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From the runways of Accra Fashion Week, with this special episode KMJ from Ghana explores for Afrimaxx how Africans are challenging stereotypes and redefining inclusion through fashion, art, dance and entrepreneurship.
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00:08Here at Accra Fashion Week, diversity is on full display.
00:12This is where style becomes a powerful expression of identity.
00:16But before we hit the carpet, here is what is coming up on today's show.
00:20We find out how B-Boy Jr. overcame a childhood affliction to become a star in Francis Brickdance and seeing.
00:28We discover how Dinah Ikinga hammers outlife challenges through her art in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
00:36And then we see a boundary-breaking fashion show in Malawi, but all shades of beautiful.
00:43I am KMJ and you're watching AfriMax.
01:00We are starting in Kenya at a restaurant with a difference, where every waiter and waitress are hearing impaired.
01:07So, how do you place an order? Let's find out.
01:11Nobody will understand you in this cafe in Nairobi, even if you order in a local language without an accent.
01:18And shouting won't make it any better.
01:21And yet, the guests here look completely satisfied.
01:25But why?
01:25The main reason why I come here to Palette Cafe is because the waiters here can just read your wish
01:31from the lips.
01:32And that is true.
01:34At Palette Cafe, you don't have to say a single word to order.
01:38A sign is enough.
01:40Or rather, sign language.
01:42Wondering why or what happens if you don't know sign language?
01:46Most of the staff are hearing impaired and therefore communicate using gestures and strong facial expressions.
01:53And last but not least, the prints on their shirts help to avoid misunderstandings.
01:58And therefore, we go into how the cafe is helping to strengthen the deaf community in Kenya.
02:04Let's look at how it came about in the first place.
02:07Palette Cafe is a place where people who are hearing impaired have been hired from the kitchen to the management
02:13to any sector of the business.
02:16The main reason that I joined here was actually this pure humanity and help people.
02:22And what I was doing before as an aid worker, so I linked up the aid working side of me
02:27into the business.
02:29And that's what made us to create this beautiful space.
02:38There is an estimation of 1,774,000 deaf and hard of hearing in Kenya who face challenges in healthcare,
02:48education and employment,
02:50alongside limited awareness of the Kenyan sign language.
02:53But how do the staff at the cafe even speak to each other?
02:57After all, they have to work together to prepare the food.
03:00The guys who know here learned about a bit of how to communicate the guys who can hear also by
03:06giving the sign languages.
03:07So all my team also learned their sign languages within these premises.
03:40We'll see you then.
04:14For the deaf or hearing impaired working in Faisal Cafe, the takeaway is clear, more understanding
04:21and a secure income. How can the restaurant also serve as a sign of hope for the community?
04:27I've had an awesome experience at Palette Care. This is, I'll call it a rare gem in Nairobi,
04:34something very significant and something that brings a lot of feedback back to our community.
04:40Since he started in 2019, Faisal's business now has two active branches with an overall
04:47of 30 out of 40 employees who are hearing impaired or deaf. But why did Faisal opt of combining
04:54tasty dishes with community impact?
04:57Creating jobs for people who I need was pure humanity. An expansion of Palette Cafe is again
05:03pure job creation and employment for people. So all these things is what make that success.
05:09The Palette Cafe is not just about eating your favorite meal, but also about providing a
05:16meaningful activity, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities. And don't forget,
05:22one sign is enough. Born in the streets and driven by rhythm, breakdancing is more than just a
05:30movement. It's a form of defense and self-expression. And in France, B-Boy Junior has turned it into a
05:36platform for power even while living with polio.
05:43Head-spinning moves and gravity-defying contortions. Breakdancing is a highly athletic discipline.
05:52But how do you perform it when you have a physical disability?
05:59I contracted poliomyelitis when I was around three years old. I've been living with it since my early
06:05childhood. That actually helped me create my own dance style. It's become my source of power.
06:11But how do you tap that power to dance when you have a weaker leg caused by a debilitating condition
06:17and ultimately dance so well that you go on to become one of France's biggest breakdancing stars?
06:27Junior Bozila Pagna, also known as B-Boy Junior, is a former world champion,
06:34despite his disability. How did he get to where he is today?
