Live and Die in Afrika

Photos by Kobby Waiyaki | The Skate Park: The skate park is one of the very rare things to find in Kenya .Most people don’t even know if Kenya owns a skate park since it is at an unexpected location. I chose this as my location since I have seen it grow from the very first day when skate aid-a skateboarding organisation based in Germany came to launch that they will be constructing a skate park in Nairobi . The design and all is what that really amazes me with the graffiti and all. 

Post Soundtrack: Live and Die in Afrika (Sauti Sol)

Daddy Lessons

Photos by Taylor DeClue | Jackson Square/ French Quarter: The French Quarter is one of Louisianas most popular attractions . It is what some would say the heart and soul of New Orleans . There you will find everything from artists to lovers. I chose this particular location because it is close to my heart . Around every corner you will find Spanish architecture similar to that of Latin American countries and musicians filling the background with a cinema- type vibe. Denisio and Mwende both have the artistic qualities which link perfectly with this enviroment . For me being an Afro Latina, this place brings me joy because the slaves imported from Africa to places such as this is what created the true dynamics of this area. Combining Latin and African culture speaks to me and shines down every path you meet in the Quarters Everything from the brightly colored walls to the pavement on the streets to the humidity in the air. You cannot walk into this place without truly feeling abroad while at home.

Post Soundtrack: Daddy Lessons (Beyonce)

#FEATUREDFASHIONS – Polished Brand (@designing_polishedbrand): My clothing was inspired by the woman on the go. She has to be comfortable in fit, but styled and chic. She doesn’t blend in, she stands out effortlessly. My personal journey with afrocentric clothing has been an evolutionary one, discovering  self thru style and vice versa. The people of New Orleans are an embodiment of this lifestyle. We embrace our culture and heritage in daily. It is a part of who we are without even realizing it. That deserves to be celebrated in every way, especially in clothing.

Home Again

Photos by Aline Maia

Ashé Cultural Arts Center: The Ashé Cultural Arts Center emphasizes the art contributions of people of African descent in New Orleans. Its focus is support programs, activities, and creative works. Because of these and others motives, it has become the stage for this photo shoot. After all, Mwende and Denisio are artists: they have been using body, clothes and thoughts to talk about themselves, and to explore fashion and identity in the diaspora. Their pictures are like words in a poetry slam and they inspire others. Ashé – located in Central City – has a motivating vibe in this context: The colors on the walls around the building stand out between the cars in the street. The building is an invite for cultural discovery. This mix has helped to capture the soul and feelings beyond what we can see. In this session, subtle details reveal a piece of Africa in the U.S.A.

Post Soundtrack: Home Again (Michael Kiwanuka)

FEATURED FASHIONS – The Bombchel Factory: The Bombchel Factory is an African fashion wonderland that produces ethically made, high quality garments for sale in Monrovia, Liberia that was started by Archel Bernard, a Liberian-American whose parents fled civil unrest in the West African country. Our team of expert tailors and excited trainees can produce much more than we can sell locally, so we have set our sights on the rest of the world. This is not an NGO that is here today and gone tomorrow. We know Liberians don’t want handouts.  Our trainees will develop a trade and a way to support themselves and their families, and we will create gorgeous, contemporary African fashions for a global market. 

#NoirliniansStreetStyle Feature: Utopia

photos and interviews by Patrick Melon

– Utopia –

Tell us about yourself: My name is Utopia. I’m from NOLA…the 6^th ward. I play music, the saxophone and I go to NOCCA. I been playing for like 4 years. [Jazz] comes from the Treme area and we play music a lot. Everything relates back to the area and the rhythm we do.

Fight the Power!

Photos by Aline Maia

ALINE MAIA -photographer: I came to New Orleans in August 2015 to do part of my doctorate research in Communication. I am Brazilian, woman, black, journalist and researcher. During my fieldwork, I was surprised by this city of many colors, rhythms and flavors. In addition to stories and History. Not only Jazz living Nola. “The most Latin of the United States” – as many people say – showed me amazing folks and places. It was how I met Mwende and Denisio. It was how I discovered the historical marker Homer Plessy. In this photo shoot, Past and Present meet at the corner of resistance. The site where Civil Rights activist Homer Plessy was arrested in 1890 is today the scenery where body and fashion debate identity, representation, preservation, and memory. At the crossroad of the Press Street and Royal Street, the arrest of Homer Plessy led to a major US Supreme Court ruling (Plessy v. Ferguson) which led to the sanctioning of racial formal segregation in the United States from 1896 to 1954. For me, exploring New Orleans has become also a way of recognizing voices that build fighting trajectories for equality, whether individual or collective. Thank you Mwende and Denisio for having my gaze.

