images and descriptions - Smithsonian Education Online

Research New York City
The Arts of dress and adornment in African American culture are
more than simply statements of personal taste and sense of
style…
Founded in 1977, DanceAfrica features dance
companies from across the African Diaspora that
come to New York City to shake the stage of the
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). A Memorial
Day weekend tradition for over 32 years, this
African heritage and community celebration is
packed with traditional and contemporary African
dance, music, art, and film events. It is also famous
for its outdoor bazaar, which features over 250
vendors from around the world and reportedly
attracts more than 30,000 shoppers for the threeday event.
Photographer: Jade D. Banks (left) with dancer
and choreographer Obediah Wright.
Photographer and artist Jade D. Banks chose the
DanceAfrica Bazaar as a research field for the “Will
to Adorn” project because she knew – as part of
the African American community, herself – that
many communities of style would be present at
the African (American) marketplace.
Norman Messiah is an artisan of style.
He purportedly paints on every surface he
can find. Mr. Messiah decorated these
shoes and glasses (his specialty – for which
he has become well-known in NYC). On
this day, however, he was a shopper at the
Bazaar.
Hats
Left and right: Artisans
of style
who were also vendors of
these hats. Note: The hats
contract into a cylinder
when not worn.
Right: Shoppers
at the
Bazaar who
described their
respective styles as
“afrocentric” (traditio
nal African wear
combined with
contemporary
American clothing.)
Hairstyles
Above:
Sani-Abu Mohammed
Allen, a Nigerian dance
educator, performer and
choreographer of the Ijo
Vudu dance company,
wears a “dreadlocked
Mohawk.” This hairstyle
is/was also worn by the
Mandinka of West Africa.
Above:
Artisan of style and
vendor - sporting a
contemporary and cultural
look of dreadlocks with a
shaved head.
Left: Shopper
Omena El,
dancer and choreographer,
dons a faux Mohawk of
natural hair on the top and
baby twists on the side.
Vendor of contemporary clothing made
of African and natural fabrics – designed
for the professional woman.
Artisan of style, jewelry maker and vendor
- she calls her hairstyle “a pyramid.”
Above:
Osunyoyin,
shopper and
Yoruba priestess
of Osun. (The Yoruba
people are a Nigerian
ethnic group).
Above:
A Rastafarian wearing a
traditional Rasta knit cap of ites
(red), gold and green –Pan
African colors.
Shopper with contemporary,
lightened and manicured dreadlocks.
Right:
She wears the
colors orange and
gold to honor her
orisha. Her hair is
combined with
synthetics to
create the style.
Below: A
shopper combines styles
– Afrocentric and boho chic –
to create a uniquely
personalized look. She also
sports a completely shaved
head, which also makes her
look “artsy.”
Above: Senegalese
Above:
AfricanAmerican family in
traditional West
African dress, which
gives them a festive
look at the Bazaar.
artisan of
style, jewelry-maker and
vendor in his everyday
clothes (traditional West
African wear).
Artisan of style and vendor of unique,
Afrocentric and artsy designs made from
recycled items. Note: Her styles are
both contemporary and “throwback.”
Contemporary chic shopper trying on a
jacket to find the perfect fit… His
sneakers also give him a boho effect.
Michael Manswell, artistic director of the dance
company “Something Positive,” is seen here as a
shopper. He has a unique look, encompassing
many communities of style – old man sharp (hat),
boho (jacket and T-shirt) and Afrocentric (pants
and shoes).
Shoppers in personalized mixtures of
communities of style: Rastafarian, European/
Brixton, boho, and a Greenwich Village/New
York City look.
Obediah Wright, dancer and
choreographer wears traditional African
dress with contemporary, colored and
manicured dreadlocks.
Lakai Worrell, dancer and choreographer,
sports a contemporary revolutionary
look - manicured dreadlocks with a
“Black Panther Party” T-shirt. (Note: The Black
Panther Party is an African-American revolutionary left-wing organization working
for the self-defense for black people - particularly in the 1960s-70s),
Yvonne is an artisan of style for
God-S, which offers hand-painted apparel and
accessories emblazoned with positive images
of women of African descent. She is sporting a
contemporary, Afrocentric style (decorated Tshirt and decorated denim clothing with
natural twists of hair).
Above:
Right: Sofia
Coffee, artisan of style and vendor,
creates earrings made from political buttons and
historically-significant images.
Teaty of Sistaphyre Kreations - artisan of style, jewelry
designer and silversmith.
Below: Shoppers enjoying a bounty of crafted
jewelry and clothing…
Vendor of Unique Designed Jewelry and the “Fly
Girl Jumbo Feather Earrings.”
Below: Vendor of Adiva Natural Hair and Skin Care
Products - wearing a contemporary, cultural and natural
look of manicured and colored dreadlocks.
Items for sale
Shop, shop, shop!
Buy, buy, buy!