Ancient roots, living colour
Africa
From the indigo traditions of Nigeria to the icon-gold of Ethiopia, Africa’s textile heritage is among the oldest and most complex on earth. We have found two voices here. We are listening for more.
Nigeria
Adaeze Okonkwo
Adaeze Okonkwo is a Lagos-based textile artist whose work draws from Yoruba cosmology and the sacred geometry of Adire cloth. Trained under …
Ethiopia
Selam Tesfaye
Born in Addis Ababa to a family of icon painters, Selam Tesfaye works at the intersection of Ethiopian Orthodox iconography and abstract exp…
Adaeze Okonkwo
Adaeze Okonkwo is a Lagos-based textile artist whose work draws from Yoruba cosmology and the sacred geometry of Adire cloth. Trained under her grandmother in Abeokuta — the spiritual home of Yoruba indigo dyeing — she translates ancestral symbols into contemporary expressions on silk. Her designs carry the living memory of Egúngún, of markets, of the Oshun river.