The 5pm Post – From the Events Calendar, PoP Picks…

SUPAFRIK Pop-Up Shop/Gallery:

Gallery O On H
1354 H Street Northeast
DC FASHION SHOW/LAUNCH EVENT: Thursday October 18th 6PM -11PM

Last summer, Torontos Kensington Market neighborhood played host to the wildly successful first installation of SUPAFRIK at Hotshot Gallery, an experimental pop-up concept: part exhibit and part shop. It was featured in Elle Magazine, TheGrid, NOW Magazine and received coveted mentions in blogs like blogto and the Torontoist. It attracted over 1500 visitors over a two week period who came to shop, peruse and participate. Now in its fourth installation, SUPAFRIK is making its international debut at Gallery O on H in the up and coming neighbourhood of H Street NE Washington DC! It is curated around the theme of Urban Contemporary Africana and will showcase artwork and design that re-contextualize African aesthetics and traditions within a modern framework.

SUPAFRIK is the brainchild of Toronto fashion designer Chinedu Ukabam of the clothing label Chinedesign. Chinedu travelled to New York, Paris and London collecting some of the unique items for sale at SUPAFRIK and documented the journey on the SUPAFRIK blog (supafrik.wordpress.com).

Featured designers include Chinedesigns new Marrakesh collection which is getting an exclusive world premier in DC, Toronto-based ethical designer brand Ann & Arrayata which refashions raffia into beautifully constructed chic bags and purses (proceeds go towards charity work in Rwanda) and UK based clothing label Chichia London which is ethically manufactured in Tanzania using traditional kanga textiles. SUPAFRIK will also feature home-ware Shine Shine (Cape Town, South Africa), Made in Africa sneakers by Paris-based SAWA, graphic ts by the Parisian multimedia collective AITF(Africa Is The Future). The gallery will also feature the work of visual artists such as Kalkidan Assefa whose work is inspired by musical icons such as Fela Kuti and Nina Simone.

SUPAFRIK will double as a space for programmed events over the four days that it will take over Gallery O on H. These will include the Thursday fashion show (featuring the Marrakesh collection and a performance of new unreleased material by Grammy nominated singer/songwriter and DC native, Wayna) , an Afro-House shopping party and a food tasting event to sample an afro-fusion designer food menu. See supafrik.com for the full calendar of events.

See all of tonight’s and the week’s events here.  To add your event, click the events tab up top and then click “add an event”.  You can add concerts, museum/gallery exhibits, fundraisers, sporting events, bike rides etc. You can add anything you think will be of interest to PoPville.