I am not a writer. I may have a blog. But writing is not my forte. I visualise everything. That’s probably why I do design. On the other hand, my dearest friend Sefakor Dokli thinks words, breathes words, and writes words. When I decided to start ‘afroklectic’, I made a few notes outlining the philosophy behind afroklectic. I had a lot of difficulty articulating my notes into something readable. I could only visualise and define it in my mind. I sent it to Sefakor and below is what she came up with. It was as if she was translating the thoughts in my mind into words!
Africa is not dirt, mud and thatch. Africa is rich textiles, ancient tapestry woven in renowned villages for hundreds of years, strings and strings of coloured beads, adorned all over the body. Africa is not poverty, famine and disease. Africa is the strength, will, tenacity and wide brimmed smiles of millions of butter pecan to black berry molasses coloured people. Africa is not the hollowed cry of a neglected race. Africa is the soulful song of a chosen people within novels, poetry, paint, clothing, jewellery and dance. We are an eclectic cohort of designers, writers, artists, performers and entertainers. We are Africans. And this is Afroklectic. A place to educate on what Africa is, pushing aside the tired misconception of what Africa is not.
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* Updated version as of Sep 28, 2011 here
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