The Northampton Arts Collective announces a new permanent display by Foday Dumbuya
LABRUM founder Foday Dumbuya brings West African hospitality to Northampton — chairs, stools and games tables that transform furniture into storytelling, memory and cultural reclamation.
Foday Dumbuya is best known as founder of London menswear brand, LABRUM, but now he’s bring his West African influence to Northampton with a new art installation, The Gathering.
The commission combines functional objects and civic sculpture, inspired by West African hospitality. Think: chairs, stools and games tables which position furniture as a mode for storytelling, not just servile objects. Three hero pieces punctuate the display: the Bakie Heritage Chair, Barta Stool and Nomoli Checkers Board Table.
A tribute to Dumbuya’s grandmother, the Bakie Heritage Chair has sculpted legs inspired by Constantin Brâncuși’s Endless Column, but is grounded in African design traditions and familial memory. The chair is three-legged, representing balance through imperfection. The Barta Stool takes inspiration from the djembe drum, turning percussion into a communal object. Stylised masks from Dumbuya’s parental home of Sierra Leone are woven across the fabric. The Nomoli Checkers Board Table challenges traditional views that non-Western objects are static or categorised as ‘other’, reclaiming moments of cultural connection.
The Gathering is presented at The Northampton Arts Collective with the support of the Northamptonshire Black History Archives Open Studio Space, which champions the county’s Black and immigrant heritage.
Credits:
Images courtesy of Purple PR
Words: Cable Writers
