Diaspora Wonderland: An emotional journey through Afro-Mediterranean narratives

The term diaspora comes from the Greek spiro – “I sow.” It usually refers to displaced or exiled populations who maintain emotional, cultural, and political ties across borders.

But diaspora is not about dispersion — it is about connection, memory, and reinvention. Between lived experiences and fragmented memories, this emotional topography gives rise to "wonderlands": territories of imagination, resilience, and creation across generations. Diaspora Wonderland is an invitation to enter one of those spaces — through performance, fashion, design and storytelling, shaped by artists and cultural thinkers from across the Afro-Mediterranean constellation.

Diaspora Wonderland is an initiative conceived and organized by Das Relais to celebrate the cultural and creative richness of Afro-Mediterranean diasporas across Europe’s fashion hubs: Berlin, London, Milan and Paris.

This first edition in London, co-curated by Lotfi Aoulad (Founder of Das Relais and UNESCO's program manager) and Fanta Ouka Diawara (CFO, Chanel), will feature artists and designers including Sophia Kacimi/Zoubida (UK-Morocco),  Nix (Senegal), Buki Akomolafe (Nigeria/Germany), Orange Culture (Nigeria), etc . With the presence of Olu Alake (CEO of The Africa Centre), H.E. Hakim Hajoui (Ambassador of Morocco), and other cultural and fashion leaders, the event will be a unique opportunity to explore creativity, exchange, and collaborations.