Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Know more about the Faculty

In São Tomé, students will work under the guidance of Shadra Strickand, Instructor, and Alain CorbelProgram administrator of Unspoiled Africa. Know a little bit more about both faculty.
Shadra studied, design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University and later went on to complete her M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picturebook, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. Shadra is also the illustrator of A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, 2010), written by Renee Watson: a story of four children in New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Publishers Weekly called Strickland’s illustrations “quietly powerful,” and Booklist said, “In vibrant, mixed-media images, award-winning illustrator Strickland extends the drama, feeling, and individual stories.”
Shadra travels the country conducting workshops and sharing her work with children, teachers, and librarians.  

Born in 1965 in Brittany, France, Alain studied at St. Lukas in Brussels (comic strip department). Between 1990 and 1994, with Comic creator Eric Lambé, he produced Mokka and Pelure Amère, two modern comic strip magazines that influenced many authors and publishers like Fremok. In 1997 he moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where he lives and works as a comics artist, illustrator and storywriter for book publishers, magazines and newspapers. He has always chosen to live in places for their geographic and poetic qualities. He has always chosen to live in places for their geographic and poetic qualities. Since 2000, he regularly goes to Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, East-Timor, Angola, Mozambique and São Tomé, where he organizes illustration&writing workshops, with some African and Portuguese NGOs.

The Guardian: Seychelles aren't the only idyllic African island

The Seychelles aren't the only idyllic African island. São Tomé and Príncipe makes a more adventurous destination
Two young guards stood astride the entrance of the presidential palace in São Tomé town, resplendent in white gaiters and BMX-style helmets. They stepped forward in unison, clapped their rifles to their shoulders, caught each other's eye, and collapsed into laughter. They didn't cut very convincing figures as guards, but then military pomp seems a bit superfluous in São Tomé and Príncipe, arguably Africa's most peaceful country.

This twin-island nation tucked in the Gulf of Guinea, off Africa's Atlantic coast, seems to be a secret largely confined to purveyors of cocoa – São Toméan chocolate graces the shelves of Fortnum & Mason – and naturalists, who flock here for its rare birds and butterflies. But any visitor to Africa's second-smallest country would be bewitched by its vivid natural beauty, dilapidated architectural grandeur and disarmingly friendly people.
São Toméans' renowned "ease of being" is enshrined in the local watchword, leve-leve, meaning something like "easy, easy" – which they say when you try to hurry things along. In this informal island culture, more Caribbean than African, where fruit flops off the trees and the sea is jumping with fish, the question always seems to be, "What's the rush?"

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Meeting Information - Nov. 16th. 2012

November 16th at 3.15pm - Room 315 - Fox
Be present. All majors are welcome!


Meet Sao Tomean people

People in Sao Tome are really cheerful and warm. 
Nobody bothers you and everybody cares about you.


It's fresh and it's always good!

"Palaies", women washing their fish before selling.
Sairom and Minjae
Minjae, Daniel, Molly and Chloe.
The whole group checking the last sketches before Lunch.
What is it? It sounds pretty tasty!
Nelito restaurant in Angolares.
Everyday, people in Sao Tome eat fresh fish. 
Cajamangos. 
In Sao Tome it's so easy to get a lot of tropical fruits always for a cheap price.
Everyone said no. 
Then everyone said yes. 
Then everyone asked for more.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wood carving

Shadra did a beautiful wooden illustration made in low-relief. 
Engrácio helped her along the process.
Chloé carving her first wooden illustration.
Arum working on her tiny piece.
Morgan, Molly, Chloé, DingDing and Daniel with Engrácio, Tomé, Agostinho and Charles, the best craftsmen in São Tomé.


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cultural events/Performances/Ceremonies - 2 -

City of Assomada, Cape Verde, where we attended a ceremony of “Batuqueiras” (Band of percussionist women)The batuque is probably the oldest musical genre in Cape Verde.
More information about the Music in Cape Verde here.


Kwame Sousa' studio. Kwame lives and works in Sao Tome, but regularly exhibits his work in Africa, Europe and the USA.


“Dança Congo”, one of the Sao Tome’s most popular dramatic ceremony in Sao-Tome. The performance took place at Angolares, south of the island, the place by excellence for  “Dança Congo”. It's is a combination of music, dance and theatre.  
 
Tchilôli - Tragédia do Marquês de Mântua e do Imperador Carloto Magno


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sketches

Praia de Santana - Santana Beach

Did you ever dream to draw with squid ink?
In Sao Tome you will have the chance to do so.
(From top to bottom: Chloe, Shadra, Sairom, Frances, Morgan)

  Angolares directly sketched on the spot by Master Daniel Pagan

Lunchtime was a good opportunity to share ideas, sketches and delicious meals taken at popular restaurants.



DingDing in Agostinho Neto
Molly in Sao Tome Capital
Shadra in Monte Cafe
Shadra in Caixao Grande
Shadra in Angolares