Post Soundtrack: Fight the Power (Public Enemy)

FEATURED FASHIONS – The Bombchel Factory: The Bombchel Factory is an African fashion wonderland that produces ethically made, high quality garments for sale in Monrovia, Liberia that was started by Archel Bernard, a Liberian-American whose parents fled civil unrest in the West African country. Our team of expert tailors and excited trainees can produce much more than we can sell locally, so we have set our sights on the rest of the world. This is not an NGO that is here today and gone tomorrow. We know Liberians don’t want handouts.  Our trainees will develop a trade and a way to support themselves and their families, and we will create gorgeous, contemporary African fashions for a global market. 

I Am Not My Hair

Photos by Lou Dorsey (Sci Academy) & Burnell Palmer (KIPP Renaissance)

Post Soundtrack: I Am Not My Hair (India Arie)

Armstrong Park/Congo Square: Congo square hadn’t even crossed my mind when I was thinking of a place to do this shoot. It was originally going to happen in Armstrong park, but as I was doing research on the park itself, I stumbled upon Congo square. The background and scenery of it amazed me. To live in a city of such unique culture is super cool, but to live in a city that holds the birthplace of America’s oldest music genre, the genre that paved the way for modern music, “Jazz” is a blessing. Congo square was a space of freedom for our ancestors to let their culture shine; our ancestors were the soul of the square. It was all because of “Code Noir.” It gave our ancestors the right to congregate on Sundays in order to market their goods, dance to their music, tell their rituals, and overall gave them a chance to celebrate their African roots. The women would sell their latest clothing in the markets on Sundays, handmade from different fabrics. I can vividly imagine my ancestors strutting through Congo square flaunting their newest styles with the highest confidence. Mwende and Denisio just fit perfectly in the square and we had a good time, thanks for the opportunity.

Back In the Day

Photos by Lou Dorsey (Sci Academy) & Burnell Palmer (KIPP Renaissance)

 Post Soundtrack: Back in the Day (Ahmad)

Exhibit BE: De Gaulle Manor raised a part of our community and Hurricane Katrina killed this place, left it to rot. But Brandon ‘BMike’ Odums and his team were saviors, never in a million years would I have thought that particular apartment complex would rebirth in such a ingenious way. To see all those painters, photographers, poets, graffiti artists, etc. come together on this big project was mind-blowing. ExhibitBe was the biggest piece of artwork New Orleans has ever had. All my life living in New Orleans I’ve never seen anything like ExhibitBe before, none of us have. The energy of that place on January 19th, 2015 was astonishing and I’ll never forget that day; it brought a lost community together through art. The fact that tearing ExhibitBe down was a topic of discussion was heartbreaking, it was like art gone to waste, but memory is the best God-given gift we have. The walls of that apartment complex have witnessed and endured a lot and have many negative and positive stories to tell that are now apart of our history, but the stories will continue to live on throughout the community.

Noirlinians #PhotoNOLA exhibit opening

Visit the PhotoNOLA Noirlinians page for more info

In conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2015, the McKenna Museum of African American art presents a photography exhibition in partnership with Noirlinians, an AfroFashion and culture blog run by Kenyan writer Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa and Liberian designer Denisio Truitt of Dopeciety. The exhibition features four photographers from the Noirlinians blog, Danielle Miles, Asia Vinae Palmer, LaToya ‘Blaze Like Fyre’ Edwards and Patrick Melon, of New Orleans based fashion blog Noirlinians, exploring a variety of styles and themes in street photography.

The exhibit is open from December 12th, 2015-January 30th, 2016

Photographs by Kim Coleman
(Program and Community Outreach Coordinator at the McKenna Museum)

Mama Africa

Photos by Gus Bennett

Makeup by Phoenix of Karmen Cosmetics

Post Soundtrack: Mama Africa by Peter Tosh

Gus: My studio is my sanctuary. It’s where I am most comfortable creating. Before opening my space, I had everything removed from the building. The space was blessed and I played classical and ambient music for about one month before actively photographing anyone or anything. I wanted the vibe to be that of peace and solitude. I wanted my subject to forget the outside world and relax to the experience of having their image taken. I encourage everyone who enters my space to take his or her shoes off and relax. It is from this premise that I am able to capture the magic that is hidden in everyone. Once you enter the threshold of my front door, you are no longer considered a stranger.

This session was created from that peace and solitude. Nothing forced. Nothing contrived… just a beautiful session. Thank you Denisio and Mwende for the opportunity to collaborate with the both of you.

