About the Project 

How do we create our own cultural identities? Students in our Artrepreneurs program will answer this question with Walé Oyéjidé, Philadelphia-based fashion designer and creative director of Ikiré Jones, whose clothes and tapestries celebrate the culture of the African diaspora.

Through the lens of global inclusivity and the stories of African immigrants in the West Philadelphia community, students will reexamine their own school uniforms and create new textile patterns, showing them off at a fashion show and an art installation. The project culminates with a colorful mural on the façade of Lucien E. Blackwell Library on 52nd Street, an entrepreneurial hub for African immigrants, helping to express the cultural identity of this vibrant West Philadelphia community.