Evan Jerry’s Works Celebrate the Present and Future of Black Design

A vase by Evan Jerry. Photo: Courtesy of Studio ANANSI

In this feature for Architectural Digest, Charu Suri highlights the work of Canadian designer, Evan Jerry, who uses design as a way to explore contemporary identifications with Black culture. Jerry’s design work presents African influences with both their material and form, demonstrating a navigation of the world through the lens of blackness. With his work, Jerry hopes to create a celebration and preservation of Black culture.

“What I am trying to achieve is to bring African cultural references into the contemporary design aesthetic without looking clichéd. As beautiful as many African-inspired design objects are, they mostly speak to the past. What I’m interested in is how we speak to a present and future of this design.”