No Church in the Wild

Photos by Blaze Like Fyre

Post Soundtrack – No Church in the Wild (Jay Z+Kanye West+Frank Ocean)

City Park (Botanical Gardens): When picking the location for this shoot, I thought about how to make the indigo pop.  I knew that anywhere that we shot would have to have  a colorful backdrop.  Though this wall is not hyper-colorful, the muted orange hue accomplished the splash of color necessary to complement the indigo fabric. City Park was the location because if it’s magic.  When I step foot on the grounds I never have a specific intention, however I always leave feeling accomplished and with a sense of peace. This site is especially relative to the African experience, because this is ancestral land, a former plantation site, where many died from inhaling the fumes and harvesting of Indigo.  Indigo grows in Africa as well, the enslaved Natives used to harvest it here, but they got sick quickly, so the enslavers brought Africans to this part because apparently we have magical lungs.. idk.. I guess, being black means to other races that we are strong, and big, and immune to illness. In West Africa,  many of the designs still feature the use of indigo. The Tauregs or “blue men” are known for their indigo garments and rub blue pigment into their skin.  I understand how our knowledge of Indigo made us perfect for the job, as it was used for centuries in Africa as a symbol of wealth and fertility, however the climate of the process her in the states was almost certain death, if you ran away, your sentenced was the fields of indigo—the other “fabric of our lives.”

Creator

   Photos by Blaze Like Fyre

Post Soundtrack – Creator (Santigold)

City Park (Botanical Gardens): City Park is a magical place, multilayered, vast, mysterious, enchanting. It was (is) Native land, the Chapitoulas and Houmas once lived here, before the French came.  It was because of those tribes, and their knowledge of alternate, safer routes to the (Misssissippi) River that the land that would later be called New Orleans was even discovered. The spirit of the park resonates with me at a deep level.  I typically go to City Park when I need to escape and clear my head.  Beneath the moss covered oak trees I nestle my bottom in their roots.  I watch the ducks scrample and scuffle for scraps of bread, crakers, or leftover Morning Call beignets.  I run, I ride, I attend festivals, view christmas lights, pick herbs with my partner, this place serves as a foundation for many things that bring me joy! I can literally lose myself taking it all in, which was why the city parks were introduced —as a refuge from the squalor of the cities. New Orleans City park, like most of the parks here, wasn’t integrated until the late 1950s.  The land that this park is built on was worked by our enslaved Ancestors, after the French Colonization of this area, back when it was Allard Plantation. The ladies wore fabrics dyed with Indigo*, definitely befitting for this location. Sugarcane seems to be the crop that everyone associates with Louisiana,  rightfully so, but what most do not realize is that it was Indigo that was the  first crops in Louisiana…and it was harvested right here, right on this land. This space is constantly evolving, and there is so much I have yet to discover/uncover here.  I am so grateful that this space exists.

*next week’s shoot

Say It Loud…

Photos by Patrick Melon

Post Soundtrack – Say It Loud (James Brown)

Lot by Dbl Blk Cafe: This location is a place central to downtown New Orleans. It made sense to get some of the urban grit that makes any industrialized city recognizable as such. With the golden beams of the sun creating amazing highlight I was able to create a lot of contrast between my subjects and their environment.

You Must Learn

Photos by Patrick Melon

Post Soundtrack – You Must Learn (KRS1)

Crescent Park: Crescent Park has a beautiful cityscape in the background showing the layout of the central business district. Its simple and clean cut design in stone is appealing to me in and of itself. My subjects wore their more easily identifiable ‘ethnic’ clothing in this area which I feel is fitting considering the existence of the park. Although the area is beautiful and I certainly appreciate it, it would seem no one thought it necessary to create some vast improvements to the neighborhood until the extreme wave of gentrification that is sweeping over the ‘Bywater’ began taking place. The insinuation to me is almost as if the original residents weren’t worth the effort.