06:42I've worked a lot on myself. I still continue to do so. Of course, there are always things that I
06:47can't do like everyone else, but I try and adapt. I don't look for excuses. I've always had the strength
06:52to outdo myself. At 43, Junior isn't slowing down. He travels the globe, teaching and performing.
07:12He's now starring in a play in France called La Tendresse, or Tenderness. It explores the relationship
07:19between young men and the concept of masculinity. It's a combination of hip-hop and performance
07:25theatre. How does it feel to take to another stage after his success as a breaking icon?
07:31I'm just adding words to my movements. Actually, it's not really that different. It really complements the
07:38way I express myself. It feels like a logical step for me. It's powerful. The play is also about
07:47accessing movement and the body. Junior has lived in Paris since 2005. The city is set to host the
07:56Olympic Games this year, where breakdancing will be included as an official discipline for the very
08:01first time. Will that help put the dance form on the map?
08:09We deserve to get the same recognition as other sports on an athletic level. We devote our lives
08:14and our bodies to the discipline. It's hours and hours of hard work. The movements that we make might seem
08:21impossible to some. Some athletes from other disciplines even envy us for it. Breakdancing definitely
08:28has a place in the Olympics. For Junior himself, breaking didn't seem like a natural choice, especially
08:36when he was younger. Junior was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was sent to
08:43France to join his father when he was five to get medical treatment for his polio. But not before it
08:49caused
08:49lasting damage to his leg. What was his life like before he became the king of breaking?
08:57I couldn't run as fast as the others. But I was a good football goalie. I couldn't really kick,
09:04but I could pack a good punch. People respected me as well. I knew how to defend myself. But of
09:12course,
09:12when you're young, some people also make fun of you.
09:20Junior discovered breakdance as a young boy. It helped him cope with his disability.
09:29I tried to move like Michael Jackson. I liked gymnastics, so I mixed that in. Then I realized
09:35I couldn't do some moves with my leg. So I injected some acrobatics in it.
09:41And when I discovered breakdance and hip-hop culture, it really increased my self-confidence.
09:48Breakdancing opened up a new world for Junior. Did it provide an escape from the limitations imposed
09:54by his disability? For me, it's clear that dancing was a great tool to get revenge against the conditions
10:03in my life. In my play, I speak of an ideal world where I could be free to do what
10:07I want,
10:08think what I want, think what I want. When I dance, I'm in an ideal world. The ideal world is
10:23where I'm simply myself.
10:27For Junior, breaking isn't just a way to triumph despite all the odds. It's a superpower
10:33by which he lives his life.
10:42Dina Ekanga, a Congolese artist, demonstrated an early childhood talent for drawing. Her
10:48challenging upbringing exposed her to hardships that she explores and addresses in a hammer and nail artwork.
11:07Dina Ekanga nails it every time again. Nailing and hammering is maybe the most essential part of
11:15her artistic work. But why has she chosen to hammer life's challenges?
11:23I have been hammered several times by family problems and conflict,
11:28as well as by the illness of myopia.
11:33More about what exactly the nails in Dina's work mean later.
11:44The desire to engage in art has been with me since I was little. It was an observation my parents
11:50made
11:51that I would draw everywhere in the house. I constantly received reprimands at school,
11:56as in my various notebooks, there were always drawings.
12:02To become the awarded artist she is today was not an easy task for Dina. How did she handle
12:08hardships like family disputes and illnesses she's had to face?
12:14Despite my eye disease, I still managed to use these small nails and create my artwork.
12:20We improve every day to give our best every day, without necessarily taking into account
12:25difficulties, obstacles and the problems that bind us. We must fight against this. We're not going to
12:32say that we don't want to do something because we are sick. And family conflict? We handle them and face
12:38them until today.
12:41To overcome her mental and physical pain, Dina sought education at an art school. But again she was
12:47challenged, this time by the domination of male teachers and students. How did this shape her artistic journey?
12:57By competing against other boys who were there, by giving my best, by improving my sketches,
13:04by working very hard, by attaching myself to them, to try to become better like them, as they said.
13:11While we were at the academy, what bothered me a bit was the techniques we had used there. It was
13:19more
13:19about brushes, colours, pencils, pens. We always came back to somewhat normal tools that we use every day.
