Preserving Ghana’s Cultural Heritage One Theatre At A Time

((  Written By:  Mia Leheluka  ))  A brilliant award-winning Ghanaian filmmaker with a small cult following, Akosua Adoma Owusu has made the world her stage with films like me broni ba and Kwaku Ananse.  But taking on the role of reviving Accra, Ghana’s dilapidated REX Cinema, may be her greatest accomplishment to date as it symbolizes her indelible mark in the resurgence of Ghana’s creative community.  The REX Cinema was built by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, who had a vision of creating a Ghanaian cinema industry that could be shared with the world.  With time, however, the theatre—like many others in Accra—stopped being used as a theater in part due to increasing (bootleg) DVD sales that decreased the cost of movie watching and brought movies to the comfort of the home.

Simply Kayo’s Top 13 Wedding Trends for 2013

((  Written By:  Fikayo Giwa  ))  I am the Founder and Principal Planner and Designer for Simply Kayo.  Let me tell you a bit about Simply Kayo: we are a boutique special events company based in London.  We create quality celebrations that are masterpieces.  We do this predominantly for the customer that is similar to us in that they are a product of the Western culture, but also with an ingrained sense of their ethnic heritage.  We specialize in planning and designing high quality celebrations such as weddings and birthdays for discerning clients both in the UK and internationally.  Based on my experience, here are my 13 wedding trend predictions for 2013:

1. Pop of colour in accessories—shoes, belts.
2. 1920s, retro/vintage inspired weddings—think romantic, headpieces, beaded gowns, pearls, gold.
3. Prints and patterns—damask is already a hit, we’ll see more stripes and florals in décor, cakes, bridesmaids dresses, stationery.
4. High or top bun—works well with headpieces.
5. Straying away from white wedding dresses.
6. Following on from the peplum trend of 2012, we’ll see more peplum bridesmaids dresses.
7. Mint green—in the décor, bridesmaids dress, stationery, details.
8. Champagne—team with different colours to achieve the look/ambience you want—great for winter or summer nuptials.

Welcome to 2013!

((  Written By: Mimi Tsiane  ))  So, the world did not end.  Somewhere in the world, theorists, scientists and all the smart people are full of shame and I am cackling in delight.  If you went on a drinking/eating binge, quit your job, checked people, and hoarded water from Walmart, it is time to make amends.  According to the much smarter people at Nasa, “The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth.  This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012—hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.”

Uhm, Nibiru, really?

LOVE: Barbie's Dolls Of The World—Africa

((  Written By: Nani Hapa  ))  Barbie's Dolls Of The World Collection spans globally across generations to represent Barbie dressed in aspirational versions of traditional dress from various countries.  The Nigerian Barbie doll, released in 1990, wears a brown, beige, and black swirled dress with golden accents, as well as golden armbands and matching slip-on shoes. Her black hair is pulled slightly away from her face, and tied with a matching head-scarf.  1996's Ghanian Barbie doll wears an authentically styled Kente cloth tunic dress that ties into a bow below her knees, a brightly colored turban, and flat golden sandals.

MIMI's Holiday Gift Guide: The MIMI-ista Edition

((  Written By:  Lola K.  ))  Bring Soul.Substance.Style to a special MIMI-ista in your life with these Afri-chic gifts.  1.  EDUN Poem Scarf (Uganda—$50 via www.EDUN.com)  2.  Brown And Blue Zanzan Wax Print Styled Umbrella From Babatunde (South Africa—$50 via www.BabatundeStyles.com also available at www.AfricanLookBook.com)  3.  Set Of 3 Modern Nomad Bangles (Senegal—$8 via www.CasaDiCulture.com)  4.  46664 Women's African Women Tee (South Africa—$40.00 via www.shop46664.com)   5.  Jewel By Lisa Embellished Necklace (Nigeria—$190 via www.MyASHO.com)  6.  NAMI Handmade Blue Print Ballet Flats (Nigeria—$72 via www.agnesandlola.com)

IJORERE The Invitation, Inc. Launching Its First Flagship Store

((  Written By: Staff Writer  ))  Exactly two years ago, in December 2009, we profiled in MIMI Magazine's Spirited Away issue, up-and-coming Ola Morin-Muhammed—architect by day and invitation extraordinaire by night, who had launched her notecard company IJORERE The Invitation, Inc.  In the two short years since Ola launched her company, she has turned her idealism and inspiration into a modern day success story.  In just a few weeks in January, 2013, IJORERE The Invitation, Inc. will be launching its first flagship store, IJORERE Atelier in the heart of the historic district of downtown Elgin, Illinois.

