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KIBIBI AJANKU

 Artist  Innovator  Storyteller  Unifier  Curator

Kibibi Ajanku makes and presents ethnically charged art. Her passion embodies the thrust of the African Diaspora. Kibibi’s creativity is the ongoing and ever evolving effort of her life journey. Her work is eclectic and innovative. It is ancient while at the same time new-world and always changing. Ajanku’s muscle as a visual artist spans from contemporary fine art to village inspired craft, and the performance. Her artistry is layered with… and entrenched in… indigenous folkways. Her work embodies research, identity, and the gathering of elements of African retention, in hopes of evoking intuitive memories that reach back into ancestral histories and stories that impact the here and the now.
 
Kibibi Ajanku’s passion for art began early. She was nurtured by “grandma’s hands” as she sat at the knees of a quilt making maternal grandmother and soon followed on the heels of fashion forward seamstress aunties. This fueled an artistic journey as an exploration and execution of an indigenous aesthetic. Ajanku is empowered by international training and workshops: adire fabric design in Osogbo, Nigeria; tapestries in Theis, Senegal; adinkra fabric printing and kente weaving in Kumasi, Ghana; mud cloth acquisitions from the Mali railway; embroidery work in Medina, Senegal; and Orisha attire in Havana, Cuba. Ajanku has traveled the African diaspora to study, teach, and perform with many textile masters. Ajanku believes that when presented properly, art is the perfect vehicle to move forward into greater intercultural awareness for the global community.

 

Kibibi Ajanku attended Morgan State University, received an MFA in Curatorial Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); and currently, Ajanku is an Educator in Coppin State University Fine Arts Department and the MICA Fibers Department. Ajanku believes that when presented properly, art is the perfect vehicle to move forward into greater intercultural awareness for the global community.

MEET THE ARTIST

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PORTFOLI0

EXHIBITIONS
Featuring The Work Of Kibibi Ajanku

Kibibi Ajanku Trunk Show 2023
ST HELENA'S ISLAND, SC

Kibibi Ajanku Indigo Dye Village 2023
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Kibibi Ajanku is a Indigo Fiber Artist who has recently collaborated with Agrihood Baltimore Urban Farmers and the Natural Dye Initiative to bring to life one of her signature community projects, the Indigo Dye Village. Together, with a multi-generational team comprised of her children and grandchildren, she set up a community dye vat at the Wednesday Farmers Market and various locations across the urban landscape, creating a unique experience that is both educational and interactive. Participants are invited to learn about hand-dyed Indigo techniques as they relate to West Africa and have the opportunity to create their own tie and dye projects. 

 

The Indigo Dye Village is transported on an Arabber Cart, which has deep historical significance in Baltimore City. The Indigo Dye vIllage brings Baltimore's Arabber tradition to life, celebrating and preserving the vibrant culture of this 19th-century tradition. Kibibi's Arabber Cart is decorated in bright blues in honor of the colorful, eye-catching carts of the past. You may catch her riding her horse-drawn cart through the city as she makes her way to market.

 

Kibibi's work is inspired by the vibrant hues of her West African heritage and combines the traditional with the modern. Kibibi is passionate about creating art that celebrates African and African American culture and the art of natural dyeing.

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Learn more about Kibibi Ajanku's Indigo Dye Village and discover how they are making a positive impact in Baltimore by attending an event through the months of July and August.

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Rubber Glove Blues: The Bounce Back
A Story Of Indigo Resilience 2023
FREDERICK DOUGLASS-ISAAC MYERS MUSEUM, MARYLAND

This exhibition represented a year-long intersection of indigo projects embodied by members of House Ajanku. They are each artists in their own right. The work of each project was designed to pass ancestral and authentic practices to the next generation, and the community-at-large, in an effort to keep those practices robust and alive. 

 

The Artists... Kibibi Ajanku, King Salim Ajanku, Jumoke Ajanku, and K. Shukura Ajanku. The intersecting projects were Indigo Magic Dye Village for Common Ground on the Hill at McDaniel College, The Indigo Dye Village for Agrihood Baltimore and the Natural Dye Inititative, Indigo for Tomorrow Apprenticeship Project For the Maryland State Arts Council, Rubber Glove Blues Art Exhibition for the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. 

 

"This is important work. We view ourselves as portals connecting the past, present, and future, preserving West African dye traditions while pushing the processes forward to include mediums not generally used. Our influences for this project include Nigerian indigo dye traditions and Africans in the diaspora."

 

-King Salim Ajanku

SANKOFA EXPERIENCE 2023
THE PEALE MUSEUM, BALTIMORE MD

THE VILLAGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN DOLL ARTIST
VIRTUAL TOUR 2023
FREDERICK DOUGLASS-ISAAC MYERS MUSEUM, MARYLAND

virtual tour

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CATALOG

KUUMBA II, 2023
Neiman Marcus, Tyson’s Corner, Virginia

Kuumba is Kwanzaa's sixth Principle, Creativity. Kuumba is the commitment to being creative within the context of the national community vocation of restoring our people to their traditional greatness and thus leaving our community more beneficial and beautiful than we inherited it. The principle has both a social and spiritual dimension and is deeply rooted in social and sacred teachings of African societies.  

 

The artists and art selected for the Kuumba Exhibit fulfill the commitment to the Kuumba Principle. Kuumba II Artists include Kibibi Ajanku, TJ Blake Artistry, Tanya Bracey, Bryane Broadie, Larry Poncho Brown, Karen Y. Buster, Nina Carpenter, Anita Carrington, David W.M. Cassidy, Keiona Clark, Carren Clarke, Thomas E. Dade, Jaleel Davis, Marilyn Gates-Davis, Marie Antoinette Diaw, Jay Durrah, Erasto, Emery Franklin, Sarah Jones, Vanessa Chappell-Lee, James Murphy, Jr., Dion Pollard, Babacar Pouye, Qrcky, Overdue Recognition Art Gallery, Alma Roberts, B/ue Robin, Cary Michael Robinson, Levi Robinson, Thomas Rogers III, Wendell Supreme Shannon, Yemonja Smalls, Harriet Smith, K Starks, Luis Del Valle, Luther Wright, and Anthony Young, Jr..

"The art in this exhibit embodies the complexities of humanity as experienced by women of the African Diaspora. Through their medium, the artists tell their stories and the stories of their ancestors, addressing today’s societal challenges."

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The exhibition featured the artwork of: Kibibi Ajanku, Tanya Bracey, Karen Y. Buster, Anita Carrington, Dr. Vanessa Chappell-Lee, Keiona Clark, Maria Lana Queen, Faith Ringgold, Alma Roberts, Joyce J. Scott, Deborah Shedrick, K Starks, and Zsudayka Terrell. Special recognition to Raven Fine Art Editions and Goya Contemporary Gallery for loaning Faith Ringgold and Joyce J. Scott paintings. Special thanks to the jurors Dr. Curlee Raven Holton, Larry Poncho Brown, and Jacqueline Thompson. Lastly, Mr. James E. Murphy, Jr. for exhibit design and layout

Under The Baobab
Mixed Media Collage
Kibibi Ajanku

Shango's Daughter

Soft Sculpure

Kibibi Ajanku

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Djola

Soft Sculpture

Kibibi Ajanku

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