13:27And I often wondered if we couldn't draw with other materials besides brushes, pens and the like.
13:35Now coming back to her leitmotif, what was the deciding factor to her now working with hammer and nail?
13:56The discovery of some native Congolese sculptures, which traditionally bare nails, greatly impacted
14:03Dina's artistic direction. Based on that, what is the central message she aims to convey through her artwork?
14:12I proclaim assurance and hope in response to challenges taking place in Africa or Congolese society.
14:22Being Congolese is a huge and maybe deciding factor in Dina's work, a fact that she also likes
14:28to put to the test, not only with nailing. What is the meaning behind the inclusion of scarification
14:34in her artwork?
14:36This clarification is a scar to display various motifs and logos, African as well as Nirmashi's envelope.
14:45Having learned that each nail for Dina stands for pain, why does she specifically choose
14:51these obsidian-hued nails for her artwork? And what does she hope to achieve with her artwork?
14:57I prefer black nails in relation to African black skin to identify the African people.
15:06Dina passionately advocates for African art and culture. How does she leverage her art to engage the community?
15:15It's about identifying the people we are, recognizing our history, and knowing our origins and values.
15:25For Dina and Kanga, each nail tells a story of pain. Every hammer stroke signifies a battle.
15:32Despite challenges, there's the power to create, turn suffering into art, and find strength in tough times.
15:48Getting a PhD is a huge accomplishment for anyone. But for Tumi, a South African theatre maker with ADHD,
15:57it's a higher energy choreography. In a country where neurodiversity still faces stigma and systemic
16:03adults. She's balancing a degree, work and life while dancing forward. And in 5, 6, 7, 8, Q to me.
16:14As a performer and director, Madumi Sangwatisi challenges norms and stereotypes with her controversial
16:21dance and theatre performances.
16:33I do believe that certain regimes and certain ways of thinking need to be challenged and need to be
16:41disrupted. I also understand that there's a learning process in that. A learning that I can take from
16:49those spaces and a learning I can give to those spaces. And now she has set her sides on the
16:54next step.
16:55Dumi is about to become a doctor of dance and movement. But why is it so important for her to
17:01change dance and make viewers and dancers confront their prejudices and preconceptions?
17:09I think I count myself very lucky to be able to do movement and physical theatre.
17:15Because I truly believe, and I'm still trying to articulate it, but I truly believe that the arts
17:21and theatre is able to do something that not many other disciplines or fields can do,
17:27in terms of bringing people together that are different. Different abilities, but we can come
17:33together and make something meaningful. Dumi belongs to a small group of black South African women
17:39who make it to the academies at all. The challenges on the way are still too many. There's a lack
17:46of
17:46opportunities, money, support, and when there is also mental disposition, how do you manage that?
17:55I fell in love with theatre. I fell in love with performance. And I spoke to my parents about that,
18:01but they were supportive. They knew that I wasn't going to be like my brothers, who are
18:06very business-minded people. That always scared me, very numbers people.
18:11But it's not just an area of interest that sets Dumi apart from her brothers. At 28 years old,
18:17she's diagnosed with ADHD. Another major obstacle on the way to a PhD. How does that work?
18:23I have an advocate for being in the therapeutic process. And I have been in multiple therapeutic
18:31processes. But when I decided to get a PhD, I knew that I would need help. I'd been in therapy
18:38for a
18:38while. And we obviously talked about the PhD and it was really, really hard for me. Being African,
18:46it's not normal to open up about your feelings or mental issues. Many families don't agree to seeing
18:53therapists. How did her family support her during her diagnosis? My parents and my family mean a lot
18:59to me and they have made very many sacrifices so that I can pursue this because it is not a
19:05normal
19:06way about it. And they did. They supported me and they support my siblings in the journey to pursue
19:13knowledge. So recently, like a month or two ago, when she explained the ADHD, when she explained the
19:19medication, then so many things started making sense. How did she manage mentally, physically and
19:28emotionally while juggling her job, studies, lecturing overseas and a relationship with friends and family?