IJORERE Atelier will be a meeting location to cater to clientele’s stationery needs.  The store will host small and intimate gatherings such as, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, poetry readings, rehearsal dinners, corporate/business sessions, birthday parties, workshops, book reading clubs and other intimate yet grand events.   Ola says about IJORERE Atelier:  “Opening this flagship store is a dream come to life.  Meeting with my clients face to face is that personal experience that is becoming obsolete in a world of technology.  I know having a location to come to will be well received by all and I look forward to many creative concepts we get to explore with our first and brand new location.”

MIMI's Holiday Gift Guide: Ah(MEN)

((  Written By: Lola K.  ))  Here are MIMI's inspired gift ideas, which are sure to suit almost every good guy on your Christmas list who loves all things Soul.Substance.Style from Africa and the African Diaspora.  1.  ENZI Footwear (Ethiopia—Price Available Upon Request; Stockists Available at www.enzifootwear.com)  2.  Della's Ruckus Skinny Tie (Ghana—$44 via Della Boutique Online)  3.  This Is Africa Tee (South Africa—$35 via The African Look Book)  4.  Street Level: A Collection Of Drawings And Creative Writing Inspired By Dar-Es-Salaam Illustrated By Sarah Markes (Tanzania—$30 via Amazon)  5.  Kushn 13-Inch Leather Laptop Case (South Africa—$122 via Etsy).

The Blackest Of Fridays

((  Written By:  Mimi Tsiane  ))  It is almost here ... Black Friday!   Millions of people in the United States will embark in the earliest of mornings to go shopping for deals.   I know you will all be quite stuffed with turkey trimmings, goat, ribs or whatever was slaughtered to celebrate Thanksgiving.   Just a few words of advice:  set a budget, wear flat shoes, be patient in checkout lines, do not cut in front of people in lines, and stick to the budget.   Happy shopping!

Save The Date: LIVE From The Continent It's A Free World Party With Spoek Mathambo, Iyadede, and Blitz The Ambassador!

Written By: MIM!—Earlier this year, writer black lily told you about Society Harriet Alter Ego's (SHAE) fabulous events. Now is your time to attend—for free—SHAE's next event with Iyadede, Spoek Mathambo, and Blitz The Ambassador.  Get a sneak peak at what's to come by watching the video below, and read on for more details below.

Live from the Continent! from MVMT on Vimeo.

According to SHAE's press release:

Lincoln Center in collaboration with the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute & Society HAE will host ‘LIVE From The Continent!’ on Sunday, August 7. Part of Lincoln Center’s “Out of Doors” summer 2011 programming and billed as “Celebrating 21stCentury Sounds of The New African Rennaissnce,” LIVE From The Continent! will introduce attendees to Africa’s next wave of music makers. Featured artist include South African “Township Tech” maestro Spoek Mathambo, Ghanaian hip-hop musician/composer Blitz The Ambassador and Rwandan electro-pop songstress Iyadede. Attendees will also be treated to LIVE DJ mixes of “new” African music from the continents emerging stars courtesy of Sierra Leonian DJ Chief Boima and Afrika21 DJ, Frei of The Ahficionados. LIVE from the Continent will be held at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park Bandshell located at the southwest corner of the Lincoln Center Plaza, at 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. The event will be from 7pm to 10pm. Gates open at 6:30pm. FREE Admission.

MIMI Related Articles: World Party; Mind The Gap: Runway To Retail

(Photo Credits: © Courtesy Of SHAE)

Accessorizing Life: Angela Chimokwu

Written By: MIM!—The spotty economy has most people shying away from self-started entrepreneurial ventures and craving the stability of a 9-to-5 desk job. But not Angela Chimokwu, who viewed the economic downturn as an opportunity to launch her own jewelry company—GlamItOut Accessories. As Angela explains, “I always wanted to do something different and especially when the recession hit the United Kingdom, I needed another form of income besides just working in an office and thought I should go into what I would really enjoy doing because of my interest in it and decided to go into selling jewelry.” Read MIMI’s Q&A with Angela and learn how she accessorized her life by launching a second career as an entrepreneur in the article Accessorizing Life.

MIMI Related Articles:  Literati: Pop Art To A Tee; Fabulously Frugal; Ijorere: You're Invited!

