Pieces of Africa: Tinga Tinga

That Africa abounds with treasures isn't anything we haven't heard before. It's the process of discovering and uncovering the individual treasure chests that gives us the ultimate thrill. Our latest obsession is Tinga Tinga, an art form that originated in Tanzania.

Tinga Tinga is named after its founder, Edward S. Tingtinga, who created paintings depicting animals and humans in spectacular splashes of color and with such verve that his paintings and the work they've inspired since pulsate with life and energy.

As Africa continues to inspire, we hope more artists and designers explore this art form to create pieces that capture part of Africa's essence so brilliantly. Enjoy:

pieces of africa: intro + alek wek

[while we try to streamline the blog to make it more user-friendly, we're introducing new features and adapting old ones. today, we introduce our new "pieces of africa" feature, geared at e-housing the images, quotes, songs, historical anecdotes, etc. that remind us of home. today, we begin with alek wek.]

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sudanese refugee turned super model, entrepreneur, all-round super woman alek wek -- because she reminds us that it's okay to stand out and be who we are without shame, to be bloody good at what we do, to smile often, and to laugh much, and to be without false pretenses; to be well-travelled and exposed without forgetting home, to remember, and to be memorable.

this is her story.

xo