19:35I realized in my undergrad that I had a lot of anger. And it was during the time of protest
19:44action at
19:44universities. And so there was a lot that I became conscious of about my identity. And I knew that
19:52I had felt discrimination. I had felt prejudice in different spaces, but it became very, very visible
19:59to me during my undergrad years. And I needed an outlet for this anger and my art became that. And
20:07then I
20:08got to teach and there was a softness that came into my into my world. And and for me, that
20:15was the
20:15healing. You know, I think that that part of it, you must feel the anger and you must be allowed
20:19to
20:19express the anger. Because out of that something beautiful can arise and teaching is that for me.
20:26Dumi's main aim is to break prejudices. Because in post apartheid South Africa, it should simply be
20:32possible for everyone to continue their education. It's not normal to struggle sometimes as much as we
20:42are struggling. And so to be okay to ask for help and support. But to be agentic about one's health,
20:52mental and otherwise, is important when you want to pursue something like a PhD, find people who are your
21:02people that can support you through it. Yeah, but do it. At the end of the day, do it.
21:08The House of Zandria's All Shades of Beautiful initiative started in 2021 in Malawi. It invites
21:15everyone to feel included and beautiful on the runway, regardless of their background.
21:23Malawian Fashion House House of Zandria is breaking an unspoken rule that still pervades the fashion
21:29industry today. Differently abled and beautiful cannot coexist.
21:37So the gap that has always been there in the fashion industry was people wouldn't trust a person
21:43that has a disability to be able to produce something. They wouldn't feel or think they're
21:49beautiful enough to become a model. We have a fashion designer that used to say back then she
21:56would make something nice and make it maybe for a relative. And when that relative goes somewhere
22:02and people compliment her and when people come and see her and see that she has a disability,
22:07they will change their mind and think there's no way this one can produce something right. But because of
22:12having All Shades of Beautiful and showcasing the work that those people have done, it has built a
22:17trust and a belief that even persons with disabilities can be in fashion, they can be trusted as fashion
22:24designers and they can they can work also as models and parade on the runway. To be differently abled
22:31remains a blind spot in fashion's diversity agenda. Even globally, the absence of differently abled models
22:38or designers is so stark that inclusivity reports do not even feature a disability category. So how was it
22:45that in Malawi an inclusive fashion initiative was born? So basically All Shades of Beautiful is an
22:51initiative that is there to give a platform to fashion designers with and without disabilities to
22:57showcase their work and talents through the fashion show that we host annually. To design for people
23:03who are differently abled, it has given me a lot of new ideas to work with them, like to know
23:12how to
23:12make designs that would perfectly fit them. Malawi, like much of Africa, isn't a very inclusive society.
23:20People who are differently abled are often marginalized, either viewed with fear or hidden by their
23:26families. This makes this House of Zandria initiative all the more important. At one time I was able to
23:33showcase outside that was in Portugal. And also after that I was nominated for Shining Stars Africa
23:41Awards 2023. So lucky enough I've won as best female fashion designer of the year.
23:51Creativity has no physical limitations and initiatives like All Shades of Beautiful help to promote
23:57inclusive access and opportunities. All Shades of Beautiful isn't a profit making initiative.
24:06We just want to ensure that people in Malawi and also outside Malawi are able to ensure that we
24:13include people with disability in the fashion industry. Considering how most of the times,
24:19whenever there's a land on shore, we never see people with disabilities there. Through All Shades of Beautiful,
24:24that's when House of Zandria started adaptive fashion. So I think with the experience of All Shades of Beautiful,
24:31it's helped us to grow.
24:35The whole idea of All Shades of Beautiful is that we should be able to work with foundations that
24:40take care of people with disabilities as well in Malawi. So there are times whenever we have sponsors
24:47that might sponsors with fabrics, we do provide fabrics to the designers. Last year we were able to
24:54provide machines to people with disabilities that were able to participate in All Shades. And on top of
25:01that we have introduced a business incubation programme. The main aim of the business incubation programme is
25:07that fashion designing shouldn't just be a passion, but we should be able to make money out of it.
25:14All Shades of Beautiful is putting a finger in the wound. Inclusion requires us to expand our
25:19philosophy of beauty and to radically redefine what it means to be beautiful.
25:27What an amazing and diverse show we have for you today and all from the prestigious Accra Fashion Week.
25:33I am going to rub shoulders with some influences, but don't forget to hit us up on our socials for
25:39more. Till next time.
26:08World Shades of Environmental quality shows we have to help with a personality
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