Women Empowerment

I recent read a article about African-American/Nigerian artist Wiley, that caught my attention. Wiley is better known for his Renaissance-style portraits of modern-day black men in heroic poses. Now, for the first time, the heroines take center stage – and in dresses specially created by Riccardo Tisco, creative director of Givenchy.

Wiley explains: “This series of works attempts to reconcile the presence of black female stereotypes that surrounds their presence and/or absence in art history, and the notions of beauty, spectacle, and the ‘grand’ in painting.”

The founder of Africa Fashion Week Adiat Disu, falls into the mission of Wiley as she has been a symbol of empowerment for women, in that she started her own business at 21, and Africa Fashion Week at 22, proving the stereotypes that society has of black women wrong, and making her mark as a strong independent African Woman.