(Photo Credits: © GlamItOut Accessories)

Shingai Shoniwa Teams Up With The Nike Training Club To Support Her Mother's Cancer Charity

Written By: Nani Hapa—Shingai Shoniwa is known as both the front woman of indie soul trio, The Noisettes, and a fashion leader, but for the past few months Shingai has been working hard on a very personal and emotional journey—a 72 mile cycle from London to Brighton to raise money for her mother’s charity for women with cancer, Ponayi.  To train for the cycle, Shingai has teamed up with the Nike Training Club. Watch video of Shingai's journey (including a sweet conversation with her mother who recently overcame cancer) on the Nike Training Club’s Challenge’s YouTube page, or follow the Nike Training Club on Facebook.

(Photo Credits: © Nike Training Club)

Mogul In The Making: Olabisi Waller

Written By: MIM!—Olabisi Waller is the CEO and executive director of two successful online companies, Elise Charles and EC Cosmetics. Her entrepreneurial ambitions were nurtured by her upbringing with her mother who constantly reminded her and her nine sisters “never to let anyone tell them they could not do what they wanted.” It is no surprise then that Olabisi discovered her entrepreneurial spirit at a young age when she would buy affordable goods at a local market and resell it for a profit to her schoolmates. Ultimately, Olabisi studied business administration at Ondo State University in Nigeria. She has been self-employed since 2001, and is currently enrolled in the Wharton Business Development Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She started the gift and souvenirs business Elise Charles Company along with her husband, Charles Waller in 2007 and a year later launched EC Cosmetics with the goal of providing the beauty industry unique products that truly enhance a woman’s beauty. MIMI caught up with the mogul in the making to find out her secrets to success.

Read MIMI's Q&A with Olabisi in Mogul In The Making: Olabisi Waller in the latest issue of MIMI, Unapologetically Modern.African.Female.

(Photo Credits: © ICY PR)

Africa Online: www.AfroFoodTV.com

Written By: MIM!—If you are looking for step-by-step demos and recipes for your favorite gourmet African foods, look no further than www.AfroFoodTV.com. The website is the online presence of Afro Food, a food company that specializes in the production, procurement and sale of gourmet African food products and lifestyle. Covering everything from the ordinary (plantain chips) to the extraordinary (suya pizza), get cooking now by visiting www.AfroFoodTV.com.

MIMI Related Articles: How Sweet It Is: Lolita's Cupcakes; The Right Fit

(Photo Credits: © WaveBreakMediaMicrro / Veer) (Models Used Solely For Illustrative Purposes)

Weekend Soul: Bake Cupcakes With Lolita's Cupcakes Standard Recipe By Cameroonian Sisters Angel Sylvester And Cynthia Anduhtabe

Written By: Lolita's Cupcakes—Below is our standard cupcake recipe and instructions to recreate 24 vanilla

cupcakes. Before you get started, confirm you have the following baking items handy: cupcake baking trays X 2 (12 each) | cupcake cases X 24 | mixing bowl | mixing equipment or whisk | measuring equipment | spatula | tablespoon | wooden spoon | sieve.

Once you have all your baking paraphernalia ready, you are now on your way to baking some delicious cupcakes!

The ingredients you’ll need are listed below.

1. Flour, 400g
2. Butter, 400g (we would use 350g)
3. Caster sugar, 400g (we would use 300-350g)
4. Eggs, 8 (we would use 6)
5. Vanilla flavouring, 1-2 tablespoon
6. Toppings (of your choice)

Once you have all the ingredients laid out in your baking area these are the next steps to take.

World Party

Written By: black lily—Question. What do an Aussie erotic-pop artist, a Rwandan hip hop connoisseur and a British independent filmmaker have in common? Well, they are all members of Society HAE (SHAE), an online collective of artists described as a “point of convergence for the creative community across the globe.” Across the globe is right.

Founded in May of 2009 by a forward-thinking Brooklyn boutique owner named Ngozi Odita, Society HAE features members from more of the world’s major metropolises than you can shake a map at. We’re talking Paris, London, Tokyo, Madrid, Amsterdam, Toronto and New York—just for starters. And, in addition to the usual bubbling cauldrons of creativity, some of the talent finding its way to this unique virtual community is originating from far less obvious locales—Romania, The United Arab Emirates, Montego Bay and The Philippines.

Read the rest of this article in MIMI's Love Africa, Always issue, in the article World Party.

