Africa News - African Art: African Concept is pleased to present a variety of masks, bronzes, furniture, paintings and artifacts from Africa, from Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Niger and Nigeria.

• African Art: African Concept supplier importer of African art and crafts

If you want to go shopping at the excellent Kimironko covered market, east of central Kigali and you don’t look Rwandan there are two rules you might want to follow. First, hire a guy to watch your car. You won’t find this too tricky as you’ll be mobbed by potential employees as soon as you drive into the parking area. Second, choose another guy to carry your bag, hope any squabbles over your trade are short-lived, quickly get over any colonial hang ups and go shopping.

Read more at Kigali Wire

Africa News - Haiti Solidarity: Guests at the festival Etonnants travelers to be held in Port-au-Prince from January 14 to 17, Alain Mabanckou familiar with Haiti, also present in his work (Black Bazar, editions du Seuil, continuously evokes the Haitian writer Louis-Philippe Dalembert) in his heart. The proof of this text that we address from Los Angeles where he thinks of Haiti, a country highly literary, his friend Dany Laferrière, who in The Enigma of the return passage devoted to Pauline's mother Mabanckou, disappeared too early..

• Earthquake Haiti: The Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou honors Haiti (Le Point)

Before we start:Abidjan is the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, located on the west coast of the "United States of Africa". Babi is to Abidjan what Big Apple is to New York or Jozi to Johannesburg.

BarCamp Babi 2010 will be a three day event held on March 5th through the 7th of this year 2010. BarCamp Abidjan 2010, also known as Barcamp Babi, will be a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, vision, rive and financial resources to improve the production, dissemination, and monetization of content from and about Africa's economic, financial, cultural and social life. The first Barcamp Abidjan in 2009 gave birth to a Côte d'Ivoire-based social entreprise, Akendewa which is producing this second BarCamp .

BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to share ideas, passion, drive, ambitions and, eventually, collaborate on various projects and businesses.

Expected panelists and speakers (yet to be confirmed) include Google, Paul Sika, Jean Patrick Ehouman, Ameyah Debrah, E-tranzact, VIPnet, Web4Africa, Gwen Marshall, Radio Jam, etc.

There will be sessions organized by various Google representatives, presentations by lead speakers as well as other breakout sessions on various topics and interests as put forth by the attendees.

Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Babi website. Help spread the word about BarCamp Abidjan 2010 by grabbing badges, and show yoursupport by donating to help cover costs. You may also contact the BarCamp Abidjan team through its website for sponsorship opportunities.

If you are interested in organizing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special needs. BarCamp Babi 2010 is supported by Google Africa, Web4Africa, Chembe Ventures, Foundation, Ushahidi, Web4Africa, who all pledged their support . Our media partners are IvoireMuzik,Ivoire Blog,Avenue 225, Fratmat.info, Koaci.com, Bassam fm (some to be confirmed). Our technical partners include VIPnet and Assistweb.

See you there!

Interested in becoming a partner? Contact Frederic Tape at tapefr(at)gmail.com or Edith Brou at edithbrou(at)gmail.com

An Akendewa production.

Brazzaville Congo — The Republic of Congo's civil war may have ended in 2003, but violence against women continues, according to civil society activists and aid workers.

• Congo-Brazzaville: Peace in the Land, But Not in the Home . (allafrica.com)

The first time I went to Congo, I remember noticing a couple of gentlemen wearing extremely elegant and expensive-looking suits on the flight from Paris to Kinshasa. Both the colors and the cut were old-fashioned, and they were wearing long-sleeve shirts, vests, jackets, hats and all despite the sticky heat awaiting us as soon as we landed. Back then I had no idea they were probably sapeurs, or members of the famous society of well-dressed people called Sape.

Although the origin of the word and of the movement is somewhat unclear, it seems that it originated in Congo Brazzaville quite a long time ago as a result of French colonisation.

This is how Héctor Mediavilla Sabaté, a Spanish photographer that has been photographing sapeurs in both Congos since 2003, explains these origins:

The arrival of the French to the Congo, at the beginning of the 20th Century, brought along the myth of Parisian elegance among the Congolese youth working for the colonialists. Many considered the white man to be superior because of their technology, sophistication and elegance. In 1922, G.A. Matsoua was the first–ever Congolese to return from Paris fully clad as an authentic French gentleman, which caused great uproar and much admiration amongst his fellow countrymen. He was the first Grand Sapeur.

Respected and admired in their communities, today’s sapeurs see themselves as artists. Their refined manners and impeccable style in their attire bring a little glamour to their humble surroundings.

The famous musician Papa Wemba, who often visited Brazzaville, became fascinated by the sapeurs and their ways. It was him who made popular and gave an international dimension to the Sape phenomenon in the 60’s with his songs. This was probably a reaction to Mobutu's authenticité efforts, which culminated in the Zairianisation between 1972 and the 1990's which involved imposing more traditional outfits and therefore banning the Western suit (instead men were expected to wear the abacost).

Although I didn't see very many sapeurs on the streets of Kinshasa, I have to concede that like many articles on the sapeurs point out, Congolese are proud to be among the most elegant people in Africa (and abroad, I might add). I suspect the sapeurs are really a dying breed, at least in the way described in this article that started Western media's fascination with the sape, or on Mediavilla's photo statement. I guess that's why there's now a whole book to enjoy more pictures of sapeurs titled Gentlemen of Bacongo by Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni [H/T Mister Crew]. And also an exhibition on the book at the London Newcastle Project Space, London, as part of Photomonth from 19-29th November 2009.

One of Papa Wemba's musicians, King Kester Emeneya, is quoted as saying "The white man may have invented clothes, but we turned it into an art" and looking at sapeurs we can only agree with him.

All photos by Daniele Tagni, from the book Gentlemen of Bacongo