Tereneh Idia is a designer and writer interested in the stories of us, the clothes we wear and sustainability as a practice – life and art.
At 35 she went to Kenyatta University to get a masters degree in fashion design, her thesis on Incorporating Indigenous Adornment into Contemporary Sustainable Design launched IdiaDega: a global eco-design collaboration partners with Maasai and Oneida artisan women. They have presented their work in Amsterdam, Paris, New York City, Nairobi, Copenhagen and Pittsburgh. Including exhibitions at August Wilson African American Cultural Center, The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
As a writer, Tereneh’s work has appeared in Pittsburgh City Paper, Pittsburgh PublicSource, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, AfroPunk, The North Star, StarTrek.com, American Theater and the book, TENDER a literary anthology & book of spells: evidence. She curated the 202021: a new constellation public art exhibition in the Cultural District of downtown Pittsburgh.
Other Border Wall’s a multicultural artist collective whose goal is to Build Bridges Not Borders and Creative Resistance to Borders is in keeping with Tereneh’s artistic and life practice of building community. They’ve exhibited at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. A collaborative traveling exhibition “The Border Is A Weapon” Other Border Wall x Gil Rocha shown in Pittsburgh and Laredo, Texas 2020-2021.