#NoirliniansStreetStyle Feature – Latione, Lanisha & Jeremiah

Photos by Patrick Melon

Patrick Melon is a native of New Orleans that uses his camera to explore his own connections to the city he calls home. An avid maker of portraits and seeker of stories, Melon follows his camera as it fuels interactions between the people that create the culture of the crescent. A graduate of LSU with a BFA in photography and a minor in African and African-American Studies, Melon relies heavily on his understanding of the Black American experience to create meaningful images in and around the streets of New Orleans and wherever else his travels take him 

LOCATION: New Orleans Riverwalk, by “The Monument to the Immigrants”
SUBJECTS: Latione (Fashion Design Major) | Lanisha (Fashion Design Major) | Jeremiah (Everything)

Ambidextrous

Photos by danielle c miles
Post Soundtrack – “Ambidextrous” Be Steadwell

The Corner: Corners, neutral grounds, stoops, shade trees and corner stores have long been cornerstones in Black communities across the nnorld. From the exchange of neighborhood gossip to political debates, dominos, chess games on legless tables balanced on the knees of the players, to the trading of goods and services beneath signs that scream “NO LOITERING!”– which is perceived as more of a request than a demand, cornerstores — these locations continue to provide space for gathering and communal expression of Blackness. “The Corner” is an ongoing photo-documentary project takes an intimate look at their confluence in the Black community.

Brown Skin Lady

Photos by danielle c milesPost Soundtrack – “Brown Skin Lady” BlackStar

7th Ward:  This shoot was done in my neighborhood, the 7th ward of New Orleans. Its right outside of the Treme (well it used to be the Treme before they built the Claiborne overpass which divided the Black neighborhood. The Treme is a historically Black  part of New Orleans (the backatown) and is America’s oldest surviving Black neighborhood.

Little Girl Blue

Photos by danielle c miles
Post Soundtrack – “Little Girl Blue” – Nina Simone

The Corner: Corners, neutral grounds, stoops, shade trees and corner stores have long been cornerstones in Black communities across the world. From the exchange of neighborhood gossip to political debates, dominos, chess games on legless tables balanced on the knees of the players, to the trading of goods and services beneath signs that scream “NO LOITERING!”– which is perceived as more of a request than a demand, cornerstores — these locations continue to provide space for gathering and communal expression of Blackness. “The Corner” is an ongoing photo-documentary project takes an intimate look at their confluence in the Black community.

#NoirliniansStreetStyle Feature – Charisma Ardelia

Photos by Patrick Melon

Patrick Melon is a native of New Orleans that uses his camera to explore his own connections to the city he calls home. An avid maker of portraits and seeker of stories, Melon follows his camera as it fuels interactions between the people that create the culture of the crescent. A graduate of LSU with a BFA in photography and a minor in African and African-American Studies, Melon relies heavily on his understanding of the Black American experience to create meaningful images in and around the streets of New Orleans and wherever else his travels take him.

LOCATION: The RiverWalk, Downtown New Orleans
SUBJECT: Charisma Ardelia, Event Planner and Employee at Urban Outfitters

It’s a Man’s World

Photos by danielle c miles – The Corner: Corners, neutral grounds, stoops, shade trees and corner stores have long been cornerstones in Black communities across the world. From the exchange of neighborhood gossip to political debates, dominos, chess games on legless tables balanced on the knees of the players, to the trading of goods and services beneath signs that scream “NO LOITERING!”– which is perceived as more of a request than a demand, cornerstores — these locations continue to provide space for gathering and communal expression of Blackness. “The Corner” is an ongoing photo-documentary project takes an intimate look at their confluence in the Black community.

Post Soundtrack – “It’s A Man’s World” James Brown

i

Photos by Asia-Vinae “Preach” Palmer – The Spirit House: ‘The Spirit House is located at the intersection of St. Bernard Avenue, Gentilly Boulevard, and DeSaix Boulevard, historically known as the DeSaix Circle. John T. Scott, a nationally known artist, and Martin Payton, collaborated on this project. Their goal was to create a work that celebrates the contributions of unnamed African Americans who were instrumental in the cultural and physical development of New Orleans. “The Spirit House faces north, and as the sun rises, a shadow is cast on the west, the part of the world where Africans were forced to relocate via slavery. As the sun sets, the shadow migrates east, which represents returning the spirits back to their homeland.” [text by Avery Brewton]

FEATURED FASHIONS – AYA DESIGNS GLOBAL
Post Soundtrack – “i” Kendrick Lamar

DESIGNERS NOTE – AYA Designs Global – AYA Designs is 2 people, my kindred spirit friend (and so much more) Dana Leon-Lima and myself (Janese Brooks-Galathe). We are professional dancers and teaching artists in the Greater New Orleans area who teach Afro-Carribbean and Afro-Brazilian dance (ages 3+), and are also both Ifa practitioners which is visible in all of our works. We started AYA Designs because our school students needed costumes to perform and we wanted to wear African-inspired clothing to create conversations with our students. We taught ourselves how to design and sew clothing because of our students. When we would wear traditional African clothing, head wraps, dashikis, sokoto and lapas our students would always ask “why are you wearing that?, are you from Africa?, where can I buy clothes like that?”