Kenneth Ize & nmbello Studio Partners African Fashion Foundation for Kenneth Ize Loom Exhibition in Accra
The Impact Fund for African Creatives ("IFFAC") and in association with the African Fashion Foundation ("AFF") is pleased to announce a partnership with Kenneth Ize & nmbello Studio to host the Kenneth Ize Loom Exhibition in Accra. This Exhibition will showcase a design collaboration between Fashion Designer, Kenneth Ize and Industrial Designer, Nifemi Marcus-Bello of nmbello Studio.
The Exhibition which will show prototypes,
sketches,
interviews and collaboration with the weaving and artisan community will be
hosted at the Galleria located at Mhoseenu, in Accra from May 22nd to May 24th.
The Exhibition which is themed, a redesign of
the Kenneth Ize Loom, will highlight the constraints and design process behind
creating a contemporary weaving loom for Kenneth Ize’s third-generation
weavers. The Exhibition will also explore the ideology and theory behind
material selection, ergonomic and anthropometric input and changes by nmbello
Studio and Kenneth Ize.
A 4-minute film highlighting the collaboration thus far,
including the findings and thoughts behind the design process will premiere to
showcase the achievements of the project. This film was commissioned by the African Fashion Foundation and funded by IFFAC.
Kenneth Ize’s label has been devoted to the long-established
traditions of Nigerian craft and local artisanship and continues to merge a new
design aesthetic with a specifically local handcraft practice. This is founded
on the strong belief that in exploring and nurturing existing cultures, one
opens up an exciting territory for creating and inspiring future traditions.
Led by Nifemi Marcus-Bello, nmbello Studio also values the creation of
sustainable and economically viable products and solutions by identifying
underutilized or neglected production techniques and technology.
Kenneth is a grant beneficiary of the Impact
Fund For African Creatives which supported him to keep women employed during
the pandemic by donating
Looms to women who weave for his collections in
villages across Nigeria. Other organizations such as Afreeculture, ANO
Institute of Arts and Knowledge have also received similar grant support from
IFFAC.
The Exhibition will be facilitated in Accra by
AFF under IFFAC sponsorship.
Kenneth Ize is one of the many beneficiaries of AFF and an
IFFAC grant awardee having served as the first fellow following a 2014 competition
in Lagos. As part of his fellowship package, he went on a 6-month internship
with the LVMH group out of Paris.
AFF and IFFAC are Roberta Annan led initiatives focused on
empowering fashion designers and creative
professionals from Africa and its diaspora to succeed in the global fashion
industry. AFF has been consistently committed to providing professional and
educational developmental opportunities in partnership with established players
in the fashion industry to support the success and progression of the African
creative economy. IFFAC working closely with AFF and other ecosystem partners
is focused on the management and deployment of grants to create impact by
providing complete end to end support from the incubator, to accelerator
services and start-up funding in the form of grants and/or
concessionary-interest loans.
Roberta Annan, CEO of IFFAC commented that "we are
extremely excited to be sponsoring this event in partnership with the AFF to
showcase the impactful work which our fellow Kenneth has been doing with the
rural women of Nigeria. This is an example of the type of work that IFFAC is
committed to doing where we holistically develop and catalyse the African
creative segments across formal and informal sectors. As we continue to engage
with our partners we look forward to more exciting announcements in coming
months”.
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