Hasta La Ideas

In July 2012 we took 24 readers on an adventure of a lifetime

For our first Cool Hunting Edition travel experience we brought 24 friends and readers on safari in Zambia. Over the course of eight days CH Zambia guests experienced the wonders and wildlife of Africa with a few surprises from our brand partners. More stories and videos here. As editors…

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We made the perfect safari bag and a video on how to pack it

For our first Cool Hunting Edition travel experience we brought 24 friends and readers on safari in Zambia. Over the course of eight days, CH Zambia guests experienced the wonders and wildlife of Africa with a few surprises from our brand partners. More stories and videos here. Packing for…

Continue Reading…

An impromptu conference aimed at reforming a war-torn nation

For many Somali‬ refugees, the film Black Hawk Down serves as one of their only memories of the civil war that has ravaged their country for the last two decades. This Thursday, 17 May 2012, thousands of expats—along with the rest of the world—will see their nation again in a live broadcast of TEDxMogadishu, an impromptu conference bravely taking place in Somalia’s capital city.

Documenting the event are filmmakers Sebastian Lindstrom and Alicia Sully, a progressive duo who recently shot a feature film highlighting the various ways people use camel milk. After filming the TEDx summit in Doha, Lindstrom and Sully joined fellow organizers in Somalia to finalize plans for TEDxMogadishu and make the underground announcement about the nation-shaping symposium.

With a war on the periphery and pirates on the beaches why risk venturing to Mogadishu when the whole conference will be streamed online via satellite? Well, for the first time in years, Mogadishu is being spared active fighting, and people are coming back and opening businesses. There are success stories to share, like that of participant and supporter Liban Egal, who is the founder of the brand new First Somali Bank.

The goal for TEDxMogadishu is to create a space in which to spread ideas for positive change in Somalia. Lindstrom points out that the group empowering the independently organized event isn’t the first to see a change taking place in Somalia (he helpfully sent over links to The New York Times, Newsweek, Voice of America and Foreign Policy). In some ways, Mogadishu is a model forum for the TEDx conference as it stands on the forefront of something hugely important–the rebirth of a nation.

If you tune in to the satellite stream of the conference on Thursday, you will witness a powerful movement happening in Mogadishu. Along with the short lead time on the announcement of the event, safety precautions are being put into place to protect the attendees and speakers, which Lindstrom says includes “a chef and restauranteur, a real estate developer, the founder of a university, the founder of the first Somali bank, a camel farmer, healthcare specialist, a Somali journalist and more.”

To find out how to attend the three-hour conference you can call or email the organizers. Those tuning in digitally can catch the live feed at 2pm in Mogadishu (12pm London, 7am New York).

The acclaimed artist offers us a rare glimpse inside his Brooklyn studio ahead of his upcoming mini retrospective

While we all like to tap into an artist’s brain, find out exactly what goes on in their mind to make them create what they do, sometimes there isn’t really more behind a work of art than simply a vision that a person is unable to explain through words. The different approaches to making art—from pragmatic to utterly emotional—is part of what keeps the field perpetually intriguing.

A reticent painter originally from Côte d’Ivoire, Ouattara Watts recently opened up his studio to Cool Hunting for a preview of the newly formed works comprising his forthcoming exhibition. The large, garage-like space is located in an industrial part of Brooklyn between Williamsburg and Bushwick that’s home to numerous emerging artists. With both the Whitney Museum and Venice biennials on his résumé, the veteran painter may hold more clout than his neighbors, but his artistic spirit seems unaffected by his widespread success.

Organized by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Watts’ upcoming NYC exhibition—which Roitfeld says is more like a small retrospective—will feature 18 new paintings alongside a few existing pieces. Watts completed all of these large-scale works in a matter of about six months, explaining that with the way the world is right now, he has a lot to say. At the moment, he is mostly preoccupied by the population of mistreated children in the world, a concern that presumably evolved since the birth of his own child, a life-changing moment for him.

Bursting with color and layered in fabrics and objects picked up from his global travels, Watts’ paintings are still entrenched in his own style of Neo-Expressionism. Cryptic serial numbers abound, alluding to a secret code that only he knows about, but one that could potentially be worked out through clever deciphering or a deep understanding of West African cosmology. The mysticism that prevails reflects a coalescent spirituality, his beliefs not tied to one religion or another, but that together are very much a part of his enduring creative passion.

The mix of media Watts uses is also symbolic of his constant exploration, and the people he encounters along the way. For example, the massive piece, “Vertigo #4” is covered in a denim remnant given to him by the shop owner of a fabric store near his Midtown apartment. Glued to this is an Ikea-like dish cloth embroidered with the initials “JL”—who they belong to Watts claims not to know. These found objects and recycled fabrics likely speak to the movement against using expensive materials, a notion developed in the 1970s by fellow Ivorian painter Mathilde Moraeau which she called Vohou-Vohou. The mix also undoubtedly marks a more natural way for Watts to express himself, free of monetary limitations or a prescribed aesthetic.

Although known in his own right, it’s difficult not to associate Watts with the legendary artist Jean-Michael Basquiat. The two met in Paris while Watts was studying at the renowned L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and while their friendship was short-lived due to Basquiat’s death, Watts considers him almost like a soulmate. Basquiat convinced him to move to NYC, where Watts gave rise to African art with prominent shows at the Gagosian and Vrej Baghoomian galleries.

The exhibition opens 7 February and runs through 19 February 2012 at the cavernous space known simply as 560 Washington Street.

All images by BHP, see more in the slideshow below.

Paris Photo honors the lensmen and culturally rich continent for its 15th anniversary show

For its 15th anniversary Paris Photo will celebrate African photography with a unique anthology of emerging and established photographers at the Grand Palais. The sweeping four-day exhibition, dubbed “From Bamako to Capetown,” offers real insight into the continent’s diverse range of cultures, from fast-growing capitals in the northwest to post-apartheid South Africa.

Curator Okwui Enwezor culled some of Africa’s most iconic works from the private collection of Germany’s Artur Walther, spanning portraits by 1950s Bamakoise photographer Seydou Keita to the contemporary collages by Congolese photographer Sammy Baloji—whose cousin, the multimedia artist known simply as Baloji, was featured on Cool Hunting last year.

The watershed moment for African photography, the Bamako Encounters Biennial of African Photography in 1994 marked a major event in the gallery world, as the debut of many of the country’s now-famous photographers. A portion of the Paris Photo festival floor will be dedicated to continuing the tradition set by the biennial and the emergence of such artists.

It’s not difficult to illustrate the many different backgrounds and experiences of African photographers. One of the most famous was Keita, who came into play among the wealthy set in Bamako, Mali during the ’50s. Shooting people’s watches, televisions and even cars, Keita’s images could be sent back home as proof the person had become “modern.” Samuel Fosso, who opened a studio at 13 years old after a traumatic upbringing, would shoot himself dressed up as a musician or a boxer if he had not finished a roll of film on customers. Philip Kwame Apagya had clients post against colorful backdrops in his Ghana studio, depicting them boarding airplanes or sitting in the living room with home entertainment systems.

Other photographers in Africa have more traditional foundations in photojournalism or attended art school, including David Goldblatt and Pieter Hugo, whose works will also be on display, along with new book releases from Malick Sidibé and Pierrot Men.

Though some African photographers have become household names and more works are making it into collections around the world, few exhibitions will rival the great breadth of work at Paris Photo 2011. The show runs through 26 November and information about attending is available online in both French and English.