Inspiration

Also Known As Africa – The Artists That Are Blowing My Mind

November 16, 2019

At this exact time last year, I went to AKAA for the first time – an Art & Design Fair dedicated to contemporary art and design from Africa in Paris. I went in knowing nothing about it, and came out with my jaw on the floor.

My plan was to write about it as soon as I got home, share the awesomeness with you guys, but unfortunately, life took over. I had some medical issues that lasted for months, then work started to pile up and here we are now, another One Room Challenge behind us, and it’s been a year since my last post. Yikes.

But, I went back to the fair last week end (it’s a yearly event), and it had the exact same effect on me, so I thought, why not pick up where we left off, disregard the missing year, and share all the artists I discovered over the last two fairs at once ! Get ready for some very unique inspiration.

Let the mind blowing begin !

Justin Dingwall

Benji Reid

David Uzochukwu

Giovanni Hanninen

Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher

Jean Claude Moschetti

Hassan Hajjaj

Keyezua

Osborne Macharia

Mous Lamrabat

Yannis Davy Guibinga

I can’t express how incredibly beautiful the photograph on the right was in person, the depth of it was breathtaking.

Alexis Peskine

This was my absolute favorite piece last year, I was transfixed by it and I’ve dreamt of designing a room around it since then.

Prince Gyasi

This year though, it was all about Prince Gyasi, the color inspiration is just off the charts for me.

So, as you can see there is a bit of a theme : photography ! I’ve always loved high impact photography in home décor, it’s such a undeniable tool for jaw-dropping designs but in the last few years I’ve become consumed, so pieces and artists like these really speak to me so deeply, I get butterflies in my stomach and my brain wants to create immediately, which is why this fair was such an amazing experience every time and I can’t wait for next year already.

I hope this amazing art will have an impact on you as well and if it did please go follow these incredible artists and show them love! I included links to all their social or direct websites, just click on their name to see more. And let me know in the comments which ones spoke to you, I’d love to hear it !

Also, it’s a bit late because they’ve been shared a million times already but I’d like to do a recap of the One Room Challenges at some point, talk about my faves like last year, so stay tuned.

Happy weekend to all !

Marie

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5 Comments

  • Reply Catching up – Where the hell have I been ? | Velvet Jungle Interiors November 8, 2021 at 2:44 pm

    […] to the Also Known As Africa art fair, which one of the last things I covered on this blog 2 years ago. Well played, universe. I will be documenting it all and reporting back though so I’m very […]

  • Reply An Art-filled Weekend in Paris – Gaultier, Leibovitz, AKAA. | Velvet Jungle Interiors November 15, 2021 at 11:52 am

    […] artists. It was cancelled last year due to Covid and I couldn’t wait to go back after being blown away by it the past few years. There was a little less photo this year – which is still my main […]

  • Reply Spotlight on : Fearless Set Design from the “Harlem” TV Show – Vol.2 | Velvet Jungle Interiors March 29, 2022 at 10:17 am

    […] these incredible women’s portraits from one of my AKAA – African art design fair round ups ! I actually saw these photos in person and they are so powerful and beautiful, I was delighted to […]

  • Reply Art Spotlight : Also Known As Africa 2022 Edition | Velvet Jungle Interiors | Maximalist & Eclectic Interior Design October 24, 2022 at 11:54 am

    […] the yearly art fair in Paris displaying up-and-coming african artists. You can see previous recaps here and here where I take you through the show and share my biggest crushes of the year. Now usually […]

  • Reply Touring This Year’s “Also Known As Africa” Art Fair | Velvet Jungle Interiors | Maximalist & Eclectic Interior Design October 23, 2023 at 9:07 am

    […] to attend and report back on the fantastic discoveries !You can catch up on past recaps here : 2018-19 Edition / 2021 Edition / 2022 […]

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