(Photo Credits: © Image Source Photography / Veer)

African Celebrities Building Empires

Written By: Mazuba Kapambwe—When South African VJ, model and actress Nonhle Thema became the first African spokeswoman for the global hair care brand Dark & Lovely in 2009, it seemed like the turning point for African celebrities to start building their empires and building brands which they identified with. The pairing of Miss Thema and Dark & Lovely was genius in that she is a well-known celebrity as she is seen on television screens across Africa via Vase TV on the Multi-Choice Dish Network. Add the fact that she has been on the cover of major magazines such as True Love and FHM (South Africa) where she was voted one of the sexiest women in South Africa. If there were one woman who could sell a product, it would be her.

It was my impression that other African celebrities would look at what Nonhle had done and start calling their publicists to negotiate similar campaigns so that they could also be named as the new face of an international brand. Nigerian singer D’banj seemed to get the memo because the same year, he announced his venture in television. Millions of fans watched the Koko Mansion, which was collaboration with Hi TV, and saw twelve girls living in a mansion—Big Brother style—with “diva” tasks to perform. The ultimate prize was being named D’banj's “kokolette” for an entire year and accompanying him to high profile events within and outside Nigeria. In addition, the winner was gifted with a car, a diamond ring from designer Chris Aires and five million Naira. In essence, this show was meant to be the Nigerian version of the American show The Bachelor except the fans knew that though D’banj is a sought after bachelor, like his fellow recording artist TuFace, he doesn’t seem like the type to settle down and fall in love (no pun intended).

Read the rest of this article in MIMI's Love Africa, Always issue, in the article African Celebrities Building Empires.

(Photo Credits: © moodboard Photography / Veer)

Discover Urbantopia Books And Read An Excerpt From Urbantopia Books' Metamorphosis By Ola Laniyan-Amoako

Written By: Nani Hapa—Frustrated by the disconnect between black and minority ethnic readers and writers, Nigerian author Ola Laniyan-Amoako launched her own publishing house, Urbantopia Books to bridge the gap "for the urban voice" by bringing more books that tell the stories of black and ethnic minority readers.

Read an excerpt from her self-published book, Metamorphosis, which she describes as "a poetry infused, humorous novel about four individuals and events in their lives which force them to morph into new characters. When Sade, the semi racist, finds herself unable to share distressing news from her ex with her black friends, she turns to a white colleague at work and from there she begins grow, mature and morph. Fun loving Olu finds himself in a complex place when the mother of his son tells him she is getting married and moving their son to America. A part-time father he may be, but he’ll do anything to keep his son close.....The question is how far will he go? Young , cute Donna turns confident. Why? Love, passion, the affair. The transformation from mistress to Mrs...A long and twisted tale of life and growing up." Read Metamorphosis below.

. . .

Mind The Gap: Runway To Retail

Written By: Nani Hapa—Over the past five years we have experienced an explosion of African fashion on the global fashion scene. Where wearing an outfit inspired by Africa’s rich and diverse culture once meant sketching a clothing pattern, finding fabric, and working with a tailor to create the outfit, we now have a number of labels based everywhere from Lagos to Johannesburg who are playing couturier, as well as fashion shows such as the well-established Sanlam South Africa Fashion Week to the up-and-coming Mozambique Fashion Week who are providing much needed platforms to showcase African designers. But until two years ago, the bridge between runway and retail was non-existent for African fashion consumers without access to designers’ brick and mortar stores, leaving many would-be-consumers unable to support African designers ... Creative e-tailers are connecting African designers to the rest of the world by offering one-stop-online stores. In Bridging The African Retail Gap From Runway To Retail, find out which e-tailers are leading the trend and bringing African fashion to Afri-nistas worldwide.

(Photo Credits: © Image Source Photography / Veer)

Swahili Imports Senegalese Fixe Signare Decorative Plates

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—According to Swahili Imports, "a group of artisans in Dakar, Senegal, hand paint each of these stunning decorative plates using a reverse glass painting method called 'fixe.' Reverse glass painting has its roots in Senegal's Muslim history, and reaches back as an art form through the centuries and across borders." The smallest of these plates, with a 7.5 inch diameter, costs $78. Get more information by visiting www.swahili-imports.com.

(Photo Credits: Swahili Imports)

Afri-Chic Decorating: Anthropologie's Josef Wingback Chair Upholstered In African Wax Fabric

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—This season Anthropologie's catalogue has a number of African inspired decor pieces, including these fabulous African wax upholstered wingback chairs, which retail for $1,698.00 each. They've already been added to my Christmas wish list! Get details by visiting www.anthropologie.com.

(Photo Credits: Anthropologie)