many necklaces; bought in Cameroon although not necessarily made there, especially as the beads were often of European origin and used for trade purposes by the European traders. Below are images of a variety (the penny is to show scale).

Caroline Barla When recently in Douala, where my spouse, Epee Ellong, has returned, I got together with a good friend I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. Her name is Caroline Barla, and she is (I think) the first female Cameroonian architect (her father, Nsangue Akwa, was the first in the registry of Cameroon architects, ONAC). Caroline has been busy in all those years in the design field, not only in architecture. We didn't have time to go into much detail, so I will mainly show you photos of her home, which is a showcase for contemporary African style. The Barla living room--a mix of contemporary  and traditional African style Above: Dining Room chair; below: Traditional Bamiléké funeral dancer's headdress Caroline's work area   Caroline also managed a store of original designs for a few years, Caramelle. One of her inventions was to create versions of the "kaba" (the Duala women's traditional dress since about 100 year...

The embed function doesn't appear to work... this is the link: http://www.telesud.com/le-replay/lecture/?replay_program=340&replay_id=x28swo0 Interview with Lady Ngo Mandeng for "Lady Vous Ecoute," in Paris, France. Lady Ngo Mang being prepped for the program

A new cultural institution is being created in New York City: the Africa Center, at the northern tip of Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue. Originally, New York had the Museum for African Art; its first location was in Soho. In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg announced a plan to relocate the museum to Museum Mile at 110th Street in Manhattan; during construction, the museum was moved to Long Island City in Queens. For several years, information about the new venue was scarce. Susan Mullin Vogel founded the Museum for African Art in 1984. The institution showed very high-caliber exhibitions, including exhibitions that were shown in various museums around the United States; it had a wonderful museum store (managed for some years by Vickie Fremont , whom we have also written about in this blog); my spouse, Epee Ellong , had participated in events about African culture and design. The project for the space at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue was enormously ambitious. In October 2012, Phil Conte joined...

Mansour Ourasanah The Vilcek Foundation was created to highlight the achievements of the many talented immigrants who made their life in the United States. Marica and Jan Vilcek are originally from Slovakia. Jan Vilcek, a microbiologist, has 45 patents in his name and was the co-inventor of the blockbuster drug, Remicade. Marica is an art historian. They fled  Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia for  the United States 50 years ago, and created the Vilcek Foundation in 2000. Every year, they give out rewards in different categories. This year’s focus was excellence and innovation in design. On June 19,  3 of the award recipients came together for a  panel discussion  at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City. The designers spoke about their creations, and topics covered were material ecology, and how can industrial design improve society? The discussion was moderated by Glenn Adamson, Director at the Museum of Arts and Design....