Habari

Culture, wisdom and creative journeys in kanga
Celebrating Love Through the Kanga: Phoebe A. Ouma's Annual Tradition
Since 2023, artist Phoebe A. Ouma has marked Valentine's Day with a kanga-inspired illustration celebrating love through Swahili sayings, symbolic imagery, and her own distinctive artistic style. Read more...
Remembering Kawira Mwirichia: A Video Tribute by Zahra Moloo
Throughout June, we've celebrated the life and legacy of Kenyan artist Kawira Mwirichia (1986–2020) and her remarkable project, To Revolutionary Type Love, which reimagined the kanga as a space for queer love, visibility, and belonging. Earlier this month, Kenyan–Canadian researcher and documentary filmmaker Zahra Moloo got in touch after following the series. Zahra and Kawira were close friends, and she generously shared this film with us. Read more...
22 Kanga za Mfulio from Kilifi
Over the course of several months, Eunice Odhiambo sourced 22 second-hand kanga in Kilifi on behalf of MAPENZI YA KANGA. Born and raised in the coastal town, where she still lives today, Eunice is a Kiswahili teacher, writer and researcher dedicated to sharing the depth and beauty of the language and culture. Read more...
Kanga-Mfulio or Kanga za Mfulio: A Social, Economic and Cultural Asset
Kanga-mfulio or kanga za mfulio refers to used kanga or leso that are resold, gifted or passed on to another person after use. Read more...
The Kangas of To Revolutionary Type Love
In 2016, Kenyan artist Kawira Mwirichia launched To Revolutionary Type Love, a series of kangas celebrating queer love around the world. Through open calls, members of Kenya's queer community were invited to contribute love quotes for To Revolutionary Type Love. Contributors submitted #KangaLove and #KangaSass messages that would later become part of Kawira Mwirichia's kangas. Read more...
Kawira Mwirichia's To Revolutionary Type Love
As Pride Month begins, we're celebrating the life and legacy of Kenyan artist Kawira Mwirichia (1986–2020) and her project To Revolutionary Type Love. Read more...
Introducing the WAWILI WAKIPENDANA Cushions
A made-to-order cushion crafted from one of our favourite kangas, WAWILI WAKIPENDANA.  Each cushion is made from a kanga pair, allowing the striking central motif to appear uninterrupted on both the front and back. Inspired by the expressive visual language of the kanga, the cushions bring together textile, story, and home. Read more...
Woven Voices by Thandiwe Muriu
Known for creating surreal illusions through vibrant textiles, cultural practices, and beauty ideologies, Thandiwe draws on the kanga’s rich symbolism in this striking body of work. Read more...
Japanese-Produced Kangas and the Mystery of Lady Show
In my continuing research into Japanese-produced kangas, I came across this striking example shared by the Goldstein Museum of Design, alongside the following context about the piece: “After WWI, Japan’s economy had been adversely affected by high tariffs and a Chinese boycott of its exports. With newly opened shipping routes and a population who wore high-yardage wrappers, East Africa became a logical place for Japan to expand its textile trade. Japanese representatives living in East Africa worked with locals to develop appropriate patterns and messaging. This piece was made at... Read more...
Sketching the Kanga: Miwani Mdogo and the Global Journey of East African Textiles
By the mid-20th century, the East African kanga was already part of a vast Indian Ocean network of trade, design, and textile production. While kangas were shaped by Swahili taste and culture, many were produced through collaborations that stretched from East Africa to Japan. Read more...
Kanga Tales, Women Stories by Delphine Blast
We absolutely adore French photographer Delphine Blast’s Kanga Tales, Women Stories, created in Tanzania between 2022 and 2024. Bringing together portraiture, kanga, and storytelling, the series explores the women who wear these cloths and the messages they carry—through colour, motif, and misemo. Read more...
Threads Across the Indian Ocean: Kangas by Omani Brand Studio Sein
Across the Indian Ocean, Oman and the Swahili coast share long-standing cultural and trade connections — threads that also run through the history of the kanga. Studio Sein, a multidisciplinary creative studio and concept store based in Muscat, Oman, has created a beautiful collection of kangas in the traditional kanga format, featuring Arabic-script misemo. Read more...