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RESEARCH & CURATION
BLUEPRINTS [ongoing]
For the past two years, I have been pursuing an independent research project on the history and legacy of indigo-dyeing in my home country of Guinea (Conakry). My research reflects on what an analytical and conceptual centering of indigo fabric can reveal about my country’s past and the way it stains and colors the present.
I am a recipient of the Henry Richardson Labouisse 1926 Prize which has allowed me to return to Guinea and continue my research for another year. My research has been supported by the Alex Adam ‘07 Award from the Lewis Center for the Arts and the Lawrence Stone and Shelby Cullom Davis Thesis Prize from the Davis Center for Historical Studies.
An early version of BLUEPRINTS was previewed at the 19th Triennial Symposium of African Art in Chicago, IL in August 2024.
GIVING FORM TO THE WHOLE WORLD: SAMUEL NNOROM
Nnorom’s sculptural forms act as physical manifestations of how the global textile industry, and modernity more broadly, stretch across borders, weaving people together while also tying communities down. In this way, Nnorom’s works speak to the lingering effects of globalization, over-consumption, and displacement, offering an urgent and poetic representation of the modern world.
NINFO, TE QUIERO: JUAN ARANGO PALACIOS
Palacios turns inward, re-examining his relationship with his homeland and exploring how love, longing, and desire endure amidst complexity and contradiction. These pieces serve as subtle self-portraits from a hypothetical universe. One to which Palacios reaches out in mourning, curiosity, and love for his country, and in that very act, conjures a new realm that is distinctly his own.
CYPHER: IMAG[IN]E PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
WASTE WOMENSWEAR, AND THE DIALECTIC DUNUSA DISTRICT: Thebe Magugu’s “DISCARD THEORY” Collection.
“As Africans and South Africans, [we] have taken things—sometimes things that have even hurt us (...) in the past—and sort of refurbished them, recontextualized them to mean something else that can (...) be integrated into our various cultures and heritages,” Magugu narrates as he welcomes us into his studio carrying a Ghana Must Go bag full of clothes he purchased in Dunusa.
THE NANA BENZ & THE FEMINIST FRONTIER OF WAX FABRICS.
“How much does Democracy cost?" asks the woman holding up her rolled-up wad of cash, her determined gaze fixed on Maman, the unwavering figure behind the counter. In the bustling fabric store in downtown Lomé, the air is thick with anticipation as each woman raises her francs, attempting to bargain and lower the price.
FRAMING A NEW CARIBBEAN IMAGINARY: The Images Caraïbes Film Festival.
Writing in 1992, after having attended the first two editions of the biennial festival, Africanist scholar Mbye Cham describes how Images Caraïbes marked a shift in the field of Caribbean cinema as “the first fully fledged region-wide and diaspora-wide festival of Caribbean films.”
SHOOTING _______ SHADOWS: SANKOFA FASHION SHOW
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[2025]
BLUEPRINTS [ongoing]
For the past two years, I have been pursuing an independent research project on the history and legacy of indigo-dyeing in my home country of Guinea (Conakry). My research reflects on what an analytical and conceptual centering of indigo fabric can reveal about my country’s past and the way it stains and colors the present.
I am a recipient of the Henry Richardson Labouisse 1926 Prize which has allowed me to return to Guinea and continue my research for another year. My research has been supported by the Alex Adam ‘07 Award from the Lewis Center for the Arts and the Lawrence Stone and Shelby Cullom Davis Thesis Prize from the Davis Center for Historical Studies.
An early version of BLUEPRINTS was previewed at the 19th Triennial Symposium of African Art in Chicago, IL in August 2024.
GIVING FORM TO THE WHOLE WORLD: SAMUEL NNOROM
Nnorom’s sculptural forms act as physical manifestations of how the global textile industry, and modernity more broadly, stretch across borders, weaving people together while also tying communities down. In this way, Nnorom’s works speak to the lingering effects of globalization, over-consumption, and displacement, offering an urgent and poetic representation of the modern world.
NINFO, TE QUIERO: JUAN ARANGO PALACIOS
Palacios turns inward, re-examining his relationship with his homeland and exploring how love, longing, and desire endure amidst complexity and contradiction. These pieces serve as subtle self-portraits from a hypothetical universe. One to which Palacios reaches out in mourning, curiosity, and love for his country, and in that very act, conjures a new realm that is distinctly his own.
CYPHER: IMAG[IN]E PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
[2023]
WASTE WOMENSWEAR, AND THE DIALECTIC DUNUSA DISTRICT: Thebe Magugu’s “DISCARD THEORY” Collection.
“As Africans and South Africans, [we] have taken things—sometimes things that have even hurt us (...) in the past—and sort of refurbished them, recontextualized them to mean something else that can (...) be integrated into our various cultures and heritages,” Magugu narrates as he welcomes us into his studio carrying a Ghana Must Go bag full of clothes he purchased in Dunusa.
THE NANA BENZ & THE FEMINIST FRONTIER OF WAX FABRICS.
“How much does Democracy cost?" asks the woman holding up her rolled-up wad of cash, her determined gaze fixed on Maman, the unwavering figure behind the counter. In the bustling fabric store in downtown Lomé, the air is thick with anticipation as each woman raises her francs, attempting to bargain and lower the price.
FRAMING A NEW CARIBBEAN IMAGINARY: The Images Caraïbes Film Festival.
Writing in 1992, after having attended the first two editions of the biennial festival, Africanist scholar Mbye Cham describes how Images Caraïbes marked a shift in the field of Caribbean cinema as “the first fully fledged region-wide and diaspora-wide festival of Caribbean films.”
SHOOTING _______ SHADOWS: SANKOFA FASHION SHOW
